Nick Shereikis Green Group Booker vs. DuBois Booker T.

Washington supported a mature, peaceful approach to economic independence foremost; contrasting to W.E.B. DuBois ideas involving gaining voting and political rights by any means necessary. Washington thinks that African-Americans should focus on becoming indispensable to the economic welfare of the United States, and that by accomplishing that, they would get recognition from other races. DuBois, on the other hand, took a more violent approach that incited emotions from his audience. Booker T. Washington believed that the greatest challenge to African-Americans was their dependence on whites for money, land, and jobs. Washington believed that now that they were free, they may overlook the fact that the masses of us are to live by the production of our hands. In other words, he thought that the more his race focused on the fact that they were no longer forced to grow their own food and such, they would forget that they need to at some rate in order to sustain themselves. He believes that by specializing in labor, they could become necessary to our country and therefore will gain political rights on the premise that their contributions make them equal to others (i.e. that they have a demand for goods and/or services). Washington believed that labor not only was the way to equality, but that it made a man a good deal happier. He once stated that At Hampton I not only learned that it was not a disgrace to labor, but learned to love laborfor labors own sake and for the independence and self-reliance which the ability to do something [which] the world wants done brings. W.E.B. DuBois did not share his views in the slightest. DuBois was firm in his belief that the greatest impediment to racial equality was their political status, and their limitations in electing officials that were favorable to them to office. DuBois language, alone, was often inflammatory and intense. For example, one quote from DuBois includes the questioning of manhood in order to incite emotion in his audience: 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

Nick Shereikis Green Group Booker vs. DuBois really are men, are called upon by every consideration of patriotism and loyalty to oppose such a course by allmethods, even though such opposition involves disagreement with Mr. Booker T. Washington. In concluding that quote, DuBois says that African-Americans have no right to sit silently by while the inevitable seeds are sown for a harvest of disaster to our children, black and white, to emphasize the need for action through strong language and word choice. Looking back on how history has played out, it is definitely easier to understand and support DuBois ideas and theologies. In the end, African-Americans followed DuBois ideas of political equality being first and foremost the vital factor in black independence. Civil rights leaders and icons such as Rosa Parks and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. succeeded, which in turn gives us the idea that DuBois path to equality was the only right one. I can definitely understand his views. More political rights would have led to the ability to change legislature regarding African-Americans rights. I disagree, however, with his tone. Although he was trying to encourage people to do something, if people had engaged in acts of violence or uncivilized protests, it would only have reinforced the idea that African-Americans were uncivilized savages and that other races needed to be responsible for them. Looking at the other side, Washingtons ideas were extremely mature for his time. The idea of independent economic status leading to racial equality was incredibly advanced. If his ideas had played out, they would have had to have led somewhere positive. If one has something that there is a demand for, those that want it will generally do what it takes to get it, and also respect the producer for creating something they need. If AfricanAmericans had become invaluable to our nation before gaining civil rights, they could have controlled their destiny. Without them, we would have been crippled. So besides gaining respect, they would have had the ability to force new legislature on the threat of them going on strike and us losing a resource. Washingtons ideas were good, and the tone in which he presented them even better. Instead of becoming inflammatory, he advocated for peace. This would have shown the so called superior race that they were just as organized and civilized as us.

Nick Shereikis Green Group Booker vs. DuBois Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois had very different ideas on how to gain racial equality for African-Americans. DuBois focused on political equality by any means necessary, while Washington maturely advocated peaceful economic independence. The way history played out, African-Americans gained political liberty before becoming fully independent. However, Washingtons ideas of economic independence and becoming invaluable to the nation were just as plausible as DuBois philosophies of political activism, and more mature in the way he delivered them.

Nick Shereikis Green Group Booker vs. DuBois Bibliography

"Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. DuBois." Virginia.edu. Virginia.edu, n.d. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://xroads.virginia.edu/~UG03/souls/WashingtonvsDubois.html>. DuBois, W.E.B. Autobiography. New York: International, 1970. Print. Gibson, Robert. "Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois: The Problem of Negro Leadership." Yale-New Haven Teacher's Institute. Ed. Yale University. Yale, 2012. Web. 22 Sept. 2012. <http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1978/2/78.02.02.x.html>. Thorpe, Earl. The Mind of the Negro: An Intellectual History of Afro-Americans. Baton Rouge: Ortlieb, 1961. Print. Washington, Booker. "Atlanta Expostion Speech." Atlanta Exposition. Atlanta, Georgia. 1895. Print. Speech transcript. Wells-Barnett, Ida. "Booker T. Washington and His Critics." Worl Today (1904): n. pag. Rpt. in The Negro Problem for the Negro Point of View. N.p.: n.p., n.d. Print.