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Compare and contrast booker t. washington and du bois
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Comparing W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington
W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T Washington had very different views about their culture and country. Du Bois, being born in the North and studying in Europe, was fascinated with the idea of Socialism and Communism. Booker T Washington, on the other hand, was born in the South, and like so many others, had a Black mother and a White father. Thus being born half-white, his views and ideas were sometimes not in the best interest of his people.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Du Bois had a poor but relatively happy New England childhood. While still in high school he began his long writing career by serving as a correspondent for newspapers in New York and in Springfield, Massachusetts.
After his high school graduation he enrolled at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. There he "discovered his Blackness" and made a lifelong commitment to his people. He taught in rural Black schools in Tennessee during summer vacations, thus expanding his awareness of his Black culture.
Du Bois graduated from Fisk in 1888, and entered Harvard as a junior. During college he preferred the company of Black students and Black Bostonians. He graduated from Harvard in 1890. Yet he felt that he needed further preparation and study in order to be able to apply "philosophy to an historical interpretation of race relations." He decided to spend another two years at the University of Berlin on a Slater Fund Fellowship.
W. E. B. Du Bois traveling widely in Europe, was delighted by the absence of color consciousness and impressed by their mellow civilization. Still, he knew that his life's work was at home, a...
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...onflicts about his dedication to America with its worship of property and material substance.
However controversial his methods and objectives, few can doubt that Washington worked hard to achieve them. Certainly the high point in his career was his famous speech at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895, in which he accepted social and legal segregation but promised racial friendship and cooperation.
Although W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T Washington were very different, they undoubtedly influenced the Black population of the United States. Du Bois, although supported communism, excellent in a utopian society yet devastating in reality, had his people's interest at heart. Booker T Washington, founder of Tuskegee Institute, did help some Black population's problems, yet he was more interested with the White culture and its ideals.
...ncerning voting rights, social change, education, and the role of the black man in the South. Du Bois Believed that African Americans should get social and political equality immediately and through education, while Washington thought that African Americans should get social and political equality gradually and through trade skills. Although both offer valid points and arguments, Washington has a more convincing and beneficial philosophy than Du Bois. Booker T. Washington had a gradual approach towards political and social equality which allowed society to slowly accept African Americans into their society which allowed society to adjust better unlike Du Bois who wanted a drastic change. Washington also focused on having an education on trade skills that allowed African Americans to work and contribute to the economy, which allowed them to have a place in society.
...hile Wells and Dubois had more opinion that are looking out for the African–Americans, Washington had more of an influence when it came to the amount of audiences he reached and his supporters were from all sides; Northerners, Southerners, and African-Ameicans.
...rights for blacks, and was satisfied with ‘equal’ economic opportunities, in fact, he was opposed to blacks getting involved in politics. Du Bois took a much more radical approach and demanded that blacks be included in the political sphere. He also envisioned blacks receiving higher education so they could compete in a fast-growing economy, instead of being stuck with dead-end jobs such as plumbers, and house maids, that Washington so strongly advocated for. And today, Du Bois is clearly the more celebrated figure of the two. More African-American political leaders, such as Obama, reference him in their speeches, and it is much easier to find a poster or book on W.E.B Du Bois than it is on Booker T. Washington. Du Bois’ vision had a much nobler goal, he was not satisfied with the injustice that was going on, and he did something about it.
The differences of their philosophies were clearly shown in their writings—Booker T. Washington’s “Up from slavery” and Du Bois’s “The Souls of Black Folk”. Before we analyze the similarities and differences of both of the leaders, we have to look at their early life experiences as it can be an important factor on how and where they get their inspiration for their philosophies. Booker T. Washington was an influential leader during his time and a philosopher that always addressed the philosophy of self-help, racial unity and accommodation. He had preached and urged all the black people to simply accept the discrimination that they got and asked them to work hard to gain material prosperity (Painter 169). In his
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. ...
In 1903 black leader and intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois wrote an essay in his collection The Souls of Black Folk with the title “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.” Both Washington and Du Bois were leaders of the black community in the 19th and 20th century, even though they both wanted to see the same outcome for black Americans, they disagreed on strategies to help achieve black social and economic progress. History shows that W.E.B Du Bois was correct in racial equality would only be achieved through politics and higher education of the African American youth.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, both early advocates of the civil rights movement, offered solutions to the discrimination experienced by black men and women in the nineteenth and twentieth century. Despite having that in common, the two men had polar approaches to that goal. Washington, a man condoning economic efficiency had a more gradual approach as opposed to Du Bois, whose course involved immediate and total equality both politically and economically. For the time period, Washington overall offers a more effective and appropriate proposition for the time whereas Du Bois's approach is precedent to movements in the future. Both have equal influence over African Americans in politics. Washington's proposal excels in reference to education while Du Bois can be noted for achieving true respect from white Americans.
Du Bois was published in the community's newspaper by the age of fourteen. He graduated from high school early and enrolled at Fisk University (Wager). Upon receiving his Baccalaureate degree, Du Bois accepted a scholarship at the University of Berlin, where he studied for two years (Wager). Following this, he went to Harvard, where he received his doctoral degree, being the first African American to do so. His dissertation, approved in 1895, was published as The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870 (Wager). Regarded as a masterpiece of historiography, this work remains an outstanding example of Du Bois' scholarship (Wager). By the turn of the century, Dr. Du Bois was on his way to becoming a career academician.
Washington. Booker T. Washington was born in slavery, and he believed in vocational jobs and skills for African Americans. When Washington was growing up, he received help from white people, and white people support him too. He wasn’t popular with all African Americans, and he helped founded Tuskegee University. Booker T. Washington was more popular with the whites, so he got the word out more about his strategies. W.E.B Dubois was born free, and he wanted equality for African Americans. He believed in blacks getting education, and he thought it was wrong that white had thought that blacks had to earn their
He became a college student in 1888 at Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee. At Fisk University, he studied there for three years. He graduated from there, and transferred to Harvard with the help of scholarships. Mr. Du Bois got his bachelor’s degree in 1890, and proceeded to work on his master’s degree. The first African American to earn his Ph.D. from Harvard was him back in 1895. While studying in college, he then first heard about Jim Crowe laws. This is where he began to understand the big role of racism amongst the United States. When he went to Harvard, he never felt like he was a part of the school; he felt like he was an outcast due to being one of the very few black people there. (Bio
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were men who made powerful strides in the advancement African-Americans. Washington and Du Bois took different approaches to fighting racial segregation. Washington took a quieter and more peaceful approach while Du Bois took the aggressive (not violent) and louder approach. “Washington counseled African-Americans to work hard, acquire property, and prove they were worthy of respect” (613). Washington thought that if blacks became educated they could work along side whites. Blacks would still be “separate as the fingers, yet one as the hand...” (613). Du Bois disagreed with Washington’s approach. Du Bois felt that blacks must fight for their rights. He felt that they must voice their opinion to get anywhere in this difficult battle over racial rights.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois we’re both two great leaders of the black community in the early 1900s. They both shared similar strategies in shaping the future for the black population in the south as well as some complete opposite ideas facing the progression of the black man in the start of the century. Washington actually believed that blacks and whites can work together but be totally separated as he stated on page 1 of the excerpt from W.E.B Du Bois, “In all things purely social we can be as separate as the five fingers, and yet by all odds the most notable things essential to mutual progress”. Washington asked blacks to give up political power, insistence of civil rights and higher education of Negro youth (page 4. Du Bois) in order to focus more of their well being through hard work and the education gained from their ability to buy land, make blossom the waste places in your fields, and run your
In the late 1800s into the early 1900s, two of the major leaders in the African American community were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. One of the main ideas that both men often expounded upon was that of education in the African American community. However, both men believed in two separate forms of education to help advance the community, Du Bois supported the idea of liberal education, while Washington supported vocational education (Lewis, 2014, 189). This would prove to cause of rift between the two, and lead to Du Bois heavily criticizing Washington for his ideas.
Two men. Two narratives. Two ways to success. Two ideas. One minority. Which ideology is correct? Neither per se. This is because both of these men, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois, had ideas to better their own people; therefore, they were both brilliant and helpful men. What it came down to was which idea would better their people in the quickest way and the most successful way possible. Which was the more progressive? Everyone has different ideas in this belief; however, W.E.B. Du Bois was the most impactful and provoked the greatest change. The main progressive idea coming from Du Bois was his leadership role in the formation of the Niagara Movement which later laid the foundation for the National Association of the Advancement
After reading about both Washington and Du Bois, I found out just how different the both of them were and how much their opinions differed from one another. First, Booker T. Washington’s argument was about working now and worry later. He was an educator and no one devoted more time towards race relations in America than he did (Levine 447). He was an influential black leader during his time. He delivered a speech that is known as the “Atlanta Compromise” and it was about the significance of self-help and racial uniformity (447). He pushed the blacks to not let the discrimination bother them and focus on bettering themselves through hard work. “His writings argue that success should be measured not so much by the position a person has reached as by the obstacles overcome while trying to succeed” (448). Washington believed in education, mechanical and farming skills, and economics. Agriculture was Washington’s most important theory that he proposed. He believed in the virtues of patience,