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Awards and Service
Books and Essays
- Black Towns and Profit: Promotion and Development in the Trans-Appalachian West, 1877-1917, University of Illinois Press, 1991
- "White Wealth and Black Repression: Blacks in Harrison County, Texas, 1865-1868," The Journal of Negro History, 1999
- “African Americans After Reconstruction and During the Booker T. Washington Era” in The African American Odyssey: A Quest for Full Citizenship, Library of Congress exhibit catalog, 1997
- Introduction to The Records of The National Negro Business League, University Publications of America, 1995
- "The Origin and Early Promotion of Nicodemus" in Nicodemus, Kansas, ed. J. Keith Everett, A.I.A. United States National Park Service, 1985
Professor Kenneth Hamilton’s forthcoming book, under the working title, Booker T. Washington: America’s Early Memory of a National Icon, asserts that the contemporary recollection of Washington and his works do not closely correspond with the one most frequently presented during the pre-1930’s. His analysis of hundreds of letters of solace, thousands of obituaries, and numerous other documents demonstrates the radical change in the national iconic memory of one of its most celebrated black men.
Numerous scholars have constructed analytical models for the discussion of the years after 1895 based, in part, on their respective interpretations of the historic persona of Washington. Hamilton’s investigation will inspire future scholars, particularly those who study the African American post Reconstruction era, to reassess generally held historical assumptions that are based upon the contemporary memory of Washington.
In the pursuit of the greater interest of black people, Washington is currently portrayed as a naive, narrow-minded, traitor. However, Hamilton finds that many opinion-makers, between 1915 and 1922, constructed memories of Washington that they hoped would help to shape the character of all of the nation’s residents.
They responded to Washington’s life and works with an appeal for racial and national harmony by reinforcing an American nationalism based upon a set of values that included optimism, industry, steadfastness, loyalty, and benevolence.
Hamilton reminds current and future scholars that the authors of Washington’s obituaries, sponsors of his memorials, and patrons
of his monument promoted values that in some cases increased
racial consciousness, and in others transcended the social construct of race.
Numerous scholars have constructed analytical models
for the discussion of the years after 1895 based, in part, on their respective interpretations of the historic persona of Washington. Hamilton’s investigation will inspire future scholars, particularly those who study the African American post Reconstruction era, to reassess generally held historical assumptions that are based upon the contemporary memory of Washington.
In the pursuit of the greater interest of black people, Washington is currently portrayed as a naive, narrow-minded, traitor. However, Hamilton finds that many opinion-makers, between 1915 and 1922, constructed memories of Washington that they hoped would help to shape the character of all of the nation’s residents.
During the two decades preceding Washington’s death on November 14, 1915, Americans embraced the social construct of race more tightly than at any other time in the nation’s history. Hamilton argues that many influential public commentators suppressed their beliefs in order to shape a utilitarian memory of the black educator that would preserve an idealized perception of the nation.
They responded to Washington’s life and works with an appeal for racial and national harmony by reinforcing an American nationalism based upon a set of values that included optimism, industry, steadfastness, loyalty, and benevolence.
Hamilton reminds current and future scholars that the authors of Washington’s obituaries, sponsors of his memorials, and patrons
of his monument promoted values that in some cases increased racial consciousness, and in others transcended the social construct of race.
[Page updated December 2007]
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