Black Americans at the Turn of the Century: Washington and Du Bois

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Black Americans have played a vital role in the history of the United States at the turn of the century in fighting for their freedom. The struggle for justice, equal opportunity for all, and recognition took a centre stage in the liberation movements. The turn of the century witnessed many changes taking place due to the relentless efforts of the Civil Rights Movement. Many slaves ultimately got their freedom but were left to struggle to find jobs, get educated, and endure a setting of increasing oppression and intolerance. This was a hallmark in ending racial segregation in the United States. This period was the test of the democratic principles of the US in working for all classes and races of people. The right of Black Americans to become full US citizens was denied by their race. At the forefront in pursuit of freedom were Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois who distinctively used different approaches to advance the status of Black Americans at the turn of the century.

Booker T. Washington was born in 1858 in slavery (8). As the civil war ended in 1865, his family were freed from the yoke of slavery. He had a career as an educationist in the Tuskegee Institute which acted as the headquarters for his operations. He was a skilled orator that gave him immense success in fighting for the rights of his brothers. To emphasize his claims, he authored books that furthered his efforts in fighting against slavery. He was regarded as one of the instrumental leaders in the African –American group of people in the US. Washington’s road to prominence as a spokesman for Black- Americans was portrayed in his Atlanta Address of 1895 on the relationship between the races. He exerted his influence till he died on November 14, 1915 due to exhaustion.

W. E. B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 (pg.ix). His family belonged to a small free black population of Dutch and African ancestry. Du Bois faced instances of racial segregation whilst at school but this did not deter him from achieving his academic ambitions. He showed amazing academic ability that led him to ascertain that he could use his skills to empower Black Americans. In 1895, his academic ambitions were realized when he ultimately became the first Black American to get a PhD from Harvard university. He had a successful career as an activist, sociologist, pan-africanist and as a historian. He also edited and authored over 4,000 literary works. He was regarded as an intellectual figure in the fight for liberation by the Black Americans. He was one of the originators of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), but later came out of the organization upon differing with Washington in taking a different philosophical view of the race topic. Du Bois passed away at the old age of 95, in 1963, as a naturalized Ghana citizen.

The rights activists of the same race surprisingly did not have the same grounds on dealing with the racial problem. They had distinct opposing views on education and politics that hampered the liberation process. The differences were mainly philosophical.

On educational matters, Du Bois agreed that industrial education was appropriate for some blacks and he even commended the Tuskegee Institute for doing a good job. On his part, Washington held the same views. The difference was in the emphasis each one of them placed in the process of achieving it. Washington had the view that industrial education should be first so as to enable the southern blacks gain basic schooling coupled with useful skills that is of benefit to them. In advocating this he led the Tuskegee Institute that provide industrial training to Black Americans. He believed that the barrier between the whites and blacks could be removed in gaining trade skills that were important for economic security. On the opposing side, Du Bois advocated for academic education with emphasis in arts and sciences in favor of a mere trade education. He said that in the blacks not getting higher education will result in lack of teachers for the industrial schools hence limited improvement experienced on the blacks (Moore 61-2).

Besides the debate, the two prominent men practiced similar educational practices in real life. The Tuskegee Institute taught academic lessons like mathematics and expertise in literacy. In his life Du Bois was a firm crusader in success. He made efforts to give confidence to the Black Americans to strive in working hard in spite of their careers.

The difference in philosophical political opinions that they had was their greatest bone of contention. While both of them were for the attainment of equal rights by both the Black Americans and the White Americans, the process on how to achieve this was their major disparity. In the historical Atlanta Exposition speech of 1895, Washington advanced his self-help philosophy by urging the middle-class whites in the south to give blacks the opportunity to do their labor and build up separately. His reasoning was that confrontation could lead to worsening of the situation as the blacks were few in number. He was quick to point out that collaboration with some of the sympathetic whites was the prime way to achieve the long term struggle. In the address, Washington asserted that the intelligent among his race understood the folly of fighting for equality, and that equal rights can only come from constant struggle rather than by artificial forcing.

He advocated for accommodation to solve segregation problems and advised against the blacks involvement in politics (105-116).

His views received a hostile reception by the aggressive northern group led by Du Bois who dismissed the speech and branded it “The Atlanta Compromise’’. He critiqued Washington as emphasizing economic advancement for Black Americans while giving backing to racial segregation by suggesting that blacks and whites can co-exist similar to the separate hand fingers. Du Bois thought that Washington’s views accept white domination by not confronting segregation directly. He critiqued submission and silence in fighting for civil and political rights and advocated for political voice in dealing with the situation (35-42).

Moore comments that Washington often worked behind the scenes to avoid losing backing from the Whites if he started to protest discrimination. She notes that the difference between the two is that Du Bois made his opposition known, and Washington did not. When their confrontations were made public, it was more rhetorical than real, more personal conflict than theoretical debate (62).

In the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the prominent black leaders disowned Washington’s philosophy. The leaders asked for federal civil rights laws in achieving the ultimate success of complete freedom.

Works cited

Du Bois, W.E.B. The Souls of Black Folk. Chicago. A.C. McClurg & Co. 1903.

Moore M. Jacqueline. Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the struggle for racial uplift. Wilmington. Del. Scholarly Resources, 2003.

Washington T. Booker. Up from Slavery. New York: Cosimo Publications. 1901.

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Black Americans at the Turn of the Century: Washington and Du Bois

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