Booker T. and Dubois

A detailed Summary of Booker T. and Dubois

During the time between 1877 and 1915, black Americans experienced many social, economic and political difficulties. Many African Americans supported the program of Booker T. Washington, the most prominent black leader of the late 19th and early 20th century, who advised them to focus on modest economic goals and to accept temporary social discrimination. Another group of African Americans, led by the African-American intellectual W.E.B. Du Bois, wanted to challenge segregation through political action. Washington and Du Bois both had good strategies for dealing with problems of poverty and discrimination, Washington believed that blacks could advance themselves faster through hard work rather than by demands for equal rights, Du Bois declared that African Americans must speak out constantly against discrimination.

Booker T. Washington was a leader for civil rights, his tactics were taken in more of a modest way. He focused on economic goals and advised to accept social discrimination temporarily. During the late 19th century the principle of segregation by race extended into every area of Southern life, from railroads to restaurants, hotels, hospitals and schools. Even down to the simplest thing such as water fountains were

segregated (Doc J). Any area of life that was not segregated by law was segregated by custom and practice. In 1883 the Supreme Court ruled that the Fourteenth Amendment did not prevent individuals from practicing discrimination. And in Plessy v. Ferguson in 1896 the Court found that "separate but equal" public accommodations for African Americans, such as trains and restaurants, did not violate their rights. Cases such as these brought up new voices like Booker T. Washington, advocating civil equality, and the strategies by which they are achieved. Booker T. Washington was an educator and the most prominent black leader of his day. He grew up as a slave in Virginia, born to a white slave-holding father and a black slave mother. Under these conditions he grew up to lead his race. In his famous Atlanta Compromise Address, Booker T. Washington used the phrase "cast down your bucket" as a metaphor for abandoning racist ideas (Doc D). He supported the idea that a Negro can only survive through submission, that social equality cannot be achieved through assertiveness, but rather by earning it. Washington wanted blacks to try and get along in society. He encouraged blacks to become educated and to work in agriculture and industry, to accept their second-class status in American society. Washington wanted blacks to stay submissive until the time was rig

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Approximate Word count = 915
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History