Ralph Ellison – Invisible Man I

In the first chapters of his book, Ellison describes the way Booker T. Washington wanted African Americans to act according to his philosophy, and criticizes this philosophy as too narrow-minded and not effective in creating better living conditions for colored people. In chapter four one can see the description of how the lives of colored people look like, when they are following Washington's theory, which says that colored people should not strive for social equality, but for financial success, arguing that the latter would eventually lead to the implementation of the former. In this chapter Ellison describes how the president of the college lives, with two cars, a big house, a beautiful wife, and being financially well off. The president is also depicted as carrying importance in his field as a leader of the black people, and as receiving positive publicity for his conduct towards this matter. Notwithstanding his autocratic behavior towards his students or other black people he believes lesser than himself, he always behaves humble and servile towards white people. Ellison criticizes this when he depicts the veteran as saying to Mr. Norton, one of the rich trustees of the school, about the narrator: “He believes in the great false wisdom […] that white is right. […] He'll do your bidding, and for that his blindness is his chief assert” (95). Ellison thus directly refers to the main point of critique about Washington's theory, which does not include equality of treatment, but rather reproduction of the existing situation of inequality. On the same page the author also describes the attitude both of the addressed have towards each other, with which he wants to show the state of mind white benefactors of the colored race have towards the individuals they are helping. They are described as being rather indifferent to individuals, seeing them merely as things to be filled with wisdom to enable them to earn their own money, which calms the conscience of the benefactors. Ellison wants the reader to think about the different choices he has, whether as a white person having the means or as a black person planning his life, however he strongly indicates his position towards this matter. 

Booker T. Washington was an important leader of the African-American society, seen by many as the dominant force between 1890 and 1915. He was born as a slave, and was and was active throughout the period of post-reconstruction, when the newly freed African-Americans had been oppressed by discriminatory laws, which were enacted in the South at that time. One of his biggest achievements was the founding and sustaining of Tuskegee Institute, a institution of higher education for colored people, where he was enacting the his theory, which was stated above. 
 

Source: http://docsouth.unc.edu/neh/washstory/ill45.html