Booker T. Washington's Analysis

Booker T. Washington, according to Gutek (2013), walked a tightrope of competing interests (p. 314). “He tried to appease Alambama’s white political structure, soliciting funding from northern philanthropists, and working to improve the condition of African Americans in the South” (Gutek, 2013, p. 314). Gutek (2013) wrote that Washington emphasized a self-help doctrine by which African Americans would advance through their own self-reliant efforts as farmers, workers, and teachers (p. 314-315). Washington advised African Americans to stay put where they were and that whites would fund a basic education for them and later hire them as trained workers. “Washington accommodated the policy of racial segregation when he told whites that the races could remain separate socially as long as blacks were not …show more content…
I believe that they both wanted to improve the life styles of African Americans by ensuring education and training was available. With all of this being said, I do believe that they could have come to a mutual understanding. Both men wanted what they thought was best for African Americans, but in order to entertain both men, they would have had to agree to disagree on some things. For example, Washington could have agreed that segregation was a pressing issue and try to stand up for what was equal rather than accommodating the policies in place. Du Bois on the other hand could have agreed to start small with the movement. For example, instead of going straight to demanding college and universities, he could have started with trainings and basic education. After those were effectively in place, then he could continue the fight by adding college and universities. By deciding to meet in the middle, both men would have still been doing good for the African American people while supporting each other rather than fighting against each