1. What was Washington urging African Americans to do? What was he urging white Americans to do?
Washington was urging African Americans to work and achieve economic success assuring them that it would pay off in due timing. He wanted them to be humble and patient in return the day would come when white Americans would see that blacks truly deserved to be treated fairly. Washington also urged the white American's to join with the African American’s instead of being fearful and against them. Washington stated both could “be as separate as fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress.” Washington was urging white American's to trust African American's, instead of them relying on foreign immigrants. He wanted white
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
To me it is obvious why many whites agreed with Washington and many blacks disagreed with him. I agree with Washington by not demanding our rights because making demands would be met with opposition and nothing will be done that is necessary to bring blacks up to the equality line. On the contrary, I disagree with the way that Washington believed that blacks should just ignore how whites treated us with violence then turn around and try to earn their respect. African Americans during this time wasn’t trying to hear this because just 3 years before his speech in Atlanta, 156 blacks were lynched in one year alone. To the blacks of that time, forgetting that
Booker T. Washington is one of the most respected and influential African American figures in American history, Mr. Washington was born into slavery and was freed by the Emancipation Proclamation. His peaceful personality along with his exceptional education in many different studies turned him into a well-rounded individual. Washington wanted blacks and whites to become partners and strive for both races to succeed. He delivered his most famous speech in 1895 known as the “Atlanta Compromise”. In Atlanta Georgia, Mr. Washington expresses himself with exceptional rhetoric and tone throughout his speech. He states that African Americans should take benefit of what they know and endeavor
of the races, and accommodation. He urged blacks to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. Washington believed in education, industrial and farming skills and themes of patience, owning busineses and thrift. This, he belived, would win the respect of whites and lead to African Americans being fully accepted as citizens and integrated into all stagesof society. Washington's thinking was one of accommodation to white oppression. He advised blacks to trust southern whites and accept the fact of white supremacy. He stressed the interdependence of blacks and whites in the South, but said they were to remain socially separate: One of Washington's famous quotes was "In all things that are purely social we can be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress." Up from slaves 1901p.Washington counseled blacks to remain in the South, obtain a useful education, save their money, work hard, and purchase property. By doing such things, Washington believed, the Negro could one day be a full fledge citizen.
In contrast to Douglass, Washington’s famous speech known as the “1865 Atlantic Compromise” was not a protest or challenge of the political system, nor did he speak about the lack of social equality. Instead he focused his efforts on what blacks could accomplish, how they could compromise. He believed the militant rhetoric of Douglass and others distracted blacks from the path of liberty, equality, and economic success. Washington’s speech emphasized that it was the dual responsibility of blacks and whites to make the blacks a more
Washington believed that once African Americans had gained that economic foothold and proven themselves useful to whites, social equality would be given to them
Booker T. Washington delivers the 1895 Atlanta Compromise Speech to a white and black audience about the equality blacks and whites deserve. As a black speaker in the north, Washington influences and impresses many of the northern citizens with his moving speech. Washington brought with him “...evidence of racial progress in the South”. His audience contained the president and the board of directors as well as citizens.
"The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly," Washington said in his address, "and that progress in the
Washington was powerful and influential in both the black and white communities. He was a confidential advisor to President Roosevelt and for years, presidential political appointments of African-Americans were cleared through him. By the last years of his life Washington began speaking
For starters, by using repetition and metaphor in his speech, Booker T. Washington informs his audience concerning the importance of collaboration between the white and black races during the process of developing and growing the economic conditions of the South. For instance, in the third paragraph of the address, Washington mirrors a crucial state on the ocean. The crew of the lost ship almost lost their lives as a result of the lack of water, but later get told to drop down the bucket and get some water by a friendly ship, “And a third and fourth signal for water was answered. ‘Cast down your bucket where you are.’ The captain of the distressed vessel, at last heeding the injunction, cast down his bucket, and it came up full of fresh, sparkling water from the mouth of the Amazon River” (Washington 450). Also, by metaphorically referring that particular situation he portrays to the reality that
Booker T. Washington’s philosophy and actions betrayed the interests of African Americans because he was more interested on the blacks getting educated and getting the respect of the white authorities, instead of worrying on getting their political and social equality right away, which was the main interest of the African Americans. In “The Atlanta Exposition Address”, Washington said that blacks would sacrifice their civil rights and social equality for the time being, as long as whites guaranteed that they would receive industrial education and jobs because he believed that in order to fully obtain equality, the blacks should improve themselves. “It is at the bottom of
Washington, who had faith in the future of his race in the country, believed that hard work, patience, and self pride would build their character and eventually earn them their civil rights. This is evident in Washington's The Future of the American Negro. He shows the "impatient extremists" within the Negroes of the North whose "ill-considered, incendiary utterances tend to add to the burdens of our people in the South rather than relieve them." ("Washington," Discovering Authors)
Washington’s Atlanta Compromise Speech was one of the most iconic speeches about racial injustice in American history. Washington’s plan, which he explained in his speech, definitely has its strengths, however had some weaknesses as well. The plan requested that white Americans help to fund education for black Americans. One of the strengths of the plan was that it was not asking for a lot. Caucasian Americans were not likely to get offended or angry about his plan when he asked for so little. Another strength of the plan was that it was very easy to carry out. It was one step, and although it may have been a small step, it was still a step in the right direction. His plan was simply requesting to improve racial equality by just a bit. This small-scale goal was easy to accomplish and very reasonable. On the other hand, Washington’s plan had its weaknesses. The main weakness of the plan was the lack of political action proposed to end or at least lessen racial inequality. Booker T. Washington basically agreed to submit to white law and segregation, only if black Americans received education. His plan was rather insufficient. Giving African Americans an education was not even close to reaching social, political, and economic equality in the nation. Therefore, Washington’s plan was a beneficial plan on the small-scale, but long-run proposed no major ideas to lessen racial
Dubois said, “Mr. Washington distinctly asks that black people give up, at least for the present, three things, --First, political power, second, insistence on civil rights, third, higher education of Negro youth, and concentrate all their energies on industrial education, and accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South.” Washington believed that the blacks could not move forward without giving up political power, civil rights, and higher education. He thought they had to give up those ideas for now and focus on wealth, industrial education and be friendly with the south. He thought once these objects were accomplished then the blacks could obtain the freedom and rights they wanted. Therefore, he felt that for now the color-line was ok because blacks needed to first earn their rights before they were handed over to them.
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