The readings Booker T. Washington, The “Atlanta Compromise” and “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others” were both very interesting to me. The “Atlanta Compromise” was the actual speech Booker T. Washington gave to a majority white crowd asking for support for vocational/technical training and education. His focus on the speech was for the Black community to use their skills to earn a living and focus more on that than race relations. He was encouraging the black community to gain financial security and be open to getting the necessary tools to be their own providers.
A very profound statement in the document was when he stated, “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem”,
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Dubois provides more details on the whole idea behind the thinking of this scholar and his vision for his people. Per this document, Washington’s speech seems to have shocked the nation to hear a Negro man encouraging his community to work together with the whites with goals of financial security. A first, many Negros struggled with supporting Booker’s vision of the black community not focusing on racial equality but working to gain financial freedoms but eventually it won “the admiration of the North and silenced the Negroes themselves.” Race relations amongst the blacks and whites were filled with a lot of tension which was all related to the little rights afforded to the blacks and the racial inequalities/injustices faced by blacks in …show more content…
In this day and age, pride nor being a social activist will pay your bills. I agree with Booker T. Washington’s views on working hard to become financially independent. It is so easy to focus on social issues but at the end of the day we cannot change some of these things, what we do have power over is the ability to earn a living that involves working hard and investing money. The other document was much longer and seemed to go more into historical references which I did not enjoy as much as I did the speech that Washington gave to the
he expressed in the following quote from “The Case of the Negro”; “…the idea should not be to
Two of the most influential people in shaping the social and political agenda of African Americans were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, both early twentieth century writers. While many of their goals were the same, the two men approached the problems facing African Americans in very different ways. This page is designed to show how these two distinct thinkers and writers shaped one movement, as well as political debate for years afterward.
Booker T. Washington was an African American leader who established an African-American college in 1181. Then in 1895 delivered the Atlanta Compromise Speech to an audience of mainly Southerners, but some Northerners were present. In his speech he made a few points. He said, “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem.” Washington believed that the African American race needed to learn first that manual labor was just as important as the work of intellects. He thought that until they learned this they were not worthy of becoming intellects themselves. The color line is thus important in teaching them this lesson. He also said, “It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges.” His opinion was that one day blacks would deserve to have equal rights with the whites, but right now in 1895 the blacks needed to be...
While DuBois respected Booker T. Washington and his accomplishments, he did not. felt that blacks needed political power to protect what they had and what they earned. DuBois called for a new plan of action. He felt that the The greatest enemy of blacks was not necessarily whites but it was the ignorance of the whites concerning the capabilities of the black race. DuBois's answer was to encourage the development of black youth in America.
The Similarities and Differences of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois’s Views During the late 19th and early 20th century, racial injustice was very prominent and even wildly accepted in the South. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were two of the most renowned “pioneers in the [search] for African-American equality in America” (Washington, DuBois, and the Black Future). Washington was “born a slave” who highly believed in the concept of “separate but equal,” meaning that “we can be as [distant] as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” (Washington 1042). DuBois was a victim of many “racial problems before his years as a student” and disagreed with Washington’s point of view, which led
W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two very influential leaders in the black community during the late 19th century, early 20th century. However, they both had different views on improvement of social and economic standing for blacks. Booker T. Washington, an ex-slave, put into practice his educational ideas at Tuskegee, which opened in 1881. Washington stressed patience, manual training, and hard work. He believed that blacks should go to school, learn skills, and work their way up the ladder. Washington also urged blacks to accept racial discrimination for the time being, and once they worked their way up, they would gain the respect of whites and be fully accepted as citizens. W.E.B. Du Bois on the other hand, wanted a more aggressive strategy. He studied at Fisk University in Tennessee and the University of Berlin before he went on to study at Harvard. He then took a low paying research job at the University of Pennsylvania, using a new discipline of sociology which emphasized factual observation in the field to study the condition of blacks. The first study of the effect of urban life on blacks, it cited a wealth of statistics, all suggesting that crime in the ward stemmed not from inborn degeneracy but from the environment in which blacks lived. Change the environment, and people would change too; education was a good way to go about it. The different strategies offered by W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington in dealing with the problems of poverty and discrimination faced by Black Americans were education, developing economic skills, and insisting on things continually such as the right to vote. ...
Washington 's programme naturally takes an economic cast” (Du Bois). Du Bois believed that Washington’s theory was a gospel of Work and Money that ultimately overshadowed the higher aims of life” Later he makes another statement so powerful that should have made all African Americans want to stand up and fight for a better social status and rights for both the South and North. He goes on stating “The growing spirit of kindliness and reconciliation between the North and South after the frightful differences of a generation ago ought to be a source of deep congratulation to all, and especially to those whose mistreatment caused the war; but if that reconciliation is to be marked by the industrial slavery and civic death of those same black men, with permanent legislation into a position of inferiority, then those black men, if they are really men, are called upon by every consideration of patriotism and loyalty to oppose such a course by all civilized methods, even though such opposition involves disagreement with Mr. Booker T. Washington.” (Du
W.E.B. DuBois was an educated civil rights activist who graduated from Harvard. He grew up in a neighborhood that was quite tolerant to blacks. By this happening, he did not experience racism till a later time in his when he was in the south of the United States. After graduating Harvard with a doctorate he became a cofounder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP in 1909. After experiencing racism he argued that the black community could become equal to the white community by educating themselves to the point they were acknowledged. Booker T. Washington on the other hand had other ideas for blacks. Both were great segregation leaders that brought great change to the country. Booker T. Washington wanted opportunities for the blacks, but he did not want equality. On the other hand W.E.B. DuBois focused on the exact opposite of Washington. He believed that blacks should be considered equal to whites. With a high education and high intellectual that comes from reading and writing. He wanted blacks to advance to a point they would have no choice but to acknowledge them. DuBois asserted that economic security to achieve was not enough and that black should chase an education. By chasing a successful education blacks would achieve equality, acknowledgement, and economic security. (Moore)
Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome.” –Booker T. Washington. Educator Booker T. Washington was one of the foremost African American dominant leaders in the black community. His childhood and failures helped shape his impact that allowed him the success that he had, has on African American communities.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bios were two prominent African male leaders and activists fighting for civil rights for the African-American community, but they had quite different and opposing strategies and philosophies. Washington’s strategy and philosophy were milder and aimed at making progressive changes step by step despite the fact that self-promotion and self-empowerment seemed to be the priority to him and on the contrast, Du Bios’s strategy and philosophy were more radical. Washington was an intelligent and sophisticated person, and he saw the problem that the newly “freed” black people by law to some extent were not truely freed and did not meet the American standard in many aspects such as they were not equipped with enough education, still financially depended on white people, and had no
Du Bois addresses the recent actions of the Blacks trying to become a member of society as well as Booker T. Washington 's response to it. Washington 's way of life was the answer for many but for others, such as Du Bois, it was viewed as a scapegoat and a sort of surrender of Blacks. After hearing Washington 's proposal, Du Bois had a few comments of his own and soon after gave it the nick name The "Atlanta Compromise". He believed that “Washington 's counsels of submission overlooked certain elements of true manhood, and that his educational programme was unnecessarily narrow” (p.g. 700, Du Bois). Where Washington wants Blacks to take a step back from wanting to gain political power with a say in matters, Du Bois wants Blacks to step up and be seen. The use of this compromise was frowned upon by Du Bois, a scholarly man that held many degrees. He was one who believed the path was paved by developmental education. He proposed the idea of his people going to school to learn a variety of academics instead of just one trade. This way they would be just as knowledgeable as whites and still be able to serve their community equally. Du Bois argues that Washington merely offered a temporary solution to a problem that need much more thought behind
Washington”. Within this article, information regarding both the beliefs of Booker T. Washington as well as W.E.B DuBois was gathered. After collecting a vast amount of information on such influential leaders, the group assembled a PowerPoint, then, presenting our discoveries throughout the article to the class.
Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Virginia in 1856, and educated at Hampton Institute, an institute that provided black people with vocational training. In 1895 he was invited to deliver a speech after the school he created in Alabama was a success. His speech in 1895 happened the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta. During his speech, he condoned social segregation and it was labeled by journalists as the “Atlanta Compromise.” His speech was mainly about the problem ‘’negro’’ and white Americans faced on having a good relationship. According to Brooke T. Washington, both races could be as separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress. Black people faced a social and economic crisis, and Brooke
Booker T. Washington was born a slave and was educated by teaching himself. He did not believe that higher education should be the main focus on blacks, but rather just being equal in society through jobs. Washington wanted blacks to turn their attention to working rather than furthering their education at a high level college because industrial labor was in high demand. He worked all of his life, so he believed working and making a living was very important, and thought that all blacks should work equally with the whites.
Booker T. Washington fought for African American Rights and founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute. He urged blacks to accept discrimination and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. He believed in education in the crafts, industrial