Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois are both writers who use realism as their literary mode. They both try to depicted life the way it was and didn’t “sugar coat” it. They both also wanted more civil rights to be given to the blacks. Although they lived in the same era they had different opinions on how to get these rights. They think differently about education, racial advancement, and relationships between blacks and whites. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois’ ideas are reflected in their different writing styles, and different backgrounds, along with his intentions, becoming important when their differences had one of the greatest impacts on the future. Booker T. Washington’s early life and his education throughout life shaped …show more content…
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 believe 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 quotes 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 focuses 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 Page). 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,
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 had very different views about their culture and country. Du Bois, being 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. Thus being born half-white, his views and ideas were sometimes not in the best interest of his people.
The writings of Booker T. Washington, Marcus Garvey, and W.E.B. Du Bois postulate a formula for the advancement of African Americans. Each formula can be traced to its advocate’s respective life experience. While their individual formulas differ in the initial priorities and the necessary steps described, when viewed collectively as points in a progression, those points at times intersect and then diverge, and at other times they are divergent and then intersect.
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
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 of 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. In his third essay, Du Bois explained the flaws in Booker T. Washington’s opinions and the negative impact they would have on the African American community. Du Bois’ wrote; “Mr. Washington represents in Negro thought the old attitude of adjustment and submission.” His essay indicated that Washington’s plan would hold back the African American community, and that the plan wasn’t what the African American people
...s, whose school of thought inspired much of the agitation which, after the break with the 'accommodationist' position of Washington, began to develop in the 1950's and exploded in the 1960's civil rights movement. His influence can be seen best in his prophetic work “The Souls of Black Folk”, a work which many credit for the inspiration of modern civil rights leaders. In it Du Bois describes the scope of American discrimination, and uses it to predict the formation of ‘black consciousness’ and activism in the future (B., Du Bois W. E. Souls of Black Folk.). Thats not to say there were no points of similarity between Washington and DuBois. Both worked against racially motivated violence and the lynchings African Americans faced in the south. Furthermore, while one of his harshest critics, Du Bois also appreciated and acknowledged many of Washington's accomplishments.
...rights for blacks, and was satisfied with ‘equal’ economic opportunities, in fact, he was opposed to blacks getting involved in politics. Du Bois took a much more radical approach and demanded that blacks be included in the political sphere. He also envisioned blacks receiving higher education so they could compete in a fast-growing economy, instead of being stuck with dead-end jobs such as plumbers, and house maids, that Washington so strongly advocated for. And today, Du Bois is clearly the more celebrated figure of the two. More African-American political leaders, such as Obama, reference him in their speeches, and it is much easier to find a poster or book on W.E.B Du Bois than it is on Booker T. Washington. Du Bois’ vision had a much nobler goal, he was not satisfied with the injustice that was going on, and he did something about it.
Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois are both writers who use realism as their literary mode. They both try to depict life the way it was and didn’t “sugar coat” it. They both also wanted more civil rights to be given to the blacks. Although they lived in the same era they had different opinions on how to get these rights. They think differently about education, racial advancement, and relationships between blacks and whites. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois’ ideas are reflected in their different writing styles, and different backgrounds, along with his intentions, becoming important when their differences had one of the greatest impacts on the future.
many ideas on how the newly freed slaves should be integrated into the new United States. The
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.
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. Washington traces his life from his being born a slave to an educator. His writings and speeches, though initially was very influential for his race, later in his life began to be challenged by the new generation of African Americans and died as he did in 1915 with him. In this autobiography of his life, Washington’s generalizations and accommodations of the treatment and disregard for the African American by people of the White race was nonchalant, as though he felt that for some reason it was okay or necessary for African Americans to be treated as second class.
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.
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.
The time period when Booker T. Washington gave his Atlanta Compromise Speech and W.E.B. DuBois wrote ‘The Souls of Black Folk’, it was a big step to talk about equality and social problems of the black race; which led Washington not to state those topics directly to the Southern white audiences at the moment. Even though Washington and DuBois ultimately were in the same boat for the black race, they expressed and represented oppositely. While Washington decided to have oblique approach in the parts of politics, rights, and education, DuBois exclaimed utter equality unswervingly and brutally. As DuBois was frustrated and furious by Washington’s speech, He rebuked Washington severely for asking the black race to give up three things for the
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