Compare And Contrast Washington And W. E. B Dubois

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Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were two intelligent African-American leaders who are historically responsible for the evolution of Blacks in America. Booker T. Washington had views on slavery that only a few African Americans had. Washington’s mother was an African slave and his father was her white master. His views on slavery, education, segregation and integration were totally different from W.E.B Du Bois ideologies. Booker T. wrote a letter to the president and asked for one main thing, and that was for Blacks to be recognized. Washington advocated for blacks in the work force. He strongly believed that blacks should work to make a living and be at the top of their game while doing so. He also believed that you should build from the bottom, work hard and you will make it to the …show more content…

Washington gives details about the changes that he wants to see in the south and feels that the white man is the neighbor of the black man. He also feels that even though the white man should help, blacks should learn to fend for themselves. Washington says that, “the Negro is given a man’s chance in the commercial world”. What Washington is saying is that the Negro basically has the same chance as the white man to make a living for himself, when this was not the reality during his generation. In Washington’s letter he tries to convince the president that blacks have given whites no reason to mistreat or mistrust, or abuse them. The point of his letter was to bring unity within the south between whites and blacks. Washington concludes the letter by stressing, “It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges”. Washington’s views on integration/segregation and African American freedom are based on the unity of both races and the Negro compromising for the white man to be

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