Comparing W. E. B. Dubois And Helen Boardman's Man

In James Baldwin’s essay, “A Talk to Teachers”, he addresses the teachers around the world. He argues that the purpose of education is to equip students with the ability to look at the world for themselves. Clearly, Baldwin’s most significant rhetorical move to persuade the reader is his use of ethos, pathos, and repetition.

These two individuals have varying views on the education of black Americans. Booker T Washington took the view that proper higher education made for the betterment of the black community. He believed that taking pride in one’s race and becoming responsible citizens is what would help the black Americans against the racial discrimination they received. He also helped to create black higher education. The main difference between these two arguments is that one focused on education while the other focused more on social action. DuBois wanted blacks to take a more aggressive stance against those who were against them.

Carter Godwin Woodson remains a legendary figure among black scholars, especially in the field of Afro-American history. He initiated the annual celebration of the Negro history, which marked a stride in an attempt to eliminate racial based discrimination. Woodson’s commitment to scholarly work was formidable. For instance, he pioneered research work on Negro migration, history of nonprofessional’s, the mind of the Negro, and Negro’s orations. His numerous work shed light on the extent of economic exploitation, cultural isolation, and segregation that dominated the society. The Mis-Education of the Negro is one of the controversial books by Woodson, which attempts to convince the blacks in America that they have accepted white domination as the consequence of being brainwashed.

W.E.B DuBois, Civil Rights activist, journalist, and educator, in his book “Black Reconstruction”, he researched the role African Americans played during America’s Reconstruction period. DuBois targets an audience of any open-minded reader that is willing to read about history from the lens of an African American. In the chapter titled “The Propaganda of History”, as the title suggests, DuBois argues that history is intentionally mispresented in order to influence the beliefs of the generations to come. “The Propaganda of History” analysis why the post-Civil War history remains manipulated and how that affects the African American community. One of his main claims is that the history of African Americans is subjective and belittling, that it

In the analysis of the abundance of wonderful leaders who made a difference in the African American community since emancipation, W.E.B Du Bois made a special impact to advance the world. From founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to his influential book The Souls of Black Folk, he always found an accurate yet abstract way of verbalizing the strives of African Americans as well as making platforms for them to be known. Although he had less power than most of the bigger named African American leaders of his time, W.E.B Dubois’ overweighing strengths verses weaknesses, accurate and creative analogies, leadership style, and the successful foundations he stood for demonstrates his ability to be both realistic and accurate in his assessment since emancipation.

He said that the most eminent Negro scholar in America, Dr. W.E.B. Dubois quoted, “It’s a silly waste of money, time, and temper to try and compel a powerful majority to do what they are determined not to do… It is impossible - impossible for a Negro to receive a proper education at a white college”. Henry Lowe (from Wiley College) responded using logos and ethos. He said that DuBois is the first Negro to receive a Ph.D. from a white college and is a product of an Ivy League school. Then he said, “... DuBois knows all too well the white man’s resistance to change. But that’s no reason to keep a black man out of any college. If someone didn’t force upon the South something it wasn’t ready for, I’d still be in chains”. If DuBois got the opportunity of the best education so should the rest of the

DuBois impacted black education with his spread of his ideas to help equalize education between all races. Du Bois thought scholarships could promote racial equality and promoted that idea by writing numerous books and articles including Black Reconstruction in America in 1935. His doctoral thesis, "The Suppression of the African Slave Trade in America," became the first book published by Harvard University Press in 1896. Before the end of the 19th century, DuBois taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Atlanta University. During this period of his endeavor in black education, he became the first scholar to regularly study African American urban life. DuBois’s first post-dissertation book, The Philadelphia Negro, released in 1899, determined that housing and employment discrimination were the principal barriers to racial equality and black prosperity in the urban North. (blackpast.org/aah/dubois-william-edward-burghardt-1868-1963) In his written book, The Souls of Black Folks, released in 1903, he argued for "manly" and "ceaseless agitation and insistent demand for equality” which demanded a education of equality for blacks that’s not inferior to whites. (W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP, Virginia Historical Society) Du Bois promoted the idea of self improvement, without giving up full citizenship rights, which impacted the general well being of African American and visualized the idea of having an exclusive group of all black, educated leaders called “The

James Anderson’s The Education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935 discusses the creation and black devotion to education. Anderson argues that contrary to popular belief, blacks laid the foundation for their education, and even though others sought to control the system, blacks still fought for their own education the way they saw fit. He also argues that there has been pivotal relationship between education and oppressed groups—American education has always funded education for all (Anderson, 1988, p.5). I believe Anderson argues this through opposition, emancipation, and fighting low standards. Anderson begins the monograph with discussion of the postwar South and how they were hostile to the idea of black schooling.

From 1896 to 1924, America went through a period known as progressivism in which people of all walks of life banded together to oppose conservatism and reform society. Progressives generally believed that government is necessary for change, however; it had to more significantly embody the ideals of democracy. Some of the specific changes that progressives wanted were regulating railroads, a direct election of senators, graduated income tax, limited immigration and eight-hour workdays. By supporting these changes, the progressives hoped to promote and expand democracy and thus give the people more power. One of the goals of the progressives was to address the wealth gap and reduce income inequality by transferring power to the people through

How much of American history do you know? Black history is a part of America’s history, but why is it not deeply taught in schools? In schools we often talk about white American leaders or wars America has won, but not much history of other cultures in America. We may hear a little information about certain minority leaders who fought for a change, but not much facts. If today’s youth aren’t being taught about the thing’s their ancestors have gone through and all the things that has happened and why, many will grow up ignorant. Dr. Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Jackie Robinson, these are only a few people mentioned in class, but what about Claudette Colvin who nine months before Rosa Parks, decided not to get off the bus and was taken to jail, or Emmett Till who was 14 and brutally beaten and killed for whistling at a white woman. These are only a few who are not mentioned in our history books or classrooms.

Around the end of the 19th century, there lived many people wanting equality between races. Two main leaders of the African American community that emerged during that time were W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. All though both of these men were fighting for the same cause, they disagreed greatly with each other relating to the strategies that could be used to create progress in both the social and economic aspects of how African Americans lived and were treated.

The results of hard work can lay the foundation for a strong future and the timing of Dubois could have been better. Blacks trying to fight for their legal rights at this point in time would have resulted in many incidents of violence and bloodshed. When the news reported on this the telling would be skewed heavily in favor of whites, if any reporting was done at all about the violence. The protesters would have been seen as ignorant blacks, leading to a further decline in how the country treated black people. Dubois may have been highly educated and in possession of a high moral center, but he was not street smart. It would have been like trying to fight against a brick wall with a

In her 2013 “Bowie State University Commencement Speech”, found in They Say/I Say, Michelle Obama, the current First Lady of the United States, uses several rhetorical strategies, including historical references and appeals to emotion and history, in order to drive her central message of the importance of education and the responsibly of her audience to deliver the legacy of education to the next generation. Throughout the piece, Obama relays a historical analysis of the progress made in education for African Americans, including an exploration of the toil and sacrifice made over the decades so that that progress could come to pass. She concludes by calling the graduating students to action to carry on the legacy of educational excellence that

“I never hear one word about how Asian immigrants were among the first to turn California’s desert into fields of plenty.[...] I never learned that Asian immigrants were the only immigrants that were denied U.S. citizenship even though they served honorably in World War I.” (Ji-Yeon, Paragraph 4) This example, while it connects specifically to the author was not as effective in persuading the audience due to Asian Americans being a very small, lesser studied minority in America, but the author really hits the mark when she speaks of how underrepresented black Americans are in history textbooks. “I never learned that black people rose up in arms against slavery.” She also speaks of Frederick Douglass: a famed abolitionist and statesman; W.E.B. Du Bois: an author. black scholar, and civil rights activist; and Nat Turner: who led an uprising against white plantation owners in Virginia just prior to the Civil War. These men are leading historical figures of black independence, and since she states she never learned about them she is really getting through to an American audience about the discrimination in the perspective students are taught about in history

The lecture on African Americans in the 1920s by Professor David Canton is very disturbing. His lecture was on the different unjust treatment that African Americans endured. The professor, to me, was trying to make the listener feel the anguish that African Americans did in the 1920s. In some sense he appeared passionate and at times angry about the treatment of African Americans. The government supported this hostile treatment because they believed African Americans were being subversive if they stood up and defended themselves. In listening to the lecture it is evident that there was unfair treatment with fatal outcome at times of African Americans. Throughout history I have seen the changes made by society and government. African Americans have been heard and continue to be heard as issues occur.