4/13/08

In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois presents his views on the problems African Americans would face, the progress his race had made since the Civil War, and how well he thought the race could possibly do in the future. It had been mentioned in class prior to reading this text that W.E.B. DuBois had pretty different views than Booker T. Washington, but I did not realize that DuBois called Washington's ideas counterproductive and harmful to the progress of African Americans. Washingtong believed that everyone should be given an education and that hard work and laboring with the hands were not bad things. In fact, he thought each individual should appreciate the value of labor before he did anything else. Booker T. Washington also did his best to keep from getting involved in politics. He thought that African Americans going into positions of importance around the state and counties was detrimental because they were not ready or trained for such things. W.E.B. DuBois, on the otherhand, believed education of the individual should be based on that person's individual ability. He also thought that the idea of the vote and civic equality were necessary for the progress of African Americans. DuBois saw Washington's ideas as a way of submission and acceptance of segregation. I think that having these two opposite stances on the best way to bring about progress in their race would create a rift in that race. After reading Washington's text, I thought that his propositions and ideas made sense and would help bring about change for African Americans. But after reading DuBois' text and seeing another perspective, I'm starting to question whether or not Washington was completely right. But I also don't know if DuBois' more radical ideas for change are correct either.