Maniza Habib October 8, 2013 RED Booker T. Washington and W.E.

B Dubois Essay The battle for the rights of African Americans became a pressing issue after the Civil War and Reconstruction era. The newfound freedom overwhelmed many Blacks, but segregation and discrimination brought their freedom crashing down soon after. Two African-American leaders, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B DuBois, had strategies for economic and political justice that sharply clashed. In order to overcome the social injustices that followed Reconstruction in 1877, W.E.B DuBois believed that if African Americans gained political parity, social independence would follow; contrariwise, Booker T. Washington developed an idea that freedmen should accept discrimination and promote themselves with hard work. W.E.B. DuBois once said, The power of the ballot we need in sheer defense, else what shall save us from a second slavery? Black suffrage was a key element to DuBoiss philosophy. In his book, Autobiography, Dubois states, We would vote; with the right to vote goes everything: freedom, manhood, and honor of our wives, the chastity of our daughters, the right to work, and the chance to rise. DuBois believed that the political and government involvement of African Americans would grant them civil justice (Booker T. & W.E.B.). He was an avid supporter of equal rights and laws for freedman in order to achieve their social impartiality (DuBois 249-251). In addition, he helped found the NAACP in order to advocate for political rights and a civil rights agenda (Booker T. & W.E.B.). W.E.B. Dubois believed that freedman should take a stand to lead themselves into a quest for political and social reform (Cayton et al. 325).
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Works Cited Primary Sources DuBois, W.E.B.. Autobiography. New York: International Publishing, 1970. 249-251. Print. Washington, Booker T.. "Atlanta Exposition Speech, 1895" Up From Slavery, An Autobiography New York: Doubleday and Company, 1902. 219-224. Print.

Secondary Sources "Booker T. & W.E.B." Frontline. Public Broadcasting Service, n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2013. <http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/etc/road.html>. Thorpe, Earl. The Mind of the Negro: An Intellectual History of Afro-Americans. Baton Rouge: La.: Ortileb Press, 1961. 330. Print.

Tertiary Sources Cayton, Andrew, et al. "The Expansion of Education." America: Pathways to the Present, Modern American History. Needham: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2005. 324-25. Print.