Final answer:
Booker T. Washington's impact was in promoting vocational education and economic self-reliance, believing these would lead to eventual social and political equality for African Americans.
Step-by-step explanation:
The impact Booker T. Washington made to improve the lives of African Americans centered on his philosophy of vocational education and economic self-reliance. By founding the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute, Washington provided practical skills training that enabled African Americans to improve their economic status, arguing that this would lead to increased respect and eventual social and political equality. While he did not advocate for immediate civil rights or lead armed uprisings, he believed in the dignity of labor and that securing economic stability was a prerequisite for achieving equality.
In his famous "Atlanta Compromise" speech, he posited that vocational education and job opportunities were more immediately important than the desegregation of society. Washington's approach has been both praised for its pragmatism and critiqued as accommodationist, yet his influence on African American education and economic advancement during the Progressive Era was significant.