W.E.B Du Bois with his masterpiece, Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others (1993), also tried to define by insulting Booker T. Washington, what is to be black among white people. Du Bois, in this case, went beyond political issues; instead, he decided to focus in Booker T. Washington’s dogma of African American’s role in the United States. Booker T. Washington was a hero to many African-Americans, also an example since he started with very little and came to be one of the most influential African-Americans leaders in the United States. However, W.B.E Du Bois’ ideas interfered with Booker T. Washington’s even though Washington fought for a relationship between blacks and whites, according to Du Bois he also supported black’s inferiority. According
Du Bois, Washington asked people from his race to give up to their dream and most importantly to their Civil Rights. Du Bois also argued that the fault of the disenfranchisement of the Negro was because Washington’s proposal for the African-American men. Instead of helping the African-American, community according to Du Bois, Washington was putting African American into a position of more discrimination and oppression. Furthermore, Du Bois suggested that African Americans should fight for their economic process and to improve their educational level. Even between African Americans leaders, the idea of what is to be black is noticeable, even thought the argument between Washington and Du Bois was more debate over what an African American should be, the ideology kept changing over and over. These two African Americans leaders’ perspective led an even bigger question, what is, in reality,
Hughes describes his disappointment toward “one of the most promising of the young Negro poets”(Hughes 546), who consistently said that he wants to be a poet, not a Negro poet, but a poet. Although Hughes refuses to tell the reader who is the Negro poet, it is easy to assume that he was talking about Countee Cullen, who also made a public announcement about his position among whites. Even thought in the essay Hughes talks about how a particular person feels about his race and the opportunity that its provide, Hughes also was telling those African-Americans, who do not celebrate their race, which it is ashamed for them not to feel proud of being black. Furthermore, Hughes argues that African-American artists should refuse to absorb the white culture and look forward to their African-American heritage. “The racial mountain” that Hughes was referring to in the title is the course of African-Americans toward whiteness. African-Americans are constantly looking forward to being whiter than blacks because whiteness is what defines an
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.
During the time period of 1877-1915, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois’ strategies both played crucial roles dealing with the recurring issues of poverty and discrimination; however,
...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.
Booker T. Washington was an educator and an influential African American leader. His vision was for African Americans to ignore the discrimination and continue working hard in the crafts, industries, and farmlands. W.E.B. & C.B. Du Bois was another highly educated African American thought leader, holding a degree from Harvard University and the University of Berlin. A civil rights leader, scholar, and political thinker, Du Bois believed in the importance of scholarly education to achieve racial progress. The Souls of Black Folk is a collection by W.E.B. Du Bois essays, that clearly defined his personal opinions on education, and his disapproval of Booker T. Washington’s point of view.
Du Bois way of helping African Americans, but Booker T. Washington’s way was the Tuskegee Institute. The Tuskegee helped to educate the black people with skills so that in the future the whites would accept them seeing that they work hard. Although many may think this was a great way to get civil rights, Du Bois did not. Du Bois founded the NAACP and used it for the power to have a say. “Through the publication Du Bois reached an increasingly large audience- one hundred thousand by 1919- with powerful messages that argued the need for black development and white social enlightenment” (Du Bois 884). Du Bois even writes about Washington and criticizes him in The Souls of Black Folk. He says “the time is come where one may speak in all sincerity and utter courtesy of the mistakes and shortcomings of Mr. Washington’s career (Du Bois 893). In this statement it proves that Du Bois and Washington did not agree on things, and this is why their writing styles were so different, because their opinions on gaining civil rights were also very
Comparing W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. W. E. B. -. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington had very different views about their culture and country. Du Bois, born in the North and studying in Europe, was fascinated with the idea of Socialism and Communism. Booker T. Washington, on the other hand, was born in the South, and like so many others, had a Black mother and a White father.
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...
The readings Booker T. Washington, The “Atlanta Compromise” and “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” were both very interesting to me. The “Atlanta Compromise” was the actual speech Booker T. Washington gave to a majority white crowd asking for support for vocational/technical training and education. His focus on the speech was for the Black community to use their skills to earn a living and focus more on that than race relations. He was encouraging the black community to gain financial security and be open to getting the necessary tools to be their own providers.
Like most, the stories we hear as children leave lasting impacts in our heads and stay with us for lifetimes. Hughes was greatly influenced by the stories told by his grandmother as they instilled a sense of racial pride that would become a recurring theme in his works as well as become a staple in the Harlem Renaissance movement. During Hughes’ prominence in the 20’s, America was as prejudiced as ever and the African-American sense of pride and identity throughout the U.S. was at an all time low. Hughes took note of this and made it a common theme to put “the everyday black man” in most of his stories as well as using traditional “negro dialect” to better represent his African-American brethren. Also, at this time Hughes had major disagreements with members of the black middle class, such as W.E.B. DuBois for trying to assimilate and promote more european values and culture, whereas Hughes believed in holding fast to the traditions of the African-American people and avoid having their heritage be whitewashed by black intellectuals.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois are two incredibly famous civil rights activists in United States history. Although they both sought to uplift blacks socially and economically across the country, they clashed over the best strategy for doing so. Coming from vastly different backgrounds, it’s understandable as to why they disagreed. However, as is evident by our current societal problems, Du Bois was the one who had the correct plan. That doesn’t mean that Washington’s ideas were wrong, but they were a temporary solution to a permanent and systematic problem.
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 experience, and flagrant denial of the horrors of white supremacy. To accuse Booker T. Washington of complacency is an insult to a good man's efforts in working ceaselessly for the betterment of several million newly freed, unemployed, African American slaves, of which he was one. The post-Civil War problems facing the nation were intractable and myriad. This was uncharted territory. In his defense, Washington founded a college made of mortar and brick which still stands today that has educated celebrated alumni like Eli Whitney, Ralph Ellison, and Damon Wayans. He opened a much-needed dialogue between the black community and the ruling (racist) white class in America. He paved the road for better thinkers, like Dubois, who saw the danger in Booker T's faulty reasoning.
The differences of their philosophies were clearly shown in their writings—Booker T. Washington’s “Up from slavery” and Du Bois’s “The Souls of Black Folk”. Before we analyze the similarities and differences of both of the leaders, we have to look at their early life experiences as it can be an important factor on how and where they get their inspiration for their philosophies. Booker T. Washington was an influential leader during his time and a philosopher that always addressed the philosophy of self-help, racial unity and accommodation. He had preached and urged all the black people to simply accept the discrimination that they got and asked them to work hard to gain material prosperity (Painter 169). In his
The poem “Negro” was written by Langston Hughes in 1958, where it was a time of African American development and the birth of the Civil Rights Movement. Langston Hughes, as a first person narrator, tells a story of what he has been through as a Negro, and the life he is proud to have had. He expresses his emotional experiences and makes the reader think about what exactly it was like to live his life during this time. By using specific words, this allows the reader to envision the different situations he has been put through. Starting off the poem with the statement “I am a Negro:” lets people know who he is, Hughes continues by saying, “Black as the night is black, Black like the depths of my Africa.”
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.