Washington was born a slave in the south. DuBois was born free and in the north. Washington believed that blacks should earn rights from hard work. DuBois believed that blacks should have freedom now. Washington said that blacks should stop agitating for voting and civil rights not only in exchange for economic gains and security, but also for reduced anti-black violence.
Dubois and Washington strategies were extremely different and the way they thought about going about equality. Washington was loved by whites he was not the one to get confortartional. Washington wanted blacks to sit around and wait. Whereas Dubois was hated and feared by whites. Dubois was an agitator.
He believed that African American economic gains were not secure unless there was political power to safeguard them. “I think, though, that the opportunity to freely exercise such political rights will not come in any large degree through outside or artificial forcing…" (Washington 234). They both believed in equality. Although one believed in used force and military movements the other used writing to reach his audience. While there were many points of contention between Washington and DuBois, there were similarities in their philosophies as well.
The “fire of African freedom still burned in the veins of the slaves”(DuBois) and the “Atlanta Compromise” caused a rage of anger in the black people. Blacks heard of revolts in other countries where discriminated populations demanded their civil rights from oppressors and it inspired the African Americans to start a civil rights era. Washington believed that his speech would help his people gain their civil rights rather than demanding for equality but many realized that Washington’s way was making people lose their rights they already achieved such as voting, working, and moving as freemen. DuBois uses lists of three to help get his points across that Washington’s ideas were ridiculous and caused even more troubles for the African Americans than there already were. Washington asked blacks to give up
Segregation, without a doubt, was a very serious issue during the late 1800’s to early 1900’s. William Edward Bergard DuBois and Booker Taliaferro Washington were important figures who opposed slavery. They were on the same side, they had substantially different ways of going about the situation. DuBois and Washington had only some similarities. They both published autobiographies, among other books.
3. In which areas does DuBois agree and/or disagree with Washington? The area that Dubois agrees with Washington is that African Americans need to increase their knowledge so that they can earn a living. That if African Americans learned a trade, it would help increase “their knowledge of the world”.
WASHINGTON V. DUBOIS This controversial debate between W.E.B Dubois and Booker T Washington has been talked about discussed and thoroughly reviewed constantly. Booker T Washington was an advocate for equal rights and so was Dubois. They both agreed on the core issues that blacks should become more involved in politics, move up in social status and have better educational systems for blacks. Each had their own views on how this should be achieved.
In the mid-to-late 1800s the African American community faced opposition and segregation. They were segregated from the whites and treated as second-class citizens. This segregation was caused in part by Jim Crow laws. Jim Crow laws separated races in schools, hospitals, parks, public buildings, and transportation systems. Both Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had ideas on how to improve African American lives, Washington believed in starting at the bottom and working up whereas Du Bois had an opposing viewpoint he saw starting from the bottom as submissive and believed African Americans should hold important jobs in order to demand equal treatment.
Some might say Booker T Washington or W.E.B DuBois was better however; they both had their own stake in civil rights to either try to bring about change or encourage the African American community to be appreciated by whites to where they were loyal from the beginning. As Booker T Washington said in his speech," As we proved our loyalty to you in the past, in nursing your children, watching by the sickbed of you mothers and fathers, and often following them with tear-dimmed eyes the their graves, so in the future, in our humble way, we shall stand by you with the devotion that no foreigner can approach.. " Likewise they both still have that on purpose to where W.E.B. DuBois was advocating for African Americans to receive that same eligible education while, Booker T Washington was fighting for self-reliance and more civil rights. As to where African Americans would be able to vote, so you asked who was a stronger advocate. In my opinion, I would say both, because you cannot attempt to pin one against the other where all they both did was try to compromise in receiving equality of the races.
However Booker T. Washington believed in having a more skillful education, consisting of learning how to trade, mastering agriculture skills and more things one would need to get a job. However, W.E.B DuBois also put many efforts to achieve equal rights towards African Americans which Booker T Washington put on hold. Booker T Washington’s plan was to make it so that “Blacks would [have to] accept segregation and discrimination but their eventual acquisition of wealth and culture would gradually win for them the respect and acceptance of whites”. This vision that Booker T Washington had “practically accepts the alleged inferiority of the Negro race”. W.E.B commented on this process saying it was an attempt, “to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings.”
The Crisis focuses on both proving yourself and demanding rights; The various advertisements found throughout the article, show that they offer opportunities for blacks to become successful. During this time, Washington and DuBois were two figures who were promoting black excellence in their own ideas. Washington believed that African Americans should create a separate society where they are not dependents on whites; they would create their own economy, towns and even learn in a vocational school but most importantly, Washington didn’t believe that fighting for citizenship was necessary, that It would come on its own. His ideas were popular among whites from both north and south because Washington emphasized on how whites could work together, but be separate. DuBois on the other hand, believed that
As both men were educated at a university level themselves. Washington believed that children should not only be educated by books but must also be educated by trade. As he said in “Industrialized Education for the Negro”, he views having a book education only is something that leaves black children in a “weak position” in life. He felt that if the children didn’t continue to be taught the jobs of slaves, the world would be worse for both races because the white people were dependent upon the black to do these jobs. He believed this would give the black people honor and dignity in the eyes of the white race.
Regardless, they were able to aid in ending discrimination and received equal standing in education, labor, acquiring of land, etc.. If it had only been Du Bois fighting for equality, then he would have achieved the fight for equality sooner. On the contrary, Du Bois only provided one view to how African Americans were being treated; Washington had a friendlier approach. This may be due to his fear of being lynched or placing African Americans in a harsher situation than they already were. Washington seemed more methodical—he was thinking about African Americans having the full rights of the 14th and 15th amendments. At the same, he was also concerned about the consequences of his speech, and if it angered the whites more than it relieved the situation they were all facing.
"If you want to lift up yourself, lift up someone else," this was Booker T. Washington's method of a social, political, and economic upbringing. He believed in the theory of accommodationism, in which the basis of the thory was to accept the racial status quo and provide manual labor to climb the social, economic, and political ladder to receive equal status. On the contrary, DuBois pointed out that the approach provided by Washington "produced on disfranchisement, "civil inferiority," and a "withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the Negro" (White, 460). Moreover, DuBois claimed that Washingtons approach "shifted the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro shoulders" (White , 460). DuBois's criticism of Washingtons'
Washington thought that African American people should do jobs that we had done historically instead of being able to accomplish and achieve what career they wanted for themselves he felt as though it was best. However, W.E.B Du Bois felt as though we could do any kind of profession that we were qualified for, that we could be doctors, teachers, lawyers and so much more. In this certain aspect I agree with W.E.B Du Bois that if the black people were qualified that they could work any job they wanted to instead of being held back from job opportunities because Washington didn’t believe that black people were capable. I feel as though that they should not limit themselves to just the possibility of doing mainly physical labor jobs. Washington also believed southern blacks should stay in the south and live like they always had instead of being able to live wherever they wanted.
