Racial Discrimination: Booker T. Washington And Frederick Douglass

In a speech, Frederick Douglass stated “[t]here are seventy-two crimes…which, if committed by a black man…subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment.” While that is not the case today, racism continues to be an important and urgent issue in the United States. Although the shadow of racism continues to haunt Americans, race relations among people in America have slowly improved. From the active practice of institutional racism during the 19th and early 20th century, the spike in criticism against institutionalized racism during the Civil Rights Movement, and the dissolution of racial barriers in the past two decades, the wane of racial tension in America is evident.

In America, the lives of Africans did not get any easier. Once the demand for labor began increasing dramatically, more and more Africans were imported to America. Originally, white people and black people worked together in the plantations. As a result of the increase in Africans in these British colonies, less white people took jobs on plantations. Eventually, enslavement became based on race. Numerous slave codes were developed, which included denying slaves the right to be out past sunset and denying slaves the right to meet in groups of three or more. These Africans forced to live enslaved in America were treated as if they were inferior to white people. It is discouraging to think about the fact that this country, though it was long ago, once accepted this kind of social injustice.

Washington was one of the greatest African American teachers of his time. Most of Booker T. Washington’s admiration was due to many of his personal achievements. Washington was the leader of the Tuskegee Institute and also began the National Business League. He believed that if blacks could live to maintain financial progress and religious development, they would only be able to do that if they endured the limits of the Jim Crow laws. He also believed that blacks should not have kept their mouths closed, as an alternative they should have

Examining Prevalent Attitudes on Racism and the Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave

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

The era of Jim Crow began after the end of Reconstruction in 1877, in which through the rebuilding of the South, whites established laws and customs that forced freed slaves to stay marginalized and targeted by Southern whites. The purpose of these Jim Crow ideas was to keep blacks and white separated, and to also keep blacks from progressing in society. For instance, Southern whites forced blacks to take literacy tests before they could be considered able to vote. From the start of this Jim Crow era, racial compromise was already occurring. One of the most obvious examples of this compromise comes from the real name of the era. “Jim Crow” was a name used in a

Booker T. Washington rose up from slavery and illiteracy to become the foremost educator and leader of black Americans at the turn of the century. He was born on April 5, 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. As a child he worked in the salt mines but always found time for education. Washington constantly dreamed of college but as an African American this dream was nearly impossible. His scrupulous working habits from the mines set him out for college at the Hampton Institute. He graduated in 1876 and became a teacher at a rural school. After 2 years of teaching, he went back to the Hampton Institute and was a “professor” here for 2 more years. His next challenge would be at a new all black college, Tuskegee Institute where he would become president. Under Washington's leadership (1881-1915), Tuskegee Institute became an important force in black education. Washington won a Harvard honorary degree in 1891.

In one site, Booker T. Washington, the most influential lieder of his period (1856-1915), who was born as a slave in 1856 (Virginia), who because of studying in the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Learned the skills he needed to be respected by the withes society and gain considerable influence over the black people. Washington philosophy was based on self-improvement, education, accommodation and others. He preaches that African American rather than concentrate their effort in combating segregation, they should be focus in self-improvement, education and wealth. He encourages Young African American develop patience, commercial agricultural skills and others instead of instead of

Born a slave on a Virginia farm, Booker Taliaferro Washington (1856-1915) rose to become one of the most influential African-American intellectuals of the late 19th century. He was nine years old when the Civil War ended. He worked hard as a young child and at 16, he left home to attend Hampton Institute. One of the few black high schools in the South, it focused on industrial and agricultural training while maintaining an extremely structured curriculum that stressed discipline and high moral character. Washington thrived in that environment. He eventually went on to head a new school in Tuskegee, Alabama. The Tuskegee Institute was devoted to the training of black teachers, farmers, and skilled workers. Under his

In this reading response we are reviewing Booker T Washington and W.E.B Du Bois both are many who are both driven to make a difference in the black community, whether it’s being passive like Booker T or acting non-passively like W.E.B.

In his 1901 autobiography Up From Slavery author, educator, and orator Booker T. Washington chronicles his rise from Virginia slave to President of Tuskegee Institute. The work outlines Washington’s roadmap for racial uplift which is centered on agricultural and industrial education. Washington argued that hard work and virtuous living — traits instilled African Americans during slavery— would demonstrate the value African Americans possessed to the South and the nation. Operating within the political realities of the time, Washington was able to mobilize a coalition of middle-class blacks, church leaders, white philanthropists, and politicians from the North and South to build Tuskegee Institute and his vision for the African American community. However, Washington’s strategy asked for African Americans to put aside immediate demands for voting and the end of racial segregation. Washington’s willingness to publicly side step these civil rights issues to advocate for slow progress towards true equality earned him powerful critics such as NAACP president W.E.B. DuBois and journalist William Trotter. By the time of Washington’s death in 1915, Jim Crow laws entrenched segregation throughout the South. Washington’s plan for racial uplift was pragmatic and realistic. However, his advocacy for dignity in labor played into white stereotypes that black men and women were made solely for labor.

“Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.” The Gettysburg Address, by Abraham Lincoln explains that “all men are created equal,” thus they should have the freedom to pursue education, emancipation, and equal rights. Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington, who was a freed slave, despite the odds founded the Tuskegee Institute. The Narrative of the Life of Fredrick Douglas written by Fredrick Douglas is the story of his life as a slave, his courage and his escape. Their lives and stories inspired other African Americans to seek a better life. Booker and Fredrick were both authors, orators, freed slaves, and both men valued education. In addition, both men wanted personal freedom and the freedom of others. “Education is the key to unlock the golden door of freedom,” stated George Washington Carver. Viewing education as the “key to unlock the golden door of freedom” they inspired others to seek education,

Booker T. Washington, early in his life noticed that those who were considered educated were not that far removed from the conditions in which he was residing. Therefore, he disagreed with the post-emancipation ideologies of blacks who believed that freedom from slavery brought freedom from hard work. In addition, education of the head would bring even more sweeping emancipation from work with the hands. He did not want his black people to be ashamed of using their hands, but to have respect for creating something and a sense of satisfaction upon completion of that task. His feeling was that black Americans had to rise up out of oppression by self-improvement. He believed that Black people could not survive without the help of the white American.

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.

The controversy of racism scorches Narrative of The Life of Frederick Douglass written by Frederick Douglass himself. Douglass unveils the atrocious truth about slavery that was hidden for so many years. Every beating, every death, every malicious act was all recorded for the people of the U.S. to finally see the error of our ways. The short essay, Slavery as a Mythologized Institution, explains how people in that time period justified the disgusting behavior that was demonstrated regularly. Religion and intellectual inferiority were concepts that were used to manipulate the minds of everyone around into believing that practicing slavery was acceptable. However a very courageous man, Frederick Douglass challenges those beliefs. Douglass debunks the mythology of slavery in his narrative by rebuking the romantic image of slavery with very disturbing imagery, promotes his own views on the intellectual belief of slaves, and exposes the “system” for promoting the disloyalty among slaves.