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Booker t washington and the struggle for an education
Booker t washington education philosophy
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What is the best approach to education that will develop the black community in the best way possible? A question often pondered and debated in the early 1900’s. The debate being between classical education and industrial/agricultural education. Classical education focuses on the teaching of sciences, history, language arts, mathematics, and literature. Whereas vocational education focuses on the preparation for work and job skill. Two of the most famous black leaders at this time took very different positions on this. Booker T Washington believed the best way to develop the black community was through industrial education. Washington believed black people would be more respected if they accumulated property and wealth, which could be done …show more content…
He states, “If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make technical skill the object of education, we may possess artisans but not, in nature, men.” (Du bois 1) This was his problem with the industrial approach. This approach was making black people into workers, laborers, but not necessarily giving blacks full potential to live life fully. “Education must not teach work, it must teach life” (Du Bois) He mentions that blacks have always been intelligent and just were unable to prove it because obstacles such as slavery got in the way. It is wrong to think that blacks were just put on the earth to endorse hard labor. He believes that god has created us all equal, and that blacks should get equal treatment in education too. He argues that Washington fails to stand up for political and civil rights and higher education of blacks. He gives examples of black abolitionist, like Alexander Crummell, and James McCune Smith, these men were college educated men, which made them into the great leaders they are. Black men can become great leaders through attending schools and college universities. “A university is a human invention for the transmission of knowledge and culture from generation to generation, through the training of quick minds and pure hearts, and for this work no other human invention will suffice, not even trade and industrial schools” (Du Bois
What is the point of educating the African Americans if all they will be is paid slaves anyhow?, “Lo! we are diseased and dying, cried the dark hosts; we cannot write, our voting is vain; what need of education, since we must always cook and serve?” (par. 11). Du Bois doesn’t understand the issue with African Americans living among, equal to, and determined with the Whites, “Will America be poorer if she replace her brutal dyspeptic blundering with light-hearted but determined Negro humility? or her coarse and cruel wit with loving jovial good-humor? or her vulgar music with the soul of the Sorrow Songs” (par. 12). Du Bois and the African American population are determined to change the mindset of the Whites and America as a whole to be more accepting of African Americans and ultimately
...ncerning voting rights, social change, education, and the role of the black man in the South. Du Bois Believed that African Americans should get social and political equality immediately and through education, while Washington thought that African Americans should get social and political equality gradually and through trade skills. Although both offer valid points and arguments, Washington has a more convincing and beneficial philosophy than Du Bois. Booker T. Washington had a gradual approach towards political and social equality which allowed society to slowly accept African Americans into their society which allowed society to adjust better unlike Du Bois who wanted a drastic change. Washington also focused on having an education on trade skills that allowed African Americans to work and contribute to the economy, which allowed them to have a place in society.
Even though we have witnessed a portion of Black people rising up such as Barack Obama, Lebron James, there are still a lot of Blacks suffering from enfranchisement, torture, and double standard of law. Being a developed and powerful country, the issue of racism is worth noticing. The critical part of the issue is that law seems ineffective to protect poor Black people. That’s why so many Blacks are powerless when bullied by people like police or associations like Ku Klux Klan. So it is crucial to consolidate the law to keep Blacks’ personal rights from being violated. Besides, we need to stress the education of Blacks, especially those in poverty. One of the reasons why Blacks have been treated unequally to Whiles is because they did not contrite as much to the nation as Whites, and education inequality could partially account for this result. Being more powerful is more likely to be respected by others. Thus. Shrinking the gap of education quality between the Black community and White community could alleviating
Du Bois wanted civil rights as well, but in contrast, he believe the only way to get it was through political action and demanding for equal rights. He also believed education would get the black race somewhere. “The South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and always will have, an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction and discontent. Nevertheless, men strive to know” (Du Bois Page) as W.E.B. Du Bois said. This quote explains how Du Bois felt about education, he thought education would put him at the top because the whites would fear the knowledge of educated African Americans. His main focus when writing was racial discrimination and the advancement of black people. His work was very broad and he combines history with proposals on how to change, like in this work “The Souls of Black Folks.” This is just a collection of autobiographies on the African American life. He mentions things like the “talented tenth” in The Negro Problem, which describes one out of ten blacks becoming leaders. He also coined several terms, including the “veil.” He says “the Negro is like the seventh son, born with a veil” (Du Bois 887). Du Bois believed a veil was being placed over African Americans so that they are not seen as they are. They are true Americans, but whites do not see that and blacks start to lose sight of that. Another important term,
I believe that blacks could benefit more from a practical, vocational education rather than a college education. Most blacks lived in poverty in the rural South, and I felt they should learn skills, work hard, and acquire property. I believed that the development of work skills would lead to economic prosperity. I predicted that blacks would be granted civil and political rights after gaining a strong economic foundation. I explained his theories in Up from Slavery and in other publications.
Booker T. Washington was an African American leader who established an African-American college in 1181. Then in 1895 delivered the Atlanta Compromise Speech to an audience of mainly Southerners, but some Northerners were present. In his speech he made a few points. He said, “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” Washington believed that the African American race needed to learn first that manual labor was just as important as the work of intellects. He thought that until they learned this they were not worthy of becoming intellects themselves. The color line is thus important in teaching them this lesson. He also said, “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.” His opinion was that one day blacks would deserve to have equal rights with the whites, but right now in 1895 the blacks needed to be...
Like Washington, Dubois agreed that “blacks” needed to become economically independent and find civil equality. However, W.E.B Dubois was offended at racial injustice and inequality. Du Bois understood Washington’s program, but believed this wasn’t the solution Unlike Washington, he demanded that African Americans should immediately have the right to vote, equal rights, and be granted equal educational opportunities. WEB Dubois wanted educational reform in a way that fulfilled requirements for African American students. WEB Du Bois declared African American demands through his “Declaration of the Principles of the Niagara Movement,” in which he demanded social equality.
As he saw it, blacks had been exploited since they were stolen out of Africa, so there was no point in it lasting any longer. This is precisely why his philosophy is still relevant today whereas Washington’s isn’t. In our society, if you aren’t striving for higher education, you’re practically dooming yourself to never really attain any measurable success. Just as Du Bois wanted, there is also an increased effort to have blacks in high positions that transcend black-dominated neighborhoods. However, if there were one critique he would have about the current situation of blacks, it would probably be the lack of immediacy. As a black male, simply walking down the street looking suspicious can get you killed, yet, we haven’t taken an incredibly strong stance against it. Sure, in the age of social media, people post all about these issues, but they don’t actually do anything. Du Bois would urge us as an educated society to act now, as he told the masses when he was alive, and that is exactly why his views prevailed over Washington’s and why he is still relevant
W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two very influential leaders in the black community during the late 19th century, early 20th century. However, they both had different views on improvement of social and economic standing for blacks. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave, put into practice his educational ideas at Tuskegee, which opened in 1881. Washington stressed patience, manual training, and hard work. He believed that blacks should go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder. Washington also urged blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, and once they worked their way up, they would gain the respect of whites and be fully accepted as citizens. W.E.B. Du Bois on the other hand, wanted a more aggressive strategy. He studied at Fisk University in Tennessee and the University of Berlin before he went on to study at Harvard. He then took a low paying research job at the University of Pennsylvania, using a new discipline of sociology which emphasized factual observation in the field to study the condition of blacks. The first study of the effect of urban life on blacks, it cited a wealth of statistics, all suggesting that crime in the ward stemmed not from inborn degeneracy but from the environment in which blacks lived. Change the environment, and people would change too; education was a good way to go about it. The different strategies offered by W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington in dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans were education, developing economic skills, and insisting on things continually such as the right to vote. ...
Du Bois was a scholar activist who proposed lots of solutions for the issue of racism and discrimination. Du Bois was sort of an opposition to Washington’s ideology, as he strongly believes that it can only help to disseminate white’s oppression towards blacks. We can see his dissatisfaction based on his writing with a title On Booker T. Washington and Others. He wrote that Washington’s philosophy was really not a good idea because the white extremists from the south will perceived this idea as blacks’ complete surrender for the request of civil rights and political equality. Du Bois had a different view on this issue if compared to Washington because of their different early lifestyles. Unlike Washington, Du Bois was born free in the North and he did not receive any harsh experienced as a slave himself and was also grew up in a predominantly white area. In his writings, it is obvious that he thought that the most important thing that the black should gain was to have the equality with whites. Regarding the issue of the voting rights, Du Bois strongly believed that it is important for black people to agitate to get the right to vote. He also believed that the disfranchisement of poor men could mean the catastrophe of South’s democracy (Painter 157). In his writing with a title Of Our Spiritual Strivings, he wrote that it was significant for blacks to exercise the right to vote because there were whites that wanted to put them back in their inferior position—and it was
“It should come as no surprise that Washington’s historical conflict culminated as a struggle between him and DuBois” (Gibson III 66). To say the least, both men were very active in the upbringing of African-Americans, but their differences in displaying out the solution was what brought them apart. Washington wanted the education system to enforce industrial teachings that started at lower economic power, while DuBois had more abstract ideas of equality and voting for African-Americans. Washington was conservative in the matter of African-American inclusion into society, hoping that given enough time and progress, people would learn to accept them, rather than fight for social power like what DuBois stood for. Despite Washington’s program that appealed to White-Americans, he was involved in politics and spoke about the disfranchisement of African-Americans. His idea of easing tensions with the superior gathered him more publicity, as to DuBois’s plan of protesting. As a result, DuBois’s idea became more prominent as it branches into what we know now as the civil rights movement. Historically, Washington and DuBois has made a name for themselves, through their intentions for the good will of African-Americans, and that is something that will always hold true in these two notorious
...ch as W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington, have had on blacks in higher education has affected the field for more than just African Americans. That’s the type of transformative leadership that was needed to revolutionize higher education.
Washington 's programme naturally takes an economic cast” (Du Bois). Du Bois believed that Washington’s theory was a gospel of Work and Money that ultimately overshadowed the higher aims of life” Later he makes another statement so powerful that should have made all African Americans want to stand up and fight for a better social status and rights for both the South and North. He goes on stating “The growing spirit of kindliness and reconciliation between the North and South after the frightful differences of a generation ago ought to be a source of deep congratulation to all, and especially to those whose mistreatment caused the war; but if that reconciliation is to be marked by the industrial slavery and civic death of those same black men, with permanent legislation into a position of inferiority, then those black men, if they are really men, are called upon by every consideration of patriotism and loyalty to oppose such a course by all civilized methods, even though such opposition involves disagreement with Mr. Booker T. Washington.” (Du
Washington uses a coaching style approach regarding his process of getting his fellow African Americans to enroll in schools and pursue a higher education. Washington embraces the path-goal theory supportive leader behavior perfectly by leading them down a path with the end goal being beneficial to all those who follow it. He motivates his followers by ensuring them that if they work hard and receive a proper education that they will be free from the chains of ignorance and stereotypes that black men and women are only good for manual labor. Although he received mixed reviews at first, people eventually listened and followed his philosophy and sought out higher education. This was very successful as the percentage of African Americans and other minority groups enrolling and graduating college is still increasing. The way Booker T. Washington used Transformational Leadership was by taking a stand and speaking up about the inequality African Americans were enduring regarding education and receiving fewer opportunities than white people. He did not know how far his speeches and philosophy would go, but he knew he had to try something to improve the situation for his people. Washington stated, “…I plead for industrial education and development for the Negro not because I want to cramp him, but because I want to free him.” With this quote we understand his vision as he challenges African Americans to get their education
The first argument Booker T. Washington makes is that blacks should seek an education that provides them with the opportunity to gain employment by meeting the sp...