The struggle for equality within the black population struck fear into the eyes of the white master class.
The struggle for equality within the black population struck fear into the eyes of the white master class. The idea of having to share political, social, and economic space with blacks did not fit the mold that whites had forced the slaves into during the years of the Trans Atlantic slave trade. When blacks began to enlist in the armed forces, whites became even more outraged. To take orders from a Negro general or sergeant was not humanly possible when viewed from the white perspective. How on earth was society to cope with this rush of black freedom, liberation, and integration? Two well-known individuals set out to end the struggle between the two races and answer this burning question white society had swept beneath the rug of injustice and oppression. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois are two of many who lead the struggle. In discussing their differences in background, education, and mechanisms of thought we will determine which of these two had the greatest affect on society and which mechanism of thought was most appropriate for the time period.
It is possible to argue that Booker T. Washington was for "the people" and of the people, since he was reared in West Virginia, a state that had yet to end slavery at that point in time. No stranger to enslavement, B.T. Washington had been through the struggle, and knew what it was to submit and obey. It is evident that he knew his place in society once his choice in further education is considered. Washington attended Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute. Even the naming of educational institutions bound Negroes to this lower status within white society. Perhaps these very experiences are what influenced his mechanism of thought.
Booker T. Washington's approach to black equality and integration into society can be classified as somewhat passive. This passiveness of voice is employed in a sense that his background in slavery influenced his mechanism of thought. This sense of passiveness is evident in his employment of accommodation as a means by which the black population could ascend the ladder of equality. Washington's belief that equality could be achieved through mutual or neutral conduct is somewhat radical. What with the race war hypothesis intruding upon the peripheral screen of every white in power, neutral ground between the two races seemed unattainable.
In 1895 Booker T. Washington's radical views of equality lead him to present the Atlanta Exposition. This famous speech can be compared to that of Frederick Douglas. Douglas employs the use of words such as your and their in order to separate the two races. On the other hand, Washington uses words such as our and we in order to create a sense of unity between the black south and the white south. Although the two speeches are analogous, Washington's speech includes some contradictory and controversial elements.
Let us take into consideration the following quote. "...Cast your ...
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In 1895 Booker T. Washington's radical views of equality lead him to present the Atlanta Exposition. This famous speech can be compared to that of Frederick Douglas. Douglas employs the use of words such as your and their in order to separate the two races. On the other hand, Washington uses words such as our and we in order to create a sense of unity between the black south and the white south. Although the two speeches are analogous, Washington's speech includes some contradictory and controversial elements.
Let us take into consideration the following quote. "...Cast your buckets down where you are..." Here, Washington is not only addressing the black population, this statement is directed towards whites also. Washington is asking white society to give local jobs to people within the country (mainly blacks) instead of hiring European emigrants. However, the controversy arises when one ponders the message depicted for blacks. As a people, if blacks were to cast down their buckets where they stood, they would be embracing digression and sublimation. Furthermore, their despondent status within white society would be ignored.
The following statement demonstrates the contradictory elements present in the Atlanta Exposition. "We can be as separate as the five fingers..." This statement is in conflict with his proposal of a mutual progress within the gates of segregation. To some degree, segregation involves a difference in opinion and a definite difference in culture whereas mutual progress involves two parties working together towards a common goal. Unfortunately, this was not the case between the white and black south. The white south was not interested in black liberation and integration, they were focused only on what they would be loosing, cheap labor. The controversial and contradictory elements within the Atlanta Exposition are what left it so open for criticism by individuals such as
W.E.B. Du Bois.
Unlike Washington, Du Bois was born of a free nation, Massachusetts. In other words, he did not have the first hand experience of slavery or enslavement. Furthermore, without such a notion, there laid no foundation upon which attitudes of obedience and submission could develop. Du Bois simply lacked the background necessary to feel a sense of inferiority to whites. His lacking in this sense prompted him to attend some of the most prestigious institutes and universities. Du Bois attended schools such as Fisher, Harvard University, and later Berlin. It is indeed this high life, which influenced his mechanisms of thought.
W.E.B. Du Bois employed nationalism as a means by which the black population could ascend the ladder of equality. Unlike accommodation, nationalism is not convenient for white society. Nationalism places as emphasis on the promotion of ones culture over all others. It is here that Du Bois is capable of being cited for hypocrisy. Due to the fact that Dubois was from Massachusetts, a free state, it is possible to argue that Du Bois is not entirely of the people. Furthermore, he had never experienced what the southern black population had experienced throughout the years of slavery. Ultimately, how could Du Bois promote a culture he knew nothing of, for it was not until he attended Fisher that he experienced this southern black culture? This is the very reason Du Bois was accused of being an elitist.
Du Bois' social agenda was centered on the idea of the talented ten. The formulation of this talented ten stated that the elite blacks in society were to uplift their fellow brothers and sisters. Here, it sounds as if Du Bois is creating segregation with in the black population itself. His belief that knowledge flows down the ladder of equality presents class issues. It is possible to argue that due to Du Bois' lack of a sense of inferiority to whites was replaced by a sense of superiority to the southern black culture when he attended Fisher. Just as the whites did, W.E.B. Du Bois managed to create distance between the lesser beings and the elites. Not only did he employ this elitist social agenda but he also proposed the theory of voluntary segregation between the white south and the black south. Again we see that Du bois is lacking in a sense of inferiority to whites in giving black southerners the right to choose to be segregated or not. Because Du Bois' agenda differed so greatly from that of Booker T. Washington's the space is left open for criticism and critique.
The Souls of Black Folk is a book in which Du Bois criticizes Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Exposition. Du Bois states that Washington's admonishment of blacks to ignore their right to vote is ludicrous. Furthermore, Washington stated that the right to vote could have no impact on southern black life because racism was still in existence. Du bois responded to this state by saying that forfeiting the right to vote would rob black southerners of political power and underscore their civil rights. Why should they give up and let go of something for which they had so diligently fought? This is the very reason for which Du bois came to call Washington's Atlanta Exposition the Atlanta Compromise.
In discussing the background, education, and mechanisms of thought we can now determine whether Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. Du Bois was the most appropriate leader of the time period. Although Booker T. Washington employed a very controversial and contradictory political and social agenda, he was still of the people and for the people. Du Bois, what with his elitist attitude and class issues did not seem to have the best interest of black southerners in mind. He imposed a sense of inferiority and created internal segregation within black southern culture. His openness on the subject of voluntary segregation of the two races made him seem pompous in the eyes of white society. After all, Washington's political agenda may have forfeited black political power and underscored civil rights, but it was indeed relevant to propose that voting would not impact black southern life due to the existence of racism. This time period was not called the age of W.E.B. Du Bois; it was called the Age of Booker T. Washington. Therefore we can conclude, based on his background, education, and mechanisms of thought, that Booker T. Washington was indeed the more appropriate leader in the struggle to ascend the ladder of equality.
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