Frederick Douglass Vs Dubois Research Paper

The late 1800s were a strange time for “black” people because although they were supposedly freed from slavery they were still dealing with tones of racial persecution while trying to assert themselves into the dominate society. A debate aroused as to how “black” people should approach their new status in society and how they should deal with the continued racism they were facing. The two individuals at the frontline of this debate were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Dubois. One may wonder how activists during the time of slavery such as Frederick Douglass would have approached the issue and whose argument he would have prefered. I think if Fredrick Douglass had still been alive he would have taken the side of W.E.B Dubois because they both …show more content…
Both Douglass and Du Bois were apart of organizations that fought for the rights of “black” people. Douglass worked with the abolitionists and the anti-slavery society while Du Bois worked with the NAACP and the Niagara movement. Part of why Du Bois criticises Washington is because he claims that Washington is asking “black” people to give up three things which include, “First, political power, Second, insistence on civil rights, Third, higher education of the negro youth” (DuBois 29). Du Bois argues that this has lead to “The disenfranchisement of the negro, the legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority for the negro and the steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the negro” (DuBois 29). Du Bois makes it clear in this statement that he is very passionate about civil rights and that without it there is not much hope for advancement in the “black” community. Douglass makes a similar argument regarding civil rights in his What the Black Man Wants speech by stating that “by depriving us of suffrage, you affirm our incapacity to form an intelligent judgment respecting public men and public measures” (Douglass). Douglass is basically saying that by denying “black” people the right to vote, there is a sense of inferiority being asserted because it is implies that …show more content…
Therefore it is impossible for me to decide what is best for “black” people. This makes my argument somewhat biased. All I can do is take an educated guess as to who’s side Douglass would take based on the reading I have done but I will never know whose side he would have taken in reality. That being said, I think he would have taken the side of Du Bois because they both shared a strong passion for civil rights and education, plus they had a similar understanding regarding the struggle of the “black” person in