Pauline Hopkins

Pauline Hopkins, a native of Maine, became one of the most important African American editors of the turn of the twentieth century. In 1900, Hopkins became the contributing literary editor of Colored American Magazine, one of the most important African American periodicals of the era. For that magazine, Hopkins authored three serialized novels, historical articles, and short biographies of important African American citizens. Booker T. Washington was the subject of one of her biographical pieces. In that article, Hopkins pays tribute to Washington for his impressive achievements but also criticizes him for not urging the Federal government to address the South's racial problems. She left her post at the Colored American Magazine in 1904, perhaps because Washington began to influence the periodical's content at that time.

Dr. Washington's public career as a speaker is full of interest: we can...