Who was an African American leader who supported segregation as a means for progress?

Booker T. Washington is recognized for advocating a philosophy that accepted segregation as a pathway towards economic self-sufficiency and gradual social progress for African Americans. He believed that in the face of systemic racism, African Americans should focus on vocational education, hard work, and self-help to improve their status in society. This stance was articulated in his famous Atlanta Compromise speech in 1895, where he argued for a form of accommodation with white society, suggesting that if African Americans could prove their economic value, social and political rights would eventually follow. Washington’s approach stood in contrast to other leaders of his time who advocated for immediate civil rights and integration, making his support for segregation as a means of progress a distinct aspect of his leadership model.

The other leaders listed had differing views: Frederick Douglass fought fiercely against segregation and for immediate civil rights, W.E.B. Du Bois argued for full civil rights and was a founder of the NAACP, and Martin Luther King Jr. is best known for his role in the civil rights movement advocating nonviolent protest against segregation and for equality.