Born in 1872, William Monroe Trotter was an African-American civil rights activist. He was born to Virginia and James Trotter. James was a rare black Democrat who supported Grover Cleveland and eventually was promoted to be the highest-ranking black man in a legal office. Because of James' success, William was exposed to a high level of education at a young age and was growing up in a time when an educated African-American was somewhat of a threat to the white population surrounding him. As he reached adulthood, he was highly educated through white schools and resulted in graduating from Harvard with a bachelor's degree in international banking. Post-college, he tirelessly worked towards equality and abolishing segregation through founding organizations such as the National Negro Suffrage League and the Negro American Political League. Trotter also founded the newspaper The Boston Guardian. Through these organizations, Trotter actively argued against segregation and even countered Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute. He argued that there should be a heavier emphasis on liberal arts and not just the teachings of manual labor. Trotter strongly believed that the black population was just as capable, if not more, than the white population that continued to stifle their abilities, and yet it was still a member of the black community who was holding them back. Trotter began working with W.E.B. Dubois, an infamous opponent of Booker T. Washington, to form the Niagra Movement. The movement was made up of all African-Americans and fought against Washington's values as well as pushing for social equality. This was arguably the first major civil rights movement in African-American history. However, Trotter was not a proprietor for all equality. He ended up leaving the Niagra Movement in opposition of integrating women into the movement. Nevertheless, his determination and contributions to the civil rights movement brought African-Americans one step closer to equality.
Trotter, William Monroe (1872-1934) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed.” Redlining (1937- ) | The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed, www.blackpast.org/aah/trotter-william-monroe-1872-1934.
3 comments:
I like how you went in depth about his history yet provided the contrast of how he, despite being part of one of the largest moments in history for equality, was still not completely for equality. It's interesting to see how one can believe so strongly in one type of equality and not another; it almost raises the question as to whether there is truly any equality if not for all, no matter the race or gender.
This blog post was very informative and well organized. The style of writing is unbiased and easy to comprehend. The pictures are a nice touch as well
I like how your description of his life flowed, rather than just listing his achievements. I agree with Adam's point about how confusing it is that Trotter did not fully support all forms of equality. I would like to add on that it is a shame that Trotter, Dubois, and Washington weren't able to work out their differences, and, instead, worked against each other. It leads me to believe that, if the men recognized that they all had the same long-term goal, they would have been able to achieve a lot more in terms of equality.
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