Arguments Of Advancement In The Civil Rights Movement

Wyatt Arnett

Arguments of Advancement in the Civil Rights Movement

The African American civil rights movement is arguably one of the most significant events to take place in the last century. African Americans were, for a long time, heavily discriminated against in all settings, from something as simple as going out to eat to major things like what schools African American children were allowed to attend, and much more. With such a complex issue, there was a glaring need for a solution. But, many different people had different opinions on how this issue should be handled. Booker T. Washington was an American Civil Rights activist, and he was among the last generation of these civil rights activists to have been born into slavery. He had some

On the other hand, the argument of W.E.B Du Bois was quite the opposite. In the text, “The Souls of Black Folk” published in 1903, Du Bois disagreed with Washington on the claim that the African American people should not strive for absolute greatness, and he was a strong advocate for the African American people to aim as high as possible. W.E.B Du Bois had the strongest argument. This is because Washington was asking the African American people to trade their civil rights, such as voting in elections and participating in governments, for economic chances at advancement. Further, Du Bois makes the counterargument that when you look back at history, you will find that people who followed action plans such as Washingtons, were ‘not worth civilizing’. And finally, Washington believed that the future state of the African American people is dependent on their own efforts at things like economic prosperity when in reality, the only way for the african american people to get ahead is

This is a flawed argument, because, once again, to be considered anything more than a second class citizen, the African American people, just like any other oppressed minority, need to be guaranteed by their government, the same rights that are given to the other citizens. This is shown, when Du Bois’ text says “His doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro’s shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.” This excerpt from Du Bois text, just even further solidifies the claim that Du Bois has the stronger argument. Where Washington is putting the burden on the African American people, the real responsibility in this situation is the government’s, to make sure that all citizens are being afforded every right they