Later, his compromise in Atlanta was viewed as a major catastrophe.

Booker T. Washington was chosen to deliver the speech that would kick off the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta, Georgia, on September 18, 1895. It was the first speech delivered by an African American before a racially diverse audience in the South and is frequently referred to as the "Atlanta Compromise." Although the exposition's planners were concerned that "public feeling was not prepared for such an advanced step," they concluded that having a black speaker would demonstrate racial progress in the South to Northern visitors. Washington advocated in it that African Americans should work hard, gain respect, and receive vocational training to contribute to the economic growth of the South rather than campaigning for political and social equality. He claimed that if they did this, African Americans would eventually acquire the respect of white society and be given full citizenship privileges.

Although most African Americans and whites in the country initially saw the Atlanta Compromise as a "revolutionary moment," it eventually did not sit well with the black community and was rejected by the very people who had earlier supported it. It was generally criticized for being overly tolerant of the white population and providing little benefit to black people.