During the twentieth century people in America fought for the equality of African Americans, but the means on how to achieve equality has been heavily debated between many activists such as Washington T. Booker and W.E.B DuBois. Even though they share a common goal their stances on education and methods of achieving equality are different with Washington thinking working hard earns respect and DuBois thinking that African Americans need to demand for equality. Booker believed African Americans would be able to have more of a chance in being respected by focusing their education on having jobs involving manual labor and technical skills such as engineering. Rather than focusing solely on having an education in history, literature, science and …show more content…
Now that time has passed and most African Americans have not used and forgotten those skills in his opinion they need to relearn those skills since they are equally or even more important than the education they are learning at universities. Even though the way they learned how to do those jobs was crude it allowed them to have industrial training and learn the methods of skilled labor in the south. Without this training Booker thought that African Americans would stay at the bottom of the economic world and never advance however, by having this skill they would be able to work themselves up through this ladder achieving respect and equality through it. Thus the basis of his fight for equality was to work hard at any jobs they had and respect will be earned through that work. On the other hand W.E.B DuBois believed that African Americans in the past have done the menial jobs that don’t require a higher education and it has done nothing to aid them in improving their situation so they should rise above having to do those jobs. This reasoning was why DuBois critiqued Washington’s stance on education. Believing that in order to be respected African Americans need to
The time period of 1877 to 1915 was a period in history when the people of the Black race were being granted a free status, but equality, on the other hand, was not an option to some higher white officials. During this time period, many leaders started to fight for what they believed in by appealing to the white governing body for social equality. Two of the leaders that came out of that uproar were the well-known Black equality activists of that time, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Both of these leaders ultimately had the same goal, however, the paths that they took to achieve
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
The debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois turned out to be one of the greatest intellectual as well as inspiring battles in our United States history. This great debate sparked the interest of African Americans and whites throughout the entire country. Both men had distinct views on how blacks should go about progressing politically, socially, as well as financially here in the United States. Both Du Bois and Washington wanted African-Americans to have the same rights as white Americans; But Du Bois encouraged African-Americans to demand equal rights, while Washington, on the other hand, often ignored discrimination. He believed that it was important for blacks to develop
washington knew that blacks would never be equal to the whites. DuBois wrote a book called, "We want to be Americans, full-fledged Americans, with all the rights of American citizens." DuBois also criticized Washington's Tuskegee approach as an attempt "to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings." DuBois had become the leading black figure in the United States. Dubois encouraged African-Americans to work hard, regardless of their careers. Both Du Bois and Washington wanted African-Americans to have the same rights as white Americans. But Du Bois encouraged African-Americans to demand equal rights. Washington, on the other hand, often ignored discrimination. He believed that it was important for blacks to develop good relationships with whites. He was afraid that blacks who demanded equal rights would create ill will between themselves and white Americans. Washington said to an all white audience that "In all things social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress." That quote meant that blacks and whites can all do the same things. In conclusion, Booker T. Washington focused on having education for real life jobs and not asking for equality from the
Furthermore, Booker T. Washington did not share strategies with Du Bois on one side, and the strategies of W. E. B. Du Bois did not share with Washington. Booker mostly focused on education and wanted African Americans to fight for what they’re worth, to work hard and become someone important in the community. On the other hand, Washington fought for equality. He wanted the White Americans to respect the blacks. His point view was that the community should be led by the most talented. Basically, he wanted blacks and
Of the two most prolific and acclaimed voices in the anti-slavery movements of the early 20th Century, W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington stand as peerless giants across from one another. The former seeing the pursuit of education in a hallowed light, while the latter praising the simplicity of practicality; Du Bois and Washington clashed in their methods for African Americans to achieve equality, following the aftermath of emancipated slavery. At this time in the United States, African Americans still experienced severe segregation and discrimination, both socially and economically, with their newfound freedom only bringing them out of the frying pan and into the fire. While Du Bois advocated for blacks to educate themselves, with the same higher education whites received in order to advance both socially and politically, Washington called for blacks to immerse in vocational skills in order to win
W.E.B. Dubois was the rivaling civil rights leader during the early 20th century. W.E.B. Dubois believed that through political action and education, full-citizenship of African Americans in America would be achieved. At first, he agreed with Booker T. Washington’s teachings, however through time Dubois realized flaws within Washington’s ideas. Dubois, in “Soul of Black Folk” writes, “The black men of America have a duty to perform, a duty stern and delicate, -- a forward movement to oppose a part of the work of their greatest leader. So far as Mr. Washington peaches
Two men with the same goals but different views on how they should be achieved is exactly how Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois’ controversy should be described as. Their debate revolved around the idea of abolishing slavery as well as paving the way for the modernized Civil Rights Act in America to take place. Washington and DuBois were born in the same time period with the same intentions, yet had different methods of approaching how to do them. Both of their ideas were focused on how America could be best improved for the future in political, social and educational ways. Booker T. Washington’s perspective and ideologies were better than DuBois’ for
W.E.B. DuBois was a very strong advocate for black people being treated equally to white people. He co-founded the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Which was a very important part of the civil rights movement. The NAACP was “created to work for the abolition of segregation and discrimination in housing, education, employment, voting, and transportation; to oppose racism; and to ensure African Americans their constitutional rights”. He also created a book called “The Souls Of Black Folk” Which made him more popular, with the main Idea of the book being that the “central problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line.” He was a man who fought for equality, where Booker T. Washington, on the other hand, did not. Booker T. Washington thought that black people should in fact have different rights then white people, and that instead of fighting it, black people should just accept it, and focus on economic self-improvement. He also believed that black people should not fight for equal rights, because it would lead to more anti-black violence, such as lynching which is the act of killing someone, most commonly by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority. By these facts you can tell that Washington and
W. E. B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington were both highly intelligent African American men who wrote about the disparities between the lives of whites and blacks in the United States during the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries. Each man saw the way in which his fellow African Americans were being treated by the white majority and used their intelligence and persuasive skills to bring attention to this very serious issue. Both men fought for equality through nonviolent protest and the application of logical argument and reasoning in order to better their lives and those of their social and ethnic brothers. Despite their shared goal of racial and sociological equality, the two men had very different ideas about how equality would be achieved and about what the African American community should or ought to expect in terms of actually obtaining that equality.
Over 100 years ago W.E.B DuBois and Booker T. Washington began a debate over strategies for black social and economic progress, which is still prevalent today. Booker T. Washington believed that the role of education for African Americans should be an industrial one, where as W.E.B DuBois wanted African Americans to become engaged in a Liberal Arts education.
During a time period when slavery had finally come to an end, African Americans still struggled as their opportunities for equality were next to nonexistent. In this time of hardship and unfair treatment, not many of those facing these adversities had the courage to speak out on their beliefs for change; Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois, however, did not possess such fears — both thoroughly articulated their opinions and stood for what they believed was right. Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois shared a few commonalities — both men were highly educated, for example, as well as they both expressed strong opposition against segregation. Washington’s Up from Slavery: An Autobiography and Dubois’
The debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois involve people at all levels of the black community. It shaped the way that black leaders discussed race, and its opened new opportunities for poor blacks in both the North and South. These two places in particular because that’s where the two were born. W. E. B. Du Bois was born in Massachusetts in 1868. He attended racially integrated elementary and high schools and went off to Fiske College in Tennessee at age 16 on a scholarship. Du Bois completed his formal education at Harvard with a Ph.D. in history. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia in 1856. Early on in his life, he developed a thirst for reading and learning. After attending an elementary school for African-American children, Washington walked 500 miles to enroll in
W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two important African Americans back in their time they contribute towards the world to help the world become a better place not for just African Americans but for all people. Du Bois wrote a book called “Of Our Spiritual Strivings” and in this book, he talks about African Americans and how they can get freedom. Washington gave a speech called the “Atlanta compromise” and in this speech, he talks about how African Americans can better themselves by focusing on things other than social equality. Dubois and Washington both use rhetoric devise in their work to either persuade or put more power behind their point of view.
Racial discrimination, political, social and economic inequality during the late 19th century and early 20th century led various leaders within the black community to rise up and address the appalling circumstances that African Americans were forced to endure. Among these leaders were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois whom possessed analogous desires as it pertained to the advancement and upliftment of the black race. While both individuals were fighting for the same cause and purpose they embraced contrary ideologies and approaches to African American struggle. In Booker T. Washington’s book “Up from Slavery” African Americans were encouraged to be passive and focus on vocational education whereas in W.E.B. DuBois book “The Souls of Black Folk”, African Americans were encouraged to fight for their merited rights and focus on academic education. However, although Washington was convinced that his ideologies would sincerely uplift the black race, they actually proved to be detrimental, leaving DuBois ideology to be the most reasonable and appropriate solution for the advancement of the black race.