Two Great African Americans With One Common Goal: Booker T. Washington vs. William du Bois, Essay Example

Booker T. Washington and William Edward Du Bois were both Negro leaders and civil rights activists form the south, who advocated for the rights of the black race. In their respective leadership roles, they each fought against racial discrimination of the colored race by the white majority, as well as against a justice system that, besides favoring the whites, promoted the practice of slavery. The two speeches, The Atlanta Exposition Address and the Harper Ferry Speech by Booker T. Washington and William Du Bois respectively, are part of their advocacy for the emancipation of the South from slavery, discrimination, illiteracy and poverty. The essay analyses and compares the two speeches in terms of the arguments and the approaches adopted by each leader. It concludes that William Du Bois provides the most effective plan to achieve equality among the two races.

Booker T Washington’s approach is reconciliatory, as he sought to cultivate unity and harmony between blacks and whites. He advocated for a cooperative coexistence, which integrated the marginalized blacks into the mainstream society. In his opening remarks, he notes that the Negro people comprised of one-third of the South’s population, and they were central to its economic development.  They provided the bulk of manual labor in agricultural, industrial and domestic sectors; hence they could not be isolated from the South’s social and economic agenda. Consequently, his overall approach aimed to end enmity and rivalry along racial lines, through cooperation in all spheres of economic and social life. He drew a parallel from the analogue of a lost ship whose crew was in need of water, and urged both parties to strengthen relations with their neighbors (i.e. between white and black) by casting down their buckets where they were.

Nonetheless, Washington’s philosophy identified the colored race as subordinate in society, due to their inferior intellectual ability as compared to whites. Consequently, he challenged fellow blacks to establish themselves in areas that required little skills, then progress gradually to specialized areas as they gained knowledge, education and skills. He states that “with the leap from slavery,” the black man aspired for things beyond his ability, forgetting the fact that “they had to live by the work of their hands, and shall progress gradually as they gained knowledge (Washington 1895). As it were, they should be content within their present class as workers: tilling the land, working in the industries and engaging in trade, whilst learning knowledge and acquiring skills to prepare themselves for the privileges of leadership and managerial roles.

William Du Bois takes a clearly radical position in calling for the total and immediate abolition of social and economic inequalities. In contrast with Booker T. Washington, he asserts that freedom and equality is a right and not a privilege. These rights, he argued, should be accorded to the Negroes unconditionally and immediately, noting that they wanted immediate and full suffrage (Du Bois 1906). He identifies the historical experiences of the black race in slavery, which involved toil and hard work to earn their daily bread.  His radicalism, perhaps, was due to the realization that the reconciliatory approach adopted before by Washington had failed to serve the interests of the black race. For, he gives as his principal reason for the call for immediate action the fact that the defenders of black people’s rights were retreating, while their colleagues were afraid to speak out against racial discrimination (Du Bois 1906).

However, the effectiveness of Du Bois’ approach in regard to achieving equality is in his recognition of the realities that surrounded the black people. He recognized that the right to vote, an impartial justice system and education were crucial in empowering the black race to fight for its rights. Accordingly, he identified key areas that they needed to focus on: politics, the constitution and education. Dubois emphasized the need to empower black through active participation in national politics. He noted that the right to vote determined their (Du Bois 1906). This was a realistic approach, since national leaders, through Congress, passed laws that either encouraged or discouraged social and economic inequalities.

Secondly, Du Bois called for the elimination of illiteracy among the black people. He demanded that the government should step in and “wipe out” illiteracy, which significantly hindered the political and economic progress of the South. Indeed, even in the contemporary world, illiteracy and poverty run parallel to each other. Thus, to pull the Negro from his sorry economic state, it was necessary to give him a meaningful education. He observed that America had to end ignorance, or ignorance will destroy her (Du Bois 1906), thus emphasizing the need for a meaningful education that afforded blacks greater opportunities, and Ngoro’s right “to think, to know and aspire.”

Finally, the call for equal treatment under the law reflected an objective approach to discrimination in society. He argued that the rule of law should be executed without any partiality, regardless one was poor or rich, capitalist or laborer, white or black (Du Bois 1906). The legal system worked against blacks, making them victims of mob attacks, convictions and police harassment. As such, the emphasis on an impartial legal system addressed some of the injustices propagated against blacks in a predominantly white society. It is in this regard, therefore, that the paper identifies Du Bois’ speech as more effective in providing a way forward to end racial discrimination, and in so doing achieve social and economic equality for the blacks.

Works Cited

Du Bois, William. Speech Given at the Harper Ferry, for a Meeting of the Niagara Movement. August 1906. October 31, 2010. <http://www.nps.gov/archive/bowa/edprogram11/hfspeech.html>

Washington, Booker. “The Atlanta Exposition Address.”  18 September 1895. October 31, 2010. <http://www.nps.gov/archive/bowa/edprogram11/atlantaspeech.html>