Of Booker T. Washington & Progress

Amanda Onalaja

January 10, 2010

AP English III – Pd. 2

In the third chapter of The Souls of Black Folk, “Of Booker T. Washington and Others”, DuBois writes about the disadvantages on what may seem the opposite of his “liberal approach”. That is a vocational one; who better than Booker T. Washington to express this approach. I’ve always considered Booker T. Washington and DuBois as opposites. DuBois believed African Americans needed higher learning in order to make their way into a civil society, whereas Washington believed African Americans should seek economic leverage and then equality would come later. This very chapter discusses the “subtle” rejection DuBois feels for this approach.

The Tuskegee Institute to this day is a place where hose can learn a craft and perfect a skill. This approach is created with good intentions. Washington believed men and women should excel at their skill, which helped their movement as a people, however DuBois argues, “… nor Tuskegee could remain open a day were it not for teachers trained in Negro colleges or trained by their graduates”, ultimately stating education is the root to all success. It is the life water which can nourish the African American race if applied the proper way. Civic equality is what blacks needed, and being able to craft the sturdiest steel, won’t accomplish that. While complimenting Washington for his ideals, DuBois still politely discouraged them.

The fourth chapter titled, “Of the Meaning of Progress”, DuBois recounts his travels; meeting several families and persons along the hills of Tennessee. He illustrative each character from homely to rough, retelling the story of their demise or survival. The interesting thing, is that there is a moral to his madness, more than just a tale of strangers, inside lies the tale of progress. The children of those hills were eager to learn, but a string of mishaps, including the departure of their teacher Mr. DuBois, caught up with them along with life. “My log schoolhouse was gone. In its place stood Progress; and Progress, I understand, is necessarily ugly”. How can one progressive if a forward step are never taken, never even dreamed of being taken. Ambition is just a tool of progressivism.