Booker T. Washington And W. E. B. Du Bois

In the aftermath of Reconstruction, the South was searching for a new normal. African Americans faced immense challenges as they sought to navigate the unique landscape of the postwar South. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were two of the most prominent voices in the ongoing debate about freedom for African Americans in the South. Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Speech” and “Booker T. Washington on Citizenship,” along with Du Bois’s “Of Booker T. Washington and Others,” provide insight into the divergent views of these two figures. Meanwhile, Jordan Anderson’s “Letter to His Former Master” offers a unique perspective on what freedom meant to an ordinary African American in the postwar South. Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Speech,”

Washington on Citizenship,” published in The Atlantic in 1898. Washington argued that African Americans should not focus on political rights but rather on acquiring skills and knowledge that would make them valuable contributors to society. He believed that once African Americans proved their economic worth, they would gain the respect and acceptance of white southerners, leading to more significant opportunities and social mobility. Washington wrote, “A few weeks ago a black man of brains and skill, in Alabama, produced 261 bushels of sweet potatoes on a single acre of land; twice as much as any white man in that community had produced, and every one of the dozen white men who came to see how it was done, was ready to take off his hat to this black man. “2 In other words, Washington believed that African Americans should focus on practical, achievable goals rather than pushing for immediate social

Du Bois, on the other hand, had a very different vision of what freedom should look like for African Americans in the South. In his essay “Of Booker T. Washington and Others,” published in 1903, Du Bois criticized Washington’s emphasis on economic progress and self-reliance. He argued that this approach only perpetuated the idea that African Americans were inferior and could only gain acceptance through hard work and submission. Du Bois wrote, “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, the accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South.” 3 Du Bois believed this approach only reinforced the idea that African Americans were second-class citizens and that true freedom could only be achieved through political and social