Booker T. Washington Defense

1745 Words4 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The impact and influence of booker t washington

In Defense of Booker T. Washington

Booker T. Washington's legacy is a troubled one. Dubois was right to say, "When Mr. Washington apologizes for injustice, he does not rightly value the privilege and duty of voting, belittles the emasculating effects of caste distinctions, and opposes the higher training and ambition of our higher minds" (afro 1). But can we really fault Booker T. for being misguided and flat-out wrong? Washington is not the first successful, insufferable man in America who rose from abject poverty to a life of bourgeois comfort, who then assumed that everyone else could too, if only they did as he did. This is not sycophancy. This is a classic case of projection and denial: myopic projection of his own …show more content…

Washington was able to secure a position as principle of a new school for African Americans in Alabama. The lessons he learned personally at Hampden Washington incorporated into the curriculum at Tuskegee, much to the chagrin of his 24/7 brick-making, day-laboring pupils, who mistakenly thought they were going to receive a good education. (But this method worked for Booker T., thus it will work for them, or get out, was his motto.) His marked hostility toward the black church is more a reaction to what Booker feels is an unnatural Enthusiasm (in contrast to the austere Northern Protestantism in which Washington was raised), than it is a condemnation of his own …show more content…

Without warning the one "called" would fall upon the floor as if struck by a bullet, and would lie there for hours, as if struck by a bullet. (39)

The staid doctrine of Northern Protestantism, taught by dour Hamden school teachers, would surely teach Washington that this sort of religious expression was inappropriate and blasphemous. In his chapter 'Working with Others,' Booker T. learned the "proper" Calvinist use of the Bible during his second year at Hamden, under the tutelage of Miss Nathalie Lord: "when I am at home, no matter how busy I am, I always make it a point to read a chapter, or a portion of a chapter, before beginning the work of the day" (32). (The emphasis here is on

Show More
Related

  • Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBoise

    1614 Words  | 4 Pages

    Both Washington and DuBois wanted the same thing for blacks—first-class citizenship—but their methods for obtaining it differed. Because of the interest in immediate goals contained in Washington’s economic approach, Whites did not realize that he anticipated the complete acceptance and integration of Negroes into American life. He believed blacks, starting with so little, would have to begin at the bottom and work up gradually to achieve positions of power and responsibility before they could demand equal citizenship—even if it meant temporarily assuming a position of inferiority. DuBois understood Washington’s program, but believed that it was not the solution to the “race problem.” Blacks should study the liberal arts, and have the same rights as white citizens.

    Read More

  • David Walker: Analysis of the Appeal

    1549 Words  | 4 Pages

    David Walker was “born a free black in late eighteenth century Wilmington,” however, not much more information is known about his early life. During his childhood years, Walker was likely exposed to the Methodist church. During the nineteenth century, the Methodist church appealed directly to blacks because they, in particular, “provided educational resources for blacks in the Wilmington region.” Because his education and religion is based in the Methodist theology, Methodism set the tone and helped to shape the messages Walker conveys through his Appeal to the black people of the United States of America. As evident in his book, Walker’s “later deep devotion to the African Methodist Episcopal faith could surely argue for an earlier exposure to a black-dominated church” because it was here he would have been exposed to blacks managing their own dealings, leading classes, and preaching. His respect and high opinion of the potential of the black community is made clear when Walker says, “Surely the Americans must think...

    Read More

  • Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Dubois

    1164 Words  | 3 Pages

    When it all comes down to it, one of the greatest intellectual battles U.S. history was the legendary disagreement between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. This intellectual debate sparked the interest of the Northerners as well as the racist whites that occupied the south. This debate was simply about how the blacks, who just gained freedom from slavery, should exist in America with the white majority. Even though Washington and DuBois stood on opposite sides of the fence they both agreed on one thing, that it was a time for a change in the treatment of African Americans. I chose his topic to write about because I strongly agree with both of the men’s ideas but there is some things about their views that I don’t agree with. Their ideas and views are the things that will be addressed in this essay.

    Read More

  • The Harlem Renaissance: Planned Phenomenon and The Search for An Identity

    1482 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lewis’s viewpoint is not without it’s truths. The Harlem renaissance was overseen by a number of intellectuals such as Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Dubois. Booker T. Washington‘s, a highly influential speaker of the age, words appealed to both Caucasians and African-Americans. Washington forged an interracial bridge of communication through his unique tactics in the quest for equality. He believed in more subtle ways of gaining equality through hard work, cunning, and humility. He stated, “The wisest among my race understands that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing.”(Salley, 15) With this statement, Washington himself denies that this new awakening in equality and arts could be forced,...

    Read More

  • george washington carver

    1041 Words  | 3 Pages

    As word of Carver's work at Tuskegee spread across the world, he received many invitations to work or teach at better-equipped, higher-paying institutions but decided to remain at Tuskegee, where he could be of greatest service to his fellow African Americans in the South. Carver epitomized Booker T. Washington's philosophy of black solidarity and self-reliance. Born a slave, Carver worked hard among his own people, lived modestly, and avoided confronting racial issues. For these reasons Carver, like Booker T. Washington, became an icon for white Americans.

    Read More

  • Protect the Gray Wolves

    1993 Words  | 4 Pages

    Long before the settlers started to make the United States their home, “American Indians lived long beside the Gray Wolf before settlers started to come here.” (Rowe, Mark) The wolf is native to the North American continent and has been inhabiting its land for centuries. It is a canid species, or member of the canine family and is a cunning, smart, fast, and sly animal. Gray wolves range in color from black, brown, gray, and white and also look like a grown German Shepherd. They are well known for traveling in family sizes from 7-9 wolves, led by the alpha male and have a mate. They are a fierce animal that has been researched extensively because of their unique qualities and that they are near extinction.

    Read More

  • The Wolves Are Back

    834 Words  | 2 Pages

    “…and this is why the caribou and the wolf are one; for the caribou feeds the wolf, but it is the wolf that keeps the caribou strong”― Farley Mowat. This quote is a great example of the wolves keeping balance in nature, and the partnership between two different animals. The gray wolf was reintroduced to Yellowstone in 1995. They were reintroduced by the government due to the endangerment of their species. The reintroduction of the gray wolf was beneficial because it improved Yellowstone’s ecosystem, protected the wolves, and it attracted tourists.

    Read More

  • A Comparison Of Web Du Bois And Booker T. Washington

    1261 Words  | 3 Pages

    them into the transition into American life. Booker T. Washington, on the other hand, felt that

    Read More

  • It's Time to Protect the Endangered Wolf

    2903 Words  | 6 Pages

    Such myths and legends have portrayed the wolf as a threat to human existence. Feared as cold-blooded killers, they were hated and persecuted. Wolves were not merely shot and killed; they were tortured as well. In what was believed to be a battle between good and evil, wolves were poisoned, drawn and quartered, doused with gasoline and set on fire, and, in some cases, left with their mouths wired shut to starve (Begley 53). Convinced that they were a problem to be solved, U.S. citizens gradually eradicated gray wolves from the lower 48 states over a period of 25 years.

    Read More

  • W.E.B Du Bois vs. Booker T Washington

    2086 Words  | 5 Pages

    Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were both pioneers in striving to obtain equality for blacks, yet their ways of achieving this equality were completely different. W.E.B. Du Bois is the more celebrated figure today since he had the better method because it didn’t give the whites any power, and his method was intended to achieve a more noble goal than Washington’s. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. Like many slaves at that time, historians are not sure of the exact place or date of his birth (Washington, Up From Slavery 7). Washington had absolutely no schooling while he was a slave; he received all his education after he was set free.... ...

    Read More

  • Should the Wolves Stay in Yellowstone National Park?

    1822 Words  | 4 Pages

    The wolves’ were hunted in late 1800 s’ and early 1900‘s in the United States because farmers wanted more land for their cattle’s to graze upon. As farmers were moving out west they felt threaten that the wolves would hunt their cattles so the farmers thought that the best solution would be to take them out of the picture. This was possible because at the time there were no government regulations on hunting....

    Read More

  • Booker T Washington Speech Analysis

    1111 Words  | 3 Pages

    Of the many truly inspirational speeches given by African Americans, Booker T. Washington’s The Atlanta Exposition Address is one of the few that intends to achieve compromise. In his speech, Washington is trying to persuade an audience composed significantly of white men to support African Americans by granting them jobs and presenting them with opportunities. His goal is to convince his white audience that African Americans will be supplied with jobs lower than those of white men, allowing white men always to be on top. Booker T. Washington’s The Atlanta Exposition Address adopts a tone of acquiescence and compromise to persuade a predominantly white audience to accept his terms.

    Read More

  • Of Booker T Washington And Others Summary

    804 Words  | 2 Pages

    In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.

    Read More

  • Up From Slavery Book Report

    1215 Words  | 3 Pages

    This book was about Booker T Washington who was a slave on a plantation in Virginia until he was nine years old. His autobiography offers readers a look into his life as a young child. Simple pleasures, such as eating with a fork, sleeping in a bed, and wearing comfortable clothing, were unavailable to Washington and his family. His brief glimpses into a schoolhouse were all it took to make him long for a chance to study and learn. Readers will enjoy the straightforward and strong voice Washington uses to tell his story. The book document his childhood as a slave and his efforts to get an education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his community and the nation. Washington details his transition from student to teacher, and outlines his own development as an educator and founder of the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama. He tells the story of Tuskegee's growth, from classes held in a shantytown to a campus with many new buildings. In the final chapters of, it Washington describes his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. Washington includes the address he gave at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, which made him a national figure. He concludes his autobiography with an account of several recognitions he has received for his work, including an honorary degree from Harvard, and two significant visits to Tuskegee, one by President McKinley and another by General Samuel C. Armstrong. During his lifetime, Booker T. Washington was a national leader for the betterment of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. He advocated for economic and industrial improvement of Blacks while accommodating Whites on voting rights and social equality.

    Read More

  • Up From Slavery, by Booker T. Washington

    1135 Words  | 3 Pages

    Booker T. Washington was a young black male born into the shackles of Southern slavery. With the Union victory in the Civil War and the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863, Washington’s family and blacks in the United States found hope in a new opportunity, freedom. Washington saw this freedom as an opportunity to pursue a practical education. Through perseverance and good fortunes, Washington was able to attain that education at Hampton National Institute. At Hampton, his experiences and beliefs in industrial education contributed to his successful foundation at the Tuskegee Institute. The institute went on to become the beacon of light for African American education in the South. Booker T. Washington was an influential voice in the African American community following the Civil War. In his autobiography, Up from Slavery, Washington outlines his personal accounts of his life, achievements, and struggles. In the autobiography, Washington fails to address the struggle of blacks during Reconstruction to escape the southern stigma of African Americans only being useful for labor. However, Washington argues that blacks should attain an industrial education that enables them to find employment through meeting the economic needs of the South, obtaining moral character and intelligence, and embracing practical labor. His arguments are supported through his personal accounts as a student at Hampton Institute and as an administrator at the Tuskegee Institute. Washington’s autobiography is a great source of insight into the black education debate following Reconstruction.

    Read More

More about Booker T. Washington Defense

Open Document