Question

To what extent were the methods of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois appropriate for the time in which they lived?

Answer 1

Booker T. Washington believed that the way to solve racial terrorism and racial-segregation was through education. He believed that African Americans should educate themselves to trade and invest in their own businesses, so they could prove others their hard work would impact in the US economy.

W.E.B Dubois also believed in self-improvement through education but he believed that they should get rid of segregation. He did not agree with Washington’s acceptance of racial segregation because he thought it encouraged whites to deny African Americans rights. He advocated for a civil rights agenda and he argued that social change would come with the development of a group of college-educated blacks that were called “The Talented Tenth”

Washington method advocated to show white people the value of African Americans, but if a person is a racist, there is no way you can show this person the value of a person they do not accept. Dubois method pushed for agitation and protests as a way to push the civil rights movement, he also defended education.

Washington and Dubois idea of education is valid but there is no way to compromise with racists showing them “your value”. You have to fight for your rights, this is why Dubois philosophy endured.