In order to complete the Jigsaw activity, place students into small groups and give each group one of the following primary sources. The sources describe various responses to Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech.

• Excerpt 1 from Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
• Excerpt 2 from Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington
• “A Plea For His Race” from The Constitution in Atlanta, GA
• “Booker T. Washington Is Dead” from The Guardian

Now divide students into new groups so that each group has at least one representative from each primary source above. As a group, the students must work together to write a news report of Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech. Their goal is to present a balanced view that includes multiple perspectives on Washington’s speech and his overall philosophy of race relations. Each group’s news article should contain some direct quotations from the sources and some original writing summarizing the speech and its context.

Have each group read their news article out loud to the class, and discuss the following questions to reflect:

• What was the main idea of Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta Compromise speech, and what did he believe was the key to racial uplift?
• How did various constituencies respond to Washington’s message? Why might different groups or individuals have had a different reaction?
• Given the various responses to Washington at the time, how should historians evaluate the legacy of Booker T. Washington?