Booker T. Washington's Fight For Equality

There are a few ways that Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. DuBois differ in their strivings for racial equality. The reason that these men differ in their views are pretty apparent and go back to the separate arguments that Jane Addams and Elizabeth Cady Stanton produced for women's rights in the 19th century. Jane Addams made some compromises in her push for women's suffrage to make her argument easier to swallow and take a small step towards equality. Stanton puts out her whole argument for total equality which made her argument hard for her generation to accept, but got all the problems on the table.
Washington appears to make some compromises in his argument. His speech is actually called the "Atlanta Compromise." He says that "in no way have the value and manhood of the American Negro

He says that "It is at the bottom of life we must begin, and not at the top. Nor should we permit our grievances to overshadow our opportunities" (Washington). Because of Washington's acceptance of inferiority of his race, at the time, economically, he again appeals to the white audience in front of his speech, at the African American expo.He almost apologizes for how low the blacks are starting by saying "Gentlemen of the Exposition, as we present to you our humble effort at an exhibition of our progress, you must not expect overmuch" (Washington). This puts the pressure of equality on the black community, and takes pressure off the white community. This is done by Washington basically claiming that though the black people can't accomplish much now, they will be able to. He is focused on white support instead of total equality. He makes it seem that the black community can't prosper while being treated equally economically because they have only recently been on their own and aren't capable of keeping up with the white men who have been free to work for