Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. Du Bois by Thompson, Josh

About

joswthom — 2024-09-19 14:24:18 UTC

About

joswthom — 2024-09-19 14:28:00 UTC

joswthom — 2024-09-19 14:52:36 UTC

joswthom — 2024-09-19 15:06:22 UTC

joswthom — 2024-09-19 15:07:39 UTC

joswthom — 2024-09-19 15:20:05 UTC

Key terms for this lesson:

-Black nationalism

-Black Power movement

-Booker T. Washington

-Jim Crow

-NAACP

-Niagara movement

-Reconstruction

-segregation

-Tuskegee Institute

-W.E.B. Du Bois

Booker T. Washington was born into slavery, while W. E. B. Du Bois was a free man from birth.

joswthom — 2024-09-19 15:23:50 UTC

While Washington grew up in segregated and racist areas, Du Bois grew up in a relatively integrated community and first experienced the effects of Jim Crow when he started college.

Both Washington and Du Bois were prominent leaders in Atlanta, Georgia.

joswthom — 2024-09-19 15:25:12 UTC

The Library of Congress has an in-depth blog post about the speech.

Ideologies

joswthom — 2024-09-19 17:06:53 UTC

"Washington believed that it was economic independence and the ability to show themselves as productive members of society that would eventually lead Black people to true equality and that they should for the time being set aside any demands for civil rights."

"In contrast to Washington, Du Bois maintained that education and civil rights were the only way to equality and that conceding their pursuit would simply serve to reinforce the notion of Black people as second-class citizens."

W.E.B. Du Bois on Booker T. Washington

joswthom — 2024-09-19 17:21:24 UTC

In his last interview, Du Bois said this of Washington's push for economic progress before political rights:

"As I came to see it, Washington bartered away much that was not his to barter.... I realized the need for what Washington was doing. Yet it seemed to me that he was giving up essential ground that would be hard to win back."

Written Works and Speeches

joswthom — 2024-09-19 17:29:30 UTC

The link provided here includes Washington's "Atlanta Compromise" speech (1895) and an excerpt from Du Bois's book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903).

Du Bois directly argues against Washington in his writing. What differences do you notice?

Both men were married multiple times and had multiple children.

joswthom — 2024-09-19 17:38:54 UTC

Washington was married three times and had three kids. Du Bois was married twice and had two kids.

Neither man grew up with his father.

joswthom — 2024-09-19 17:44:39 UTC

Washington never knew his father. His mother raised him and his siblings alone.

Du Bois's father left his mother when Du Bois was two. He and his mother moved in with his grandparents shortly after. Du Bois and his mother are pictured above.

Both men advocated for equal treatment for Black people.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 15:20:33 UTC

Booker T. Washington founded the National Negro Business League in 1900 to promote and support African American businesses, falling in line with his emphasis on economic equality over civil rights and desegregation.

Washington and Du Bois were courteous to each other and even worked together in the early 20th century.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 15:23:51 UTC

Washington taught at the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama when he and Du Bois first met.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 15:26:34 UTC

Both Washington and Du Bois were prominent leaders in Atlanta, Georgia.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 15:35:26 UTC

The African American Intellectual History Society offers a deep dive into Du Bois's role in academia.

Both men advocated for equal treatment of Black people.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 15:43:53 UTC

W.E.B. Du Bois and other activists founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. The NAACP has an extensive account of its history on its website.

Before the Civil Rights movements of the 1950s and 1960s, conversations about equal rights were brewing for decades.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 15:47:52 UTC

After the end of slavery, Black people started to advocate for their rights to education and economic independence.

Two prominent leaders in this movement were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Whose ideology do you agree with more? Why?

joswthom — 2024-09-20 18:48:42 UTC

Washington taught himself how to read and didn't start school until age 9. Du Bois attended school regularly starting at age 5.

joswthom — 2024-09-20 18:51:20 UTC

Do you think the differences in Washington and Du Bois's educational backgrounds had an impact on their later ideas about education and equal rights?