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The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance

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The Influence of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois on the Writings from the Harlem Renaissance

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 BIOGRAPHY

Booker T. Washington was considered one of the shrewdest African American leaders of all time. As one commentator stated, Washington was modest but …show more content…

Washington states in Up From Slavery "...there were no sanitary regulations, the filth about the cabins was often intolerable (42). In Walden, he worked in the salt mines and began to go to school. From the salt mines, Washington secured a position in a coal mine, which would prove to be a very historic point in his life. For it was at the coal mines that he first heard of the Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia where people of his race could learn the useful skills of life, such as cleanliness and manners.

The Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute was a school that Washington longed to attend. So, in order to be able to afford to go there, he worked for a General Lewis Ruffner's wife, Viola. He worked for this very strict lady for about a year and a half until he was able to afford the Hampton Institute.

Finally, in 1872, Washington was able to begin his schooling. He attended the Hampton Institute from 1872 to 1875. After his stay at the Hampton Institute, he found the skills that he was taught there were extremely instrumental and so he worked to open his own Normal and Agricultural Institute.

On July 4, 1881, the Tuskegee Normal and Agricultural Institute was opened. The students built the early buildings of this institute themselves. The students of the Tuskegee Institute were taught to develop internally. They were taught how to take care of their money and health and how to conduct themselves in public. It is

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