Booker T. Washington was an American educator, author, orator, and political leader who was born into slavery in Virginia in 1856. He was the dominant figure in the African American community in the United States from 1890 to 1915. Washington believed that the best interests of Black people in the post-Reconstruction era could be realized through education in the crafts and industrial skills and the cultivation of the virtues of patience, enterprise, and thrift. He was the first president and principal developer of Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, which is now known as Tuskegee University. Washington was a key proponent of African-American businesses and one of the founders of the National Negro Business League. He was also a bridge between the races and considered himself an accommodationist, believing that African Americans could not contend with social and political discrimination and segregation. Washington did publicly speak out against the evils of segregation, lynching, and discrimination in voting. He also secretly participated in lawsuits involving voter registration tests, exclusion of blacks from juries, and unequal railroad facilities. Washingtons approach was contentious among his contemporaries, and his name still prompts much debate today in terms of race relations strategy.