What is Washington encouraging white Southerners to do? And why?

Appealing to white southerners, Washington promised his audience that he would encourage Blacks to become proficient in agriculture, mechanics, commerce, and domestic service, and to encourage them to "dignify and glorify common labour." Steeped in the ideals of the Protestant work ethic, he assured whites that Blacks were loyal people who believed they would prosper in proportion to their hard work. Agitation for social equality, Washington argued, was but folly, and most Blacks realized the privileges that would come from "constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing."

Explanation:

the roman empire began to fall