His book, “Up From Slavery” is a great read.
He took a great deal of heat from the black community for suggesting they needed to learn trades as a way of breaking down the barriers, and that it was the responsibility of blacks to do that.
In his mind, if blacks could provide useful services at reasonable prices, then they would get white customers.
I think he was right. For saying that, he was branded as an “Uncle Tom” by other blacks. Not much different that what some say today about black conservatives like Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, Thomas Sowell et al.
The United States and England dabbled with the “peculiar institution” for a relatively short period of time historically when compared to other nations in the past, and both ended it for ethical reasons, albeit we had a war, but it was ended. And the wheels were in motion to abolish slavery long before the Civil War itself, so it was only a matter of time. Western European culture is never credited anywhere in the media with that remarkable accomplishment.