Atlanta Compromise Essay Example

Atlanta Compromise Essay Example Atlanta Compromise Essay Atlanta Compromise Essay Essay Topic: The Souls of Black Folk Unlike Washington, Du Bois was born of a free nation, Massachusetts. In other words, he did not have the first hand experience of slavery or enslavement. Furthermore, without such a notion, there laid no foundation upon which attitudes of obedience and submission could develop. Du Bois simply lacked the background necessary to feel a sense of inferiority to whites. His lacking in this sense prompted him to attend some of the most prestigious institutes and universities. Du Bois attended schools such as Fisher, Harvard University, and later Berlin. It is indeed this high life, which influenced his mechanisms of thought. W.E.B. Du Bois employed nationalism as a means by which the black population could ascend the ladder of equality. Unlike accommodation, nationalism is not convenient for white society. Nationalism places as emphasis on the promotion of ones culture over all others. It is here that Du Bois is capable of being cited for hypocrisy. Due to the fact that Dubois was from Massachusetts, a free state, it is possible to argue that Du Bois is not entirely of the people. Furthermore, he had never experienced what the southern black population had experienced throughout the years of slavery. Ultimately, how could Du Bois promote a culture he knew nothing of, for it was not until he attended Fisher that he experienced this southern black culture? This is the very reason Du Bois was accused of being an elitist. Du Bois social agenda was centered on the idea of the talented ten. The formulation of this talented ten stated that the elite blacks in society were to uplift their fellow brothers and sisters. Here, it sounds as if Du Bois is creating segregation with in the black population itself. His belief that knowledge flows down the ladder of equality presents class issues. It is possible to argue that due to Du Bois lack of a sense of inferiority to whites was replaced by a sense of superiority to the southern black culture when he attended Fisher. Just as the whites did, W.E.B. Du Bois managed to create distance between the lesser beings and the elites. Not only did he employ this elitist social agenda but he also proposed the theory of voluntary segregation between the white south and the black south. Again we see that Du bois is lacking in a sense of inferiority to whites in giving black southerners the right to choose to be segregated or not. Because Du Bois agenda differed so greatly from that of Booker T. Washingtons the space is left open for criticism and critique. The Souls of Black Folk is a book in which Du Bois criticizes Booker T. Washingtons Atlanta Exposition. Du Bois states that Washingtons admonishment of blacks to ignore their right to vote is ludicrous. Furthermore, Washington stated that the right to vote could have no impact on southern black life because racism was still in existence. Du bois responded to this state by saying that forfeiting the right to vote would rob black southerners of political power and underscore their civil rights. Why should they give up and let go of something for which they had so diligently fought? This is the very reason for which Du bois came to call Washingtons Atlanta Exposition the Atlanta Compromise. In discussing the background, education, and mechanisms of thought we can now determine whether Booker T. Washington or W.E.B. Du Bois was the most appropriate leader of the time period. Although Booker T. Washington employed a very controversial and contradictory political and social agenda, he was still of the people and for the people. Du Bois, what with his elitist attitude and class issues did not seem to have the best interest of black southerners in mind. He imposed a sense of inferiority and created internal segregation within black southern culture. His openness on the subject of voluntary segregation of the two races made him seem pompous in the eyes of white society. After all, Washingtons political agenda may have forfeited black political power and underscored civil rights, but it was indeed relevant to propose that voting would not impact black southern life due to the existence of racism. This time period was not called the age of W.E.B. Du Bois; it was called the Age of Booker T. Washington. Therefore we can conclude, based on his background, education, and mechanisms of thought, that Booker T. Washington was indeed the more appropriate leader in the struggle to ascend the ladder of equality.