Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Dubois Essay

Washington believed the only way African-Americans would be able to attain equal rights was through patience and submission to whites. He believed they needed to gradually work their way to the top and slowly build the trust of whites. In his Atlanta Compromise speech in 1895, he advised blacks to “cast down their buckets where they were” and to use the skills they had to their advantage (Washington 219). He believed that building the trust of the whites was the only way blacks were going to get the equality and respect they deserved. He knew they had a sort of “give a nigger an inch,he will take an ell” mentality and were terrified of an uprising (Washington 144). He wanted blacks to prove them wrong by earning their trust. His strategy of patience and submission can be related to his early life as a slave. He was born as a slave and lived in bondage until he was nine years old. He was used to being submissive and obedient to white people. Although he was free, he knew that white people still had power over his life. He knew that they could easily take everything away from him if wanted to. He knew very well the consequences of challenging white people and did not want to see his fellow African-Americans go through that type of frustration and suffering. To him, it was perfectly normal to take what you were given, be grateful and not ask for more. He understood very well the importance of not biting the hand that fed him

Imagine being hung on a rope with your life crashing down right in front of your eyes. You don’t know what you did wrong besides speaking up for your rights. You think to yourself, how could people really be this evil and kill me for the color of my skin? In the 1900s, lynching was a common public form of execution used when African-Americans spoke up for their rights and equalities they deserved to have. There were many people that fought for equality using different approaches, but two of the most powerful leaders that made great change within the black community in the late 19th century and 20th century were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. Booker T. Washington’s passive view on the racial inferiority of African-Americans was all about accommodation while W.E.B. DuBois's aggressive view was all based upon resistance. He wanted to fight back because he thought the racial discrimination was unacceptable while Washington wanted to accept discrimination temporarily to avoid more anti-black violence. Despite their differences in views, Washington and DuBois shared one common goal: the future equality for all African-Americans.

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

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

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

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 resting squarely on the shoulders of the black man. Eventually they would earn the respect and love of the white man, and civil and political rights would be accrued as a matter of course. This was a very non-threatening and popular idea with a lot of whites.

One of his main problems was always finding enough money. The support he received from the state was neither generous nor stable enough to build the kind of school he was developing. So he had to raise the money himself by going on speaking tours and solicitating donations. He received a lot of money from white northerners who were impressed with the work he was doing and his non-threatening racial views. Industrialists like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller would donate money on a regular basis. It was these non-threatening racial views that gave Washington the appellation "The Great Accomodater". He believed that blacks should not push to attain equal civil and political rights with whites. Eventually they would earn the respect and love of the white man, and civil and political rights would be accrued as a matter of course.

On September 18, 1895, an African-American spokesman and leader Booker T. Washington spoke in the front of thousands of whites at the Cotton States and International Exposition in Atlanta. His famous “Atlanta Compromise” was one of the most influential speeches in American. regardless Washington soothed his listeners’ concerns about the what they said “uppity” blacks. Mr. Washington was a very well-known black educator. Even though he was born into slavery he strongly felt and believed that racism would in fact end once the blacks put effort into labor skills and proved themselves to society. He pressured industrial education for African-Americans so that they would gain respect from the whites. Washington often was good for ignoring discrimination because it didn’t phase him. But he was so nervous

In Chapter three of The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B Du Bois discusses Booker T. Washington and some of his accomplishments for African Americans and also criticizes some of his lack of understanding in his propaganda that he could have done more in his position to progress African Americans status instead of trying to be accepted by the white community. Washington has been criticized by Du Bois because of his “submission” to the white view on African Americans and their rights Du Bois calling him “the most distinguished Southerner since Jefferson Davis” (Du Bois, 1903).

Near the close of the nineteenth century, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois both strived for change in ending racism each in their own way. There are some people that believed the peaceful way that Washington went about achieving change to end racism was the best way, and there are others that believed that DuBois’ idea to agitate to achieve the end of racism was a better plan. Washington was very non-confrontational in his stance of how African-American people should ultimately achieve this goal. DuBois tried to achieve the goal in a very aggressive way compared to his contemporaries, including Washington.

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.

Dubois writings, unlike Washington’s writings survived aging and sounds modern. Both Dubois and Washington, however, wanted the best for their people, both were sincerely engaged in racial uplift, and therefore in the end neither was “right” or “wrong.” Indeed, Washington’s ideas fitted the era that he lived in and Dubois ideas the future.

Two of the most influential people in shaping the social and political agenda of African Americans were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, both early twentieth century writers. While many of their goals were the same, the two men approached the problems facing African Americans in very different ways. This page is designed to show how these two distinct thinkers and writers shaped one movement, as well as political debate for years afterward.

Booker T. Washington was one of the most well-known African American educators of all time. Lessons from his life recordings and novelistic writings are still being talked and learned about today. His ideas of the accommodation of the Negro people and the instillation of a good work ethic into every student are opposed, though, by some well-known critics of both past and current times. They state their cases by claiming the Negro’s should not have stayed quiet and worked their way to wear they did, they should have demanded equal treatment from the southern whites and claimed what was previously promised to them. Also, they state that Washington did not really care about equality or respect, but about a status boost in his own life. Both