Southern Religion and Culture Essay

Booker T. Washington vs. W.E.B. DuBois

Two of the most influential leaders in African American history emerged during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Booker T. Washington preached a conservative message of accommodation and focused on ways of self-improvement. At the other end of the spectrum, W.E.B. Du Bois espoused a radical strategy of political action and protest. Their ideological conflict helped produce the character of the modern civil rights movement.

My thesis is that, while Washington’s racial philosophy had pragmatic appeal, it failed to adequately respond to changes in the racial climate, and as a result, lost out to the "radical," protest-oriented social activism endorsed by Du Bois. The purpose of this paper is to show how a changing racial context framed mainstream opinion.

The following sources were incorporated into this paper: W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1989); W.E.B. Du Bois, The Autobiography of W.E.B. Du Bois: A Soliloquy on Viewing my Life from the Last Decade of its First Century (1991); Manning Marable, Black Leadership (1998); Thomas Sowell, "Up From Slavery" (1994); Ramon G. Vela, "The Washington-Du Bois Controversy and African-American Protest: Ideological Conflict and its Consequences" (2002);

In an historic 1895 speech at the Atlanta Exposition, Booker T. Washington won the near universal favor of whites, and almost overnight, secured a place as the most influential African American leader of his time by urging accommodation to the status quo over agitation for political rights. As part of this compromise, he proposed that blacks be given permission to develop their own economic, social, and educational institutions within the framework of white society. Many blacks pushing for a prompt end to racial segregation and disenfranchisement fairly criticized both the priorities and rhetoric of this approach. However, as evidenced by his programs for economic and cultural development, Washington’s racial philosophy reflected more an understanding of the southern cultural context than an indifference to class inequality.

When added to the profound disillusionment of Civil War defeat and the bitter resentment resulting from northern occupation throughout Reconstruction, the humiliation of seeing former slaves acquire equal rights made the restoration of home rule in the South a time for whites to "put blacks back in their place." In light of this atmosphere of hostility, Washington adopted a racial philosophy which stressed economic and cultural advancement over political rights. This, he believed, would naturally lead to complete equality. To accomplish these goals, Washington espoused a pragmatic strategy that both recognized the need for white philanthropy and the reality that blacks would, ultimately, receive little outside assistance. For example, as a result of his accommodation, he was able to accumulate the political clout and financial capital necessary to fund certain programs like the Tuskegee Institute and the National Negro Business League (Vela, 93). Through these institutions, Washington furthered his ideas of cultural well-being by teaching "racial pride and a set of values that included thrift, hard work, obedience, and cleanliness" (Vela, 92). Economically, the curriculum sought to organize black businesses around a free enterprise, anti-union system and offered vocational skills of a "practical and technical kind" (Vela, 93). In essence, Washington encouraged a policy of self-help based on good work habits, moral character, and racial solidarity because, as Du Bois said of him: "He had no faith in white people—not the slightest" (Sowell, 85). Ironically, this same distrust elicited quite a different, non-accommodationist response from the "radical" group.

Unlike the southern Washington whose "conservative" approach focused on the basic needs of "freed plantation slaves," Du Bois, a northern intellectual, placed greater attention on the theoretical concerns of "free persons of color" (Sowell, 90). In this regard, the "radicals" disagreed with Washington’s priorities. Du Bois, for example, promoted liberal education for the "talented tenth" over the more practical, vocational training offered at Tuskegee (Sowell, 89). Most importantly, they argued that Washington’s subordination of political matters hurt blacks. Without equal rights, black businessmen would be unable to protect themselves and true economic progress would be impossible. Thus, they promoted political protest against segregation and disenfranchisement. Morever, they found Washington’s public rhetoric and praise of oppressive whites unacceptable. By downplaying the negative effects of racial discrimination and not expressing a desire to end it, Washington communicated contentment with present conditions. Despite these objections, many radicals still saw potential in the "Atlanta Compromise" articulated in 1895 and sought to avoid confrontation. As Du Bois himself wrote, "I regarded his Atlanta speech as a statesmanlike effort to reach understanding with the white South" (Du Bois, 44). However, as race-relations worsened, the balance quickly began to shift to the "radical" side.

Racist attitudes permeated the South in the years following Reconstruction, and racial discrimination became the unwritten law of the land. However, several developments in the regional and national climate between 1890 and 1915 raised sufficient concerns to cause people to reconsider the "conservative" racial philosophy. Specifically, these changes included perceptions of increased violence towards blacks, Jim Crow, and signs of growing racism in the North. During this period, thirteen states disenfranchised blacks or denied them political participation altogether, and de jure, or legalized, segregation took effect. While "these conditions were, more or less, a matter of fact...by 1890," Jim Crow "went a step further" by making it a "matter of fact" (Vela, 95). The permanence of these developments, thus, undermined Washington’s theory that economic and cultural advancement would lead to political gains. Additionally, while actual lynchings of all races decreased throughout the nation, the ratio increased for African Americans. Moreover, "an epidemic of race riots" and high media coverage of instances of violence contributed to the perception of deteriorating race relations, again calling into question Washington’s philosophy (Vela, 98). Finally, changes in national politics, and events such as the 1908 Springfield riot which targeted prosperous blacks suggested the spread of racist thought into the North (Vela, 95). The cumulative effect of these developments and Washington’s often apologetic public statements concerning racial violence was to de-legitimize the "conservative" plan of accommodation and encourage a move to an agitation-centered strategy. Further contributing to a united opposition was the authoritarian power exercised through the "Tuskegee Machine."

Washington’s enormous influence in the controlling of public discourse constituted a major grievance for fellow social activists. Particularly, the "Wizard’s" practice of censorship angered his opposition. According to Du Bois, "The controversy as it developed was not entirely against Mr. Washington’s ideas, but became the insistence upon the right of other Negroes to have and express their ideas" (Du Bois, 240-241). The effect of this suppression was to instill a greater sense of urgency over Washington’s practices. A second objection arose over Washington’s strong influence on educational issues. Manning Marable states how "the ‘Tuskegee Machine’ had developed such influence over national education policy that nonvocational schools for blacks were in serious jeopardy" (Marable, 56). Of course, this presented serious barriers for the liberal education favored by Du Bois. Unfortunately, neither his nor anyone else’s constituency fared little chance against the pervasive "Tuskegee Machine." The problem of overcoming this obstacle led to the final stage in the shift to a new "radical" mainstream in African American social thought.

The task of gathering a force capable of challenging the "Tuskegee Machine" proved difficult in light of the racial and ideological diversity of dissent to Washington’s policy. However, these various groups committed in 1909 to the establishment of a rival organization devoted to political equality, the NAACP. The shape it took differed considerably from what most anticipated. Its members included more conservative figures, such as Oswald Garrison Villard who sympathized with Washington but opposed his inordinate power, while moderate voices occupied a minority position for the most part (Vela, 97). At the same time Du Bois began to leave behind capitalism for communism, many of the most ardent critics of the "conservative" racial philosophy like Mary White Ovington and William English Walling subscribed to socialist or progressive ideologies (Vela, 97). As a result, the mainstream of subsequent civil rights activism tended to abandon Washington’s accommodationist emphasis on economic advancement in favor of a more radical agenda focused on legal rights and political equality.
The fundamental theme running throughout African American history relates to the struggle to overcome oppression and attain equality. Moreover, a complementary sub-theme of how to achieve this goal is equally conspicuous. In 1895 amidst the turmoil of white racism, Booker T. Washington proposed a philosophy of accommodation and jettisoned, at least temporarily, the quest for political equality. Many observers, including blacks, considered this a pragmatic and reasonable approach given the circumstances. However, as race relations deteriorated and the "Tuskegee Machine" came to yield monopolistic control, demands for legal rights supplanted the "conservative" approach.