Seamus Swyers W.E.

B Du Bois Vs Booker T Washington Essay

In the late 19th and early 20th century, it may have been 40 years since slavery but the horrors of the past had left their smudge on the world. Although in principal blacks were free, it would be decades before true racial equality existed. There were conflicting ideas about how blacks should proceed towards racial equality and the advancement of African Americans. W.E.B Du bois and Booker T. Washington were two African-Americans who disagreed on this subject. Booker T. Washington thought that Manual labor was the right path for African Americans. He wasnt concerned with integration or the vote for blacks. Instead he wanted Blacks to find work in the Northern factories. He believed strongly in manual labor, thinking that economic independence for blacks was more important than political or racial equality. Alternatively, W.E.B Du Bois believed that in order for blacks to move forward it was essential for them to gain the vote. He Also Understood that the success of African Americans depended on blacks having equal educational opportunities and equal protection under the law. Although Du Bois course may have been unrealistic for the time, it was the better and more logical path path for the advancement of blacks in the US. Booker T Washington was born a slave in 1856, on a Virginia farm. After being emancipated he and his family travelled to West Virginia. There, he worked in the salt furnaces and coal mines. He later attended college at the Hampton institute. Washington was not focused on integration. Instead he suggested that African Americans accept separate but equal, at least for the time being, and work towards economic independence. He believed that this was more important than gaining the vote. He also believed that equal access to education was not essential for African Americans, and that labor would propel them forward. He was criticized for placating the white oppressors. He once convinced southern white employers and governors that, Tuskegee, a historically black college, offered an

education that would keep blacks down on the farm." (ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SOUTHERN CULTURE). He thought that W.E.B Du Bois was trying to proceed too hastily by pushing for total racial equality. Washington considered this goal to be unrealistic. Instead he encouraged blacks to work in the trades and not challenge the ways of their society. He advised blacks not to overlook the fact that the masses of [African Americans] are to live by the production of [their] hands. By this he means that asking for too much too soon and not considering labor as at least a temporary option could be the greatest hindrance to eventually obtaining equality. He insisted that blacks would prosper from the glorification of labor. (Document A). He asked that Northern Factory owners employed blacks instead of looking to immigrants. We know that his wish was not fulfilled. Only a small number of factory workers in the North were black. Most were immigrants from Ireland Germany and Eastern Europe He did not fight disenfranchisement and his views were generally moderate. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. (Web Du Bois) He was born a freeman but still experienced racism as a child. An exceptional student Du Bois graduated high school a year early. He attended Fisk University in Tennessee, and there he experienced the oppression and injustice that African Americans faced every day. After graduating from Fisk and then Harvard he began teaching. He was a passionate advocate for black equality and went on to join a black protest association called The Niagara Movement. He was also involved in the founding the NAACP. He argued vehemently for racial equality and integration. He realized that the biggest obstacle hindering blacks from achieving racial equality was not having the vote. He wanted the ballot then and there in order to avoid a second slavery. (Document B) He demanded access to education and that laws be enforced for black and white and rich and poor. He also asked that African Americans be allowed to associate with whomever they please. Some believed that he was asking for too much too soon and that his demands were unrealistic. People thought his views were too radical and some thought that he was a rabble rouser.

History shows us that it was Du bois path that actually played out; although it wasnt until the 1960s that serious progress was made towards racial equality. Most African Americans stayed in the south. Unfortunately, many did not become economically independent due to things like sharecropping. Most white Southerners were prejudice and unwilling to employ African Americans. There were always people like Du bois fighting for racial equality and without them its possible that it wouldnt exist today. Had people followed Du Bois principles we would be living in a different United States. His ideas actually would have hampered the progress of African Americans towards racial equality. Washington was too content with segregation and wasnt demanding enough. Du Bois was determined to achieve racial equality even though he knew it would be terribly difficult. He wanted what was best for African Americans. Du Bois may have thought that his ideas were more realistic and that racial equality wasnt going to become a reality anytime soon, acceptance of segregation and along with it oppression was not the right move. W.E.B Du Bois called for the vote, education, and integration, for blacks and this was the correct rode to black equality.

Works Cited Harlan, Louis R. Booker T. Washington. Chapel hill: U Library, The U of North Carolina, 2004. Print. Vol. 2 of Negro Thought in America. 12 vols. Negro Thought in America 2. "W.E.B. Du Bois." Biography for Beginners--African-American Leaders, Vol. 1. 2007: 100-110. SIRS Discoverer. Web. 05 Oct 2013.

Assignment/Activity Title WEB Dubois Booker T Washington essay. Year 2017 Skill A Portfolio Category media and communications
For my W.E.B Dubois vs. Booker T. Washington essay I had to analyze two mens ideas about the path that African Americans should take in order to better their situation in a post civil war nation. This assignment was difficult for me because I had to consider both sides objectively despite my feeling that Dubois believed in the right path. I started the assignment already thinking that I would support W.E.B Dubois because I felt that he took a stronger stand against racial inequality. I knew however that I had to look at the assignment objectively and forget any preconceived notions that I had. Part of critical thinking is being able to considering different sides to an argument and makes an educated decision.