No greater injury can be done to any youth than to let him feel that because he belongs to this or that race he will be advanced in life regardless of his own merits or efforts.

He gained access to top national leaders in politics philanthropy and education. Fannie died in May 1884. Washington revealed that Rogers had been quietly funding operations of 65 small country schools for African Americans and had given substantial sums of money to support Tuskegee and Hampton institutes.

Booker Taliaferro Washington (April 5 1856 – November 14 1915) was an African-American educator author orator and advisor to Republican presidents. Historians note that Washington "advised networked cut deals made threats pressured puniBooker T. Washingtond enemies rewarded friends greased palms manipulated the media signed autographs read minds with the skill of a master psychologist strategized raised money always knew where the camera was pointing traveled with an entourage waved the flag with patriotic speeches and claimed to have no interest in partisan politics.