In the chapter entitle “Of Mr. Booker T Washington and Others,” Du Bois criticizes Washington program that calls for blacks to give up political power civil rights and education for the black youth. He believes that Washington program has set the disfranchisement of black people, created the status of inferiority for African Americans and withdraw chances of education for black folks. Du Bois pointed his argument against Washington to three main points. He called it the triple paradox of Washington’s career. In the first point, he says that Washington’s wants African Americans to become productive workers and become property owners, but in order to do that African Americans would have to give up their rights to vote. His second view was that Washington called for economy and self-respect for blacks, but advices them to admit submission and inferior status to white. Finally, the third view is that Washington encouraged the priority of industrial education, yet without academic education, there would be nobody to teach industrial education or black youths. He sums up Washington program as a way to give the government an excuse not to help in bettering the lives of African Americans. He says that in order for the lives of black to evolve everyone needs to step up and do their own part, and there is no way that African Americans lives would better if Washington is giving whites an excuse not to get involve. Du Bois demanded that all black citizens call for their right to vote, civil rights, and education for African Americans especially the youth. He writes that African Americans need to develop a black consciousness and become aware of their history art music and religion that is distinctly different from whites. At first, Du Bois ag...
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... of high school and get a job to support their family or graduate high school and end their education there. Eventually to help with their financial needs, they join gangs, get involve in illegal activities and ultimately end up in prison or dead. The government needs to create more jobs for African American especially those leaving in the ghettos and also involve more funds in inter city schools. When schools that majority of blacks do not have the proper funds, teachers would lose interest and so would students. In order to better the lives of African Americans, the lives of black youth would need to get a major reconstruction. Youth are the futures of tomorrow and the way youths are raised is the way they would apply that knowledge to their future. Also African Americans need to start owing up for their race rather than waiting for the government to do the work.
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.
Du Bois and Washington's approaches towards social change differed greatly. Du Bois stated in The Negro Problem, "The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men...developing the best of this race that they may guide...
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.
Throughout his essay, Du Bois challenged the policies written by Mr. Washington for the progression and adaptation to advance racial equality. In this article Du Bois discusses many issues he believes he sees in Booker T. Washington 's theories. While Washington believed, black Americans could achieve more by skillful accommodation to the social realities of the age of segregation, Du Bois felt otherwise. Du Bois felt the strategy Washington was pushing would only serve to perpetuate white oppression. Unlike Washington, Du Bois did not mind rocking the race boat. In this essay, Du Bois uses multiple writing techniques that help appeal to the reader.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, both early advocates of the civil rights movement, offered solutions to the discrimination experienced by black men and women in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Despite having that in common, the two men had polar approaches to that goal. Washington, a man condoning economic efficiency had a more gradual approach as opposed to Du Bois, whose course involved immediate and total equality both politically and economically. For the time period, Washington overall offers a more effective and appropriate proposition for the time whereas Du Bois's approach is precedent to movements in the future. Both have equal influence over African Americans in politics. Washington's proposal excels in reference to education while Du Bois can be noted for achieving true respect from white Americans.
Du Bois, was the competing ideology at the time. Du Bois rose to prominence and became a great African-American leader in his own right around the time Washington was at his peak. Du Bois respected Washington but largely disagreed with his vision of black society and progression. Du Bois was a leader in several radical (at the time) organizations such as the Conference of Negro Problems and the Niagara Movement. (Lecture 9/27). With a background steeped in education, Du Bois also has a significantly different up-bringing than Washington. In part, this may explain some of the differences in their ideologies. In his book, The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois addresses Washington and his vision directly. Although Du Bois recognizes Washington’s successes and the caution in which Washington has had to employ in the South, Du Bois is still critical of him. “But aside from this, there is among educated and thoughtful colored men in all parts of the land a feeling of deep regret, sorrow, and apprehension at the wide currency and ascendency which some of Mr. Washington’s theories have gained.” (Du Bois, Souls of Black Folk, pg.36). Washington’s Atlanta Compromise received acclaim but the submissive tone and ideology is what Du Bois is critical of. This quote expresses the emotions felt by not just Du Bois but other educated black men and women throughout the country realizing the errors made in the speech. The acclaim the speech received is also an issue here
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were very important African American leaders in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They both felt strongly that African Americans should not be treated unequally in terms of education and civil rights. They had strong beliefs that education was important for the African American community and stressed that educating African Americans would lead them into obtaining government positions, possibly resulting in social change. Although Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had similar goals to achieve racial equality in the United States, they had strongly opposing approaches in improving the lives of the black population. Washington was a conservative activist who felt that the subordination to white leaders was crucial for African Americans in becoming successful and gaining political power. On the other hand, Du Bois took a radical approach and voiced his opinion through public literature and protest, making it clear that racial discrimination and segregation were intolerable. The opposing ideas of these African American leaders are illustrated in Du Bois’ short story, “Of the Coming of John”, where Du Bois implies his opposition to Washington’s ideas. He shows that the subordination of educated black individuals does not result in gaining respect or equality from the white community. In fact, he suggests that subordination would lead the black community to be further oppressed by whites. However contrasting their views might have been, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were significant influential black leaders of their time, who changed the role of the black community in America.
...owitz, 2005). By subjecting these fatherless children to life in the poverty stricken ghettos of urban America, generations of children continually become unable to capitalize upon the opportunities for a better life, not only for themselves but also for their children, that the Civil Rights Movement had created. This has ultimately become the failure of Black America and has increased juvenile delinquency in Black neighborhoods in the United States.
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.
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.
When talking about the history of African-Americans at the turn of the twentieth century, two notable names cannot be left out; Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. They were both African-American leaders in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, fighting for social justice, education and civil rights for slaves, and both stressed education. This was a time when blacks were segregated and discriminated against. Both these men had a vision to free blacks from this oppression. While they came from different backgrounds, Washington coming from a plantation in Virginia where he was a slave, and Du Bois coming from a free home in Massachusetts, they both experienced the heavy oppression blacks were under in this Post-Civil War society. 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.
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
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.