Similarities Between Booker T. Washington And W. E. B Dubois

The Hidden Movement

"I still have a dream, it is a dream taught within the American dream, that one day, this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of being free. Behold these truths to be self evident, that all men are created equally." - Martin Luther King. As Martin Luther King states, he envies the thought of African American people being treated the same as the white man, so, that leads the thought of, should African American citizens have to fight to earn your freedom, as Booker T. Washington believes, or do you side with W.E.B. Du Bois’ opinion, do think black people should be born with equality. Booker T. Washington, the American author, orator and advisor was born into slavery on April 5th, 1881, in Virginia. He educated

In 1872, he left home and walked 500 miles to Hampton Normal Agricultural Institute in Virginia for better education, which was a huge risk, potentially leading to execution by slave owners, or getting taken into another plantation. Booker had strong beliefs in that the African American should fight for their rights, it would lead the African Americans to feel that they actually earned their rights, not just given basic rights. W.E.B. De Bois on the other hand, was an American sociologist, historian and civil rights activist. Du Bois grew up in a relatively tolerant community compared to Bookers situation, and began his schooling at a young age, and eventually worked himself into two colleges to complete his degree, The University of Berlin and Harvard. In 1909 he became one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or better known as the NAACP. He believed that it was inhumane the way African American people were treated, so he stuck by his motive of fighting for equal rights for black people from birth, unlike Booker T, Washington. Although Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. De Bois have many similarities, there are clearly some differences between how they believed African Americans

both fought for African American equality, they had a few differences in the way they expressed their beliefs. W.E.B. believes that African Americans should be born with the same rights as the white man, and clearly stated the demands that the black men and women have for the whites, “First… political power, Second, instances on civil rights, Third, higher education of Negro youth…” (W.E.B Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk). This quote took from, The Souls of Black Folk displays a direct command for black people of all ages, and really shows the type of person Du Bois is. On the flip side, Booker T. Washington has a more complicated view on how African Americans should earn their rights. “‘Cast down your bucket where you are’ -- cast it down in making friends in every manly way of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded.” (Washington, Atlanta Compromise). In perspective of racial power, he is in the shoes of the black man talking to the white man, asking the white man to respect the black men for who they are, and he is requesting the idea of equality and acceptance of their culture. Shown from the following quotes we can see that they have different views on how the black men and women should obtain equality, but they are also similar in