Lula Smith

ENG 2233 RYYA

Faye Barham

March 18, 2012

Essay

According to Booker T. Washington, African Americans should be treated the same as white Americans with regards to voting, owing land, and holding political jobs. However, he believes that “Negros” should not be demanding of these rights. According to W.E.B. Dubois, African Americans should fight for what they believe and should have the right to do anything as an American. Both men are influential figures in the lives of African Americans; however, they have different ideas on how privileges should be obtained.

Washington urges his fellow race that “it is at the bottom of life that we must begin and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities” (Washington 163). He believes that if permitted, anything that Negros were given should be appreciated and done with great pride. Du Bois agrees with him that their race should respect one another and work hard to change their lives. In his address at the Atlanta Exposition, Washington states “If you give our race a chance, you will be surrounded by the most patient, faithful, law-abiding and unresentful people the world has seen” (164). By saying this, he wanted everyone to remember that the slaves that worked for them were in fact, loyal and faithful humans that they took their work seriously. Again, Du Bois agreed that his race would be able to be trusted and given opportunities without regret. Washington believes that anyone who sees color cannot make wise decisions by stating, “No man whose vision is bounded by colour can come into contact with what is highest and best in the world” (168). In comparison, Du Bois believes that African Americans have been given various items in history that are because of their color. He believes that when white and blacks are able to view as an individual, then there will be an “ultimate assimilation” (Du Bois 244).

Washington and Du Bois are influential figures in the lives of African Americans; however, they have different ideas on how privileges should be obtained. Du Bois wants his race to be granted with privileges without giving up things in return. He cries out to his race a warning:

In the history of nearly all other races and peoples the doctrine preached at crises has been that manly self-respect is worth more than lands and houses, and that people who voluntarily surrender such respect, or cease striving for it, are not worth civilizing (Du Bois, 248).

Du Bois does not want his race to surrender what they have spent a lifetime creating for things that will be granted to them in the future for them right now. In contrast, Washington tells his followers that they can only survive through submission. Washington tells his followers that “political power, civil rights, and higher education” should be given up for “industrial education, accumulation of wealth, and conciliation of the South” (248). Washington tells his fellow race that if they do not surrender, there are consequences as well. Many of those consequences were things that had already been happening to the Negros.

Both Washington and Du Bois were influential figures in the late 1800’s and early to mid 1900’s regarding African Americans. Washington tells his followers that they should surrender things for the race to advance; however, Du Bois tells his followers that they should hold on to their self-respect and be loyal to each other. The works of both men made the accomplishments of their race happen sooner whether they agreed with each other or not. Washington and Du Bois agreed to disagree.

Works Cited

Du Bois, W.E.B. “The Souls of Black Folk.” American Literature. Vol. 2. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 240 - 253. Print.

Washington, Booker T. “Up From Slavery.” American Literature. Vol. 2. William E. Cain. New York: Pearson, 2004. 162 - 172. Print.