Booker T Washington and WEB Dubois

Question 1

Main messages/ideas in Washington’s Atlanta Exposition speech

Answer 1

• Finger and hand analogy (we can be segregated, but we’re still part of the same system)
• Cast down your bucket where you are (take advantage of the limited opportunities that you have)
• Stop fighting so hard for civil rights. A good life is in your reach through hard work in the fields, but you’re not seeing it.

Question 2

How does DuBois’ background compare to Washington’s?

Answer 2

Booker T. Washington:
-Conservative
-Was a slave as a child
-Got industrial education from Hampton Institute
W.E.B. DuBois:
-Radical
-Northerner, born free, didn’t grow up with southern -prejudice
-Went to a university and got a doctorate from Harvard (first)
-He founded the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People)

Question 3

Main messages/ideas in DuBois’ “The Souls of Black Folks”

Answer 3

• America’s issue is drawing too many lines (the color line)

- African Americans can’t get ahead

Question 4

What in Washington’s message is DuBois rejecting?

Answer 4

• Washington wanted to have black people win the respect of whites through education, work, and making money
• DuBois thought this would only fuel white oppression