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Compare washington booker t and w.e.b du bois
Compare washington booker t and w.e.b du bois
Booker t washington ideas on promoting equality for african americans
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Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois had contrasting views on how to attain racial equality. In the time following the Civil War the rebellious South was readmitted to the Union with conditions set forth by the federal government. One important condition was granting the full political equality for blacks and ending “the problem of the color line” (The Souls of Black Folks, 1). This was the premise of the Reconstruction time period. However, Reconstruction was an unsuccessful effort. The South refused to work with the North to form a united nation, and the newly freed slaves were reluctant to exercise their new civil liberties, in part, due to the rise of the Klu Klux Klan and other white supremacy groups. The North was at odds and distracted …show more content…
However, two influential and contrasting individuals, Booker T. Washington and WEB DuBois decided to address the matter of equality amongst black and white Americans. Booker T. Washington 's key strategy can be summarized in one word, practicality, here and now. His strategies were based upon the realities of the color line. White Americans still associated with the idea of slavery will fight to keep African Americans down, as second class citizens, because of one attribute that whites hold over blacks, power. He believed that in order to become equals, the black community needed to climb to the level of whites. To do so blacks would need to be educated and to get involved in practical occupations. Washington believed that education was the key to Black economic success, thus his intended Faustian Bargain. He argued that giving up civil rights, higher education, and political rights, blacks would be given an economic opportunity. Washington suggested such a bargain, because he believed that races needed to start at the bottom, and work their way up gradually, as he states, “I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed.” (xroads.virginia.edu). A lot of what Washington believes in has come from his own …show more content…
DuBois criticized the, “here and now” approach, because his concern was with the future of the black and white world in which they lived. In Souls of Black Folk, DuBois mentions a veil that needs to be uncovered for blacks and whites to “come tenderly and cheerily into those sad little lives and brush the brooding hate away” (The Souls of Black Folks, 91). Removing such a veil would difficult, but with a proper education, DuBois believed one day someone would lift the it. What was a proper education? DuBois, unlike Washington, believed that proper education was with a higher education, and not an industrial one. A clear example of his disagreement with Washington was when he states in his address to the country, “when we call for education we mean real education. We believe in work. We ourselves are workers, but work is not necessarily education” (www.digitalhistory.uh). He made this address to help spark the Niagara movement, because he wanted African Americans to fight and protest to achieve their equality. At the very least he sought out to achieve the right for blacks to vote. “With the right to vote goes everything: freedom, manhood, the honor of our wives, the chastity of our daughters, the right to work, and the chance to rise, and let no man listen to those who deny this” (www.digitalhistory.uh). In his time period and even present time period, that right to vote means the right to move the country in a
Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBoise. Booker T. Washington believed that blacks should not push to attain equal civil and political rights with whites. That it was best to concentrate on improving their economic skills and the quality of their character. The burden of improvement rests squarely on the shoulders of the black man.
W.E.B. DuBois was an educator, writer, scholar, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, and later in his life a communist, whose life goal was to gain equal rights for all African Americans around the world. DuBois’ writings were mostly forgotten till the late 1960s, because of his involvement in communism and his absence during the civil rights movement in America. Even though his writings were temporarily forgotten because of his tarnished reputation, his legacy has since been restored allowing for his writings to be reprinted becoming a major influence for both academics and activists. DuBois’ accomplishments include his part in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and his support for the civil rights movement advocating for equal social and economic rights for all African Americans. His accomplishments and efforts in order to gain equal treatment for African Americans outweigh his shortcomings and failures.
...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.
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.
While DuBois respected Booker T. Washington and his accomplishments, he did not. felt that blacks needed political power to protect what they had and what they earned. DuBois called for a new plan of action. He felt that the The greatest enemy of blacks was not necessarily whites but it was the ignorance of the whites concerning the capabilities of the black race. DuBois's answer was to encourage the development of black youth in America.
Booker T. Washington thought that Blacks should earn their respect gradually after getting an education and becoming business man of the industrial world. W.E.B Du Bois was more of demanding it and he also thought they should try everything they could to earn the respect they needed. Although Booker and W.E.B had there differences, Booker's strategy was more appropriate for the time period and that W.E.B wanted the Blacks to make some sacrifices in order to achieve there goals.
After slavery ended, many hoped for a changed America. However, this was not so easy, as slavery left an undeniable mark on the country. One problem ended, but new problems arose as blacks and whites put up “color lines” which led to interior identity struggles. These struggles perpetuated inequality further and led W. E. B. Du Bois to believe that the only way to lift “the Veil” would be through continuing to fight not only for freedom, but for liberty - for all. Others offered different proposals on societal race roles, but all recognized that “double consciousness” of both the individual and the nation was a problem that desperately needed to be solved.
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...
When Booker T. Washington speeches the Atlanta Compromise, it is still a big step to talk about equality and social problems of the white and black races, even though it is after the Civil War. However, it is necessary to agitate to reach complete liberty and social change ultimately, which address Washington to have an oblique approach to express the purpose of the speech. He announces his intention of the black race, simultaneously, he wants to make the Southern white men feel relief and relaxed about talking about it. It supports the reason he speaks meek and polite all the time, not to offend the white audience. He insists that the importance of having a business is greater than getting a social equal for African-Americans, which makes
The United States after the Civil War was still not an entirely safe place for African-Americans, especially in the South. Many of the freedoms other Americans got to enjoy were still largely limited to African-Americans at the time. At the beginning of the 20th Century, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois emerged as black leaders. Their respective visions for African-American society were different however. This paper will argue that Du Bois’s vision for American, although more radical at the time, was essential in the rise of the African-American society and a precursor to the Civil Rights Movement.
Booker T. Washington believed in political and social economic acceptance of passive and self-improvement rather than demanding the rights that were given to white male counterparts. This examination of the how Booker T. Washington’s political and social acceptance changed not only the landscape of African American history while setting a mentality that continues even in the twenty-first century. The ideal agreement would be Southern blacks would work under white political rule, while Southern whites guaranteed that blacks would receive basic tutelage and due process of the law. Dr. Washington believed
African-Americans in the 1920’s lived in a period of tension. No longer slaves, they were still not looked upon as equals by whites. However, movements such as the Harlem renaissance, as well as several African-American leaders who rose to power during this period, sought to bring the race to new heights. One of these leaders was W.E.B. DuBois, who believed that education was the solution to the race problem. The beliefs of W.E.B. DuBois, as influenced by his background, had a profound effect on his life work, including the organizations he was involved with and the type of people he attracted. His background strongly influenced the way he attacked the "Negro Problem." His influence continues to affect many people.
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
The Similarities and Differences of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois’s Views During the late 19th and early 20th century, racial injustice was very prominent and even wildly accepted in the South. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were two of the most renowned “pioneers in the [search] for African-American equality in America” (Washington, DuBois, and the Black Future). Washington was “born a slave” who highly believed in the concept of “separate but equal,” meaning that “we can be as [distant] as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” (Washington 1042). DuBois was a victim of many “racial problems before his years as a student” and disagreed with Washington’s point of view, which led
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.