What Is The Difference Between Booker T Washington And W. E. B Dubois

Slavery on the African Americans during the 1500s to the late 19th century was a very cruel time. The conditions that African Americans had to endure was very arduous. Most whites felt superior towards the people that they labeled as slaves. African Americans were stripped of their dignity, pride and were often put through embarrassing situations. African Americans whom were labeled as slaves felt like they had no hope and that all they were good for was to work in the fields. In 1863, the President at the time, Abraham Lincoln, made the Emancipation Proclamation that lead to the abolishment of slavery in 1865. Although many Ex-slaves or African Americans were known as freedmen, they still faced oppressive situations that were far worse …show more content…
Washington and W.E.B Dubois were both activists that wanted to help elevate African Americans by challenging white supremacy, but they did have different routes they took in order to contribute to the black community. Booker T. wanted blacks to attend schools, but to enhance their agricultural skills, whereas W.E.B Dubois wanted blacks to get an education, cultivate the mind and become leaders. In the “African Americans: A Concise History”, Booker T. Washington stated, “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top” (317). Booker T. Washington was praised by many African Americans and even the whites, but his motive was to show the whites that being skilled agriculturally would gain blacks their respect. The whites wanted African American to be workers so they could use them for their businesses which wouldn’t have gotten them any respect. During the time of slavery, all slaves did was work agriculturally on the fields and in homes, yet they were never given the respect nor acceptance of white Americans. Booker T. Washington took an approach that many Americans may have agreed with but it wouldn’t create a big change. W.E.B Dubois wanted African Americans to gain their education which whites did not want. Education to Dubois was the main thing that stopped African Americans from gaining rights. Attending schools meant blacks could become literate and in turn stand up for political and civil rights. If African Americans had knowledge of the laws, politics, and medicine, then will the black community thrive and make a change. They wouldn’t be subjected to laws that oppressed blacks, have a sense of what rights as a citizen they had and even become doctors and inventors which many have become. The whites as well as Booker T. Washington were upset with Dubois. Once blacks managed to make their own schools, hospitals, clubs,