sacrificing the political empowerment cost of the african-american advancement. washington eloquently articulated his acceptance of segregation and voting discrimination in 1895 speech known as atlanta compromise saying in all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. if the first lady s address is to truly be understood in the context of booker t. washington s legacy it is in the portion of her speech that her critics overlook because she followed her lived account of racial injustices with a message to the students very much in line with washington s beliefs. graduates today i want to be very clear that those feelings are not an excuse to just throw up our hands and give up. not an excuse, they are not an