Compare And Contrast Booker T And W. E. B Dubois

We Dem Boiz vs Booker T Smackdown

When you hear the two names Booker T and W.E.B Du Bois, you probably think of the wrestler Booker T and the song "We Dem Boyz" by Wiz Khalifa. I wish we could talk about those two subjects and see them one on one in the ring for a filthy smackdown. I would put my money on Booker T, but in this situation it is different. In this situation, we will be discussing the African-American Intellectual Booker T. Washington and the American-African historian, William Edward Burghardt. W.E.B Du Bois was born on February 23rd, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He had impressive accomplishments, one of them is him becoming the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University. Booker T. was

"The Negro Race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. The problem of education then, among Negroes, must first of all deal with the "Talented Tenth." It is the problem of developing the best of this race that they may guide the Mass away from the contamination and death of the worst."(Booker T & W.E.B Frontline, 2) In this quote, he was basically saying that African-American race is going to be saved by "the Talented Tenth'', and will get the best out the black race and solve the social and civil rights issue. To summarize, Booker T. wanted black people to give up their rights for the time being and for black people to solve their own problems, while Du Bois wanted the white people to help and not stand aside having the black people trying to solve their own problem. Even though these two men both have several contrasts, they have little similarities. Both men worked extremely hard in their lives and of course opposed racial violence and lynching because then it would lead to more violence. While Washington talked about industrial education over liberal arts, he did believe that liberal arts were beneficial in a way (Washington 203). To continue, DuBois respected Washington and acknowledged him for his life

They still had differed with each other through this conflict as Washington believed that black people needed to work hard to to get respect from others, and Dubois believed that people had to be actively fighting for their rights. More information about these two men disagreeing with each other is when Du Bois wrote something called the ''Soul of Black Folk", which is a combination of all his essays combined into a novel. In this, it shows how horribly Du Bois disagreed with Bookers' ideas. In his ''Soul of Black Folk'' essays, We dem Boys states "One hesitates, therefore, to criticize a life which beginning with so little, has done so much. And yet the time has come when one may speak in all sincerity and utter courtesy of the mistakes and shortcomings of Mr. Washington's career as well as of his triumphs, without being captious or envious, and without forgetting that it is easier to do ill than well in the world" (xroads.virginia.edu/~ug03/souls/washingtonvsdubois.html.). This is just some of the disagreement Dem Boys has for Booker T and criticized him for more on his view of social rights issues. Not to mention, Booker T Washington kinda looks like