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Booker T. Washington was a black man (1856-1915) that had his own personal views regarding
the education of the Negro population after the Civil War. He learned of the Hampton Institute when he
was a young boy. He was intrigued by the schools opportunities afforded to young black men. Black
men were allowed to attend school, work at the Institute for room and board, while learning how to
survive as a black man in the new era following the Civil War. He made his way to Virginia and enrolled
in the Institute. He was taught to save money, introduced to industrial life, and learned the drive to
succeed. While at the Institute, he realized what was required for the black population to survive. Once
he left the Institute he was determined to bring his skills to the black people of the South. Mr.
Washington felt the southern black population needed to learn to provide the basic needs for their families
such as a home and food.
In 1881 Mr. Washington set up a school in Tuskegee, Alabama. There was one teacher for the
thirty students enrolled in the school. The State of Alabama and people from the northern states provided
funds for him to build an institution for his students. The Tuskegee Institute taught the black leaders the
essentials in their training program. Part of the training program involved teaching industrial skills to the
black men and women. Mr. Washington felt that if the black people could support themselves with a
trade, provide a home, food, clothing, and stay out of debt then they would be successful. It didnt take
long before people were able to live without having to mortgage their crops, built homes of decent size,
and became pillars of the community. Washington believed the basic necessities had to be taken care of
first in order for the black population to flourish. He believed the black man would earn respect from the
white man once the black man could provide a product the white man needed. Mr. Washington brought
major change to the black population in the south.
Other people such as W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) had different ideas about education. The
differing views of Du Bois and Washington were often referred to as The Great Debate. Mr. Du Bois was
a scholar who believed that society could be changed by extraordinary black men. He felt that education
should begin early in a childs life. The early years of a childs education should have taught him or her

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to read and write. As the child progressed on through high school his or her training should have went
above and beyond learning to read and write. The skills the children were learning were not sufficient.
The Negro schools soon found themselves ill-equipped to handle the training they needed to provide.
White teachers would not teach the black students. The black population had to provide teachers to teach
their own children. Training schools were established for Negro teachers. Thirty thousand black teachers
were trained during one generation to go into black classrooms of the south. The goal of the teacher
training program was to provide teachers the best possible training so they could convey to the black
students that dreams could be achieved. Numbers of well-trained black college graduates were on the
rise. The black college graduates received a well-rounded formal education and were well suited to the
workplace. The black population had a sincere desire for a formal education. Mr. Du Bois felt the black
population should move from the past wrongs inflicted upon them and look to an abundant future. A
strong foundation was needed in the black educational system in order for the black population to
succeed. The black educational system needed to be strong in order for the black population to rise above
the racial problems while the new black man emerged.
A topic that currently mimics The Great Debate is immigration reform. New laws will come into
effect in Georgia in July 2011 that will bring major changes to immigration. We have people on both
sides of the hot topic. Many illegal immigrants feel the new law will violate their rights. Many U.S.
citizens feel if the immigrants are here illegally they should be returned to their native country. Some
citizens feel the immigrants have a right to be here because we live in a free country and all people should
be allowed to become citizens of the United States if they so desire. People against illegal immigrants
feel the people here illegally are taking away from benefits that should be afforded to U.S. citizens.
Illegal immigrants come to the U.S. and give birth here knowing their children will become U.S. citizens
if they are born on American soil. Governor Nathan Deal of Georgia feels immigration reform is deeply
needed for taxpayers who bear the financial burden of illegal immigration. It appears this debate will be
around for a long time as law suits are filed to protect the human rights of illegal immigrants.