W.E.B Du Bois vs. Booker T Washington Essay

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

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 was often looked at as an “Uncle Tom” because of the things he did, such as advising blacks to remain in the South and to avoid politics and protest in favor of economic self-help and industrial education. He eventually became a powerful political boss, friend of white businessmen like Andrew Carnegie, and advisor of some presidents. Washington publicly accepted without protest racial segregation and voting discrimination, but secretly financed and directed many court suits against such proscriptions of civil rights. To Washington his ideas was obvious and clear, by earning the respect of whites they would either help blacks or deal with their crime against humanity that will eventually bring them down.

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

In the late 19th and 20th century, African Americans were going through hardships. At this period of time, they wanted improvement and wanted to be treated equality but no one had the political background to fight with the Whites. However, two great leaders named Booker Washington and W.E.B Du Bois took the stance and fought for improvement. But, even though they had the goals, they had different strategies for the community.

problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans at the end of the nineteenth

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.

Two great leaders of the black community in the late 19th and 20th century were W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. However, they sharply disagreed on strategies for black social and economic progress. Their opposing philosophies can be found in much of today's discussions over how to end class and racial injustice, what is the role of black leadership, and what do the 'haves' owe the 'have-nots' in the black community.

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.

Booker T. Washington was known as the premier of black activist. His theory for the African American progression or “racial uplift” was that African American’s would remain without objections and silence themselves regarding the issues of disenfranchisement and social segregation if whites supported the black progression in education, economics, and agriculture.

During Reconstruction and the years to follow, the dynamic between blacks and whites evolved. , the dynamic between blacks and southern whNewly free blacks began to seek opportunities forout education, employment, and other endeavors – opportunities that they could not access while enslaved. Meanwhile, southern whites struggled to come to terms with thea major alterationchange in the way that their homes, businesses, and lives were runoperated. With the roles of whites and blacks alteredreoriented, the ways in which the two groups interacted changed as well – the South was truly “reconstructed”. Booker T. Washington lived through this time, becoming famousrenowned for his conservative navigation of the evolving racial climate and hisremembered for his historic and became famous for a number of achievements. Among Washington’s enduring most known accomplishments illustrious timeless were his writing, his strong belief in a good work ethic, and perhaps most importantly, his founding of Tuskegee Institute, now called Tuskegee University. Tuskegee Institute, a school for newly free blacks, was different than other black schools blacks because Washington implemented a technical curriculum, as opposed to a classic or liberal arts education. This alternative education was a deliberate choice by Washington, who believed that a technical education would serve blacks better than a liberal arts education. Booker T. Washington 's establishment of a school for technical education was

Being born a slave, he understood hunger, hardship, grueling physical labor and prejudice. Washington was blessed with a gift of wisdom. He fulfilled a childhood dream of making the world a better place. Mr. Washington was born between 1858 and 1859 on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. And lived in a dirt floor one-room cabin with his mother and two siblings John and Amanda. His childhood was not your normal childhood, after all he was born a slave, and labored early in the day into the night like everyone else on the plantation. There was no frolicking for him, or happy fond memories of breakfast or dinners around the table, meals were often eaten straight out of the pot much like a trough for the animals. Schooling for him was not part of his life or any slave, to be able to attend school would have been a beautiful dream much like how he imagined heaven would be. After the war the family moved to Malden W. Virginia with their stepfather, whom they hardly knew, their new home was a step down from shanty cabin they lived on the plantation. Here in Malden is where his education started, he soon learned to recognize the number 18, that was assigned to his stepfathers in the salt mine. Likewise his mother by a miracle secured his first book, Webster’s “ blue-black speller”, he also was able to attend night -school after his shift in the salt-mine. He would imagine what it must have been like to be white, with no limits, stopping you from becoming whoever or whatever you want in life. Mr. Washington learned success is not the title or position you hold, it is the difficulties you have come through on your road to

At the beginning of the twentieth century there were no two voices more influential in Black America than those of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. The staunch differences in their respective ideologies gaining their roots by way of the backgrounds both men endured in the earliest days of American Reconstruction following the Civil War. Booker T. Washington was born into slavery in Virginia on April 5, 1856. Following emancipation his mother moved the family to West Virginia to rejoin her husband. Washington saw the value of education from a young age, and this is what led him to eventually attend and graduate from Hampton University. In 1881 he was recommended by the Hampton President of the time to become the leader of the brand new normal school in Alabama, the Tuskegee Institute. This political and educational position allowed Washington to become a highly trusted voice among those charged with the task of educating the next generation of young, black educators. Hence the amount of attention focused on Booker T. Washington’s famous (some may call infamous) Atlanta Address, in which he states very clearly his take on how African Americans should go about coexisting with white America, primarily in the Southern states.

Washington felt that southern racism had reached such an extraordinary level that immediate social equality for Blacks would do little, instead he preached self help for Blacks, and sought to teach them practical skills at Tuskegee (ushistory.org). Booker urged for Blacks to accept racial discrimination until they had elevated themselves through hard work and material prosperity (PBS.org). Washington received much fame for a speech he presented on September 18, 1895, titled the “Atlanta Compromise”. In the speech he greatly emphasized the line “Cast down your bucket where you are”. The line urged Blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, until they were able to advance themselves through hard work. Washington held strong to his ideals of a practical education instead of one of a liberal arts standpoint. In an article he wrote titled “The Awakening of the Negro” he claimed “The fact that a student goes out into the world conscious of his power to build a house or a wagon, or to make a harness, gives him a certain confidence and moral independence that he would posses without such training” (Washington). Washington supported this theory strongly, but he was smart enough to see why some objected to his ideals. He was aware that an education so focused on industrial training was simply teaching Blacks to perform the same tasks that they were forced to complete well enslaved (Washington).

Booker T. Washington was a young boy when the Civil War ended and his family was granted freedom in 1965. Washington recalls, in his autobiography Up From Slavery, all the hardships and