Similarities Between W. E. B. Dubois And Booker T. Washington

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The mid to late 20th century was a tumultuous time where practices were debated and changed. America after the Civil War went through serious change, but the biggest change tat happened was the transition of racism from a state sponsored program to a cultural phenomenon. By the beginning of the 20th century African American leaders began to push themselves into the political atmosphere, pushing for the respect that the African American communities deserved. Much of the accomplishments that happened for African-Americans through much of the 20th century happened because of the actions done by early civil rights activists like W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington. W.E.B. DuBois grew up in New England, where he was put in a very encouraging environment that put an emphasis on attaining education. DuBois did go to college, and for his undergraduate he went to a college in Tennessee where he quickly experienced a different environment than to what he had growing up. This encounter with racism gave him the drive to advocate for the ending of segregation. …show more content…

Washington grew up in slavery and experienced the cruelty of slavery through much of his childhood. Washington’s perception on segregation was similar to DuBois but to attain such a goal Washington wants a more passive approach that included working with Southern state governments to provide long term transitions away from segregation. Washington viewpoint was commonly accepted by his fellow contemporaries, but he did receive criticism from leaders like W.E.B. DuBois who complained that the stance was weak. Dubois in his book The Souls of Black Folk harshly criticizes Washington, saying “Mr. Washington's programme practically accepts the alleged inferiority of the Negro races” (DuBois). The contributions put forward by Booker T. Washington were important in developing financially independent and politically mindful African Americans that would contribute to a greater call for the removal of

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    Washington believed that if African Americans focused their attention on striving economically, they would eventually be given the rights that they were owed. Washington encouraged blacks to attend trade schools, “where they could learn to work with industrially or agriculturally.” In Atlanta, Washington stated, “Our greatest danger is that, in the great leap from slavery to freedom, we may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the productions of our hands and fail to keep in mind that we shall prosper in the proportion as we learn to dignify and glorify common labor, and put brains and skill into the common occupations of life.” Washington had suggestion was something that the Negro race were familiar with. Most southern and northern whites had accepted the fact that his plan was acknowledged by the subordination of the black race. “Washington made a point that we as African Americans can achieve the rights we want if we present ourselves useful to the white race.” Washington states, “No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree shunned.” Washington said that “befriending a white man was imperative to ending a black man’s struggle, and to those of my race who depend on bettering their condition in a foreign land, or who underestimate the importance of cultivating friendly relations with the Southern white man who is their next-door neighbor,” “cast down your bucket for the people of all the races by whom we are surrounded.” This was the first time that a black man had ever spoken in front of many white people. It was shown that some African Americans were not on agreeing terms with Washington’s idea that this was also a sign of “submission for the black race.” With this, lied a conflict that when Washington send the message to African Americans saying that if they were going to come up, they would have to continue to use their hands as a means to be productive in white society. Having this

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