"Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange meaning of being black here in the dawning of the Twentieth Century." - Du Bois, "The Soul's of Black Folks" (613)
W.E.B. Du Bois, the courageous author who penned "The Soul's of Black Folks", deserves to be commended for his work. But in terms of his disagreement with Booker T. Washington, Du Bois does not deserve the acclaim for what he advocates in it. Du Bois' argument against the illogical agreement of Booker T. Washington with the Caucasian dominated majority that there is no place for African-Americans in higher education is very well founded and respectable. However, I believe that what Washington professed was not as off-target as Du Bois interpreted it. Du Bois makes several claims in his work in opposition to Washington's belief that African-American were in need of vocational skills that were vital to them in their endeavors to accumulate wealth and to better their living situations.
Pie chart of religions of African Americans
Signing Peace Treaties, Washington (LOC)
Washington DCAmong these claims is his argument that Washington is foolish to think this is feasible because, as Du Bois asserts, white people will never teach these skills to blacks. As he states in support of his opinion that African-Americans are not only at a severe disadvantage but will continue to be unless they heed his guidance, "When these variously constituted human particles are suddenly thrown cast on the sea of life, some swim, some sink, and some hang suspended, to be forced up or down by the chance currents of a busy hurrying world."(618) He truly has a gift with words, and the way he is able to wax poetic about such an appalling subject is a feat in itself. Not only is Du Bois wrong, but I believe his entire reasoning to be...