Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois – Two Leaders of Black Community

Booker T. Washington was one of the best leader of black community. He felt that blacks could not be a in a position to improve their standing until their communities reached a level of development that made equality undeniable. he had a different opinion about the racism, injustice, economic progress and other social problems that black community was facing. He told blacks to concentrate on education and financial progress as well as keeping close community ties. This way, in time, the black community would be full of doctors, lawyers, architects, teachers, businessmen and other professionals.

He believed that they had to accept reality and accomplish hard work to obtain a better future. The black community would evolve out of its poverty into something that could not be denied as equals. In the meantime, blacks should avoid politics and confrontations. Because of this, many thought of him as sell out. His strategy depended on there being an advanced black community before it could take up the quest for political rights. He believed that the blacks should work for themselves. Booker T. Washington asked the white people for help not equality.

On the other hand, W.E.B Dubois focused on the exact opposite things that of Booker T. Washington. Dubois focused on a strategy called the gradualist political strategy. The gradualist political strategy tells that Dubois was very focused on blacks being book smart to get anywhere in life. He believed that they should be just like whites, with high education and IQ’s which all comes from reading, writing, and organized education. He wanted the blacks to have intellectual advances in their race. The smarter the blacks got, the more equal they were to the whites is what Dubois believed. Dubois asserted that economic security was not enough, and blacks should become educated. Dubois mainly took Booker T. Washington’s ideas and took them a step further. While Booker T. Washington just wanted the blacks to have opportunities without equally, Dubois wanted the full package. He wanted blacks to have the opportunities as well as being equal to the whites.

In conclusion, Booker T. Washington focused on having education for real life jobs and not asking for equality from the whites. He just focused on getting help from the whites and accepting their place as blacks on earth. As WEB Dubois mostly focused on was gaining equality along with education to become well educated and book smart, to have education as well as equality. Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois were two great segregation leaders who brought two totally different points of views.