Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois and the Struggle

The book Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois and the Struggle for Racial Uplift was affectively written by Jacqueline M. Moore and published in 2003. This book review will look at the following themes, Washington being a gradualist while Du Bois wanting confrontational immediacy, and the idiom, “if you can’t beat them join them. ” What is also great about the book is that it starts with telling us about both philanthropist’s childhood to effectively reveal where each got their philosophies and unique characteristics and traits.

The injustice of racism and its evident role in some of Americas most prominent political and social aspects have perpetuated rigorous and squalor lifestyles for those of non-Caucasian ancestry. Jacqueline Moore clearly states evidence how white people have such a long history of being the dominant group and why it is so hard for blacks to assimilate. In the book the writer simply told us a story of 2 men’s journeys for racial uplift and wanted us to decide the theme for ourselves, telling both sides of the story in order to let us choose which of them we might agree with more.

The author did a good job letting us know Washington and Du Bois’s goals. The style of the novel is interconnected with its themes. In the novel, not only does Moore convey the ideas and concepts of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B Dubois, but Moore also illustrates the theories of which consists of gradualism and immediacy. “Washington was a gradualist, and Du Bois favored immediacy. Washington advocated economic advancement and self-help; Du Bois favored political advancement. ”(p. 7) Washington tries to possess the concept that, if you can’t beat them join them. This is one of the examples in the novel that Jacqueline Moore clearly and affectively states as evidence to one of the themes. The tone of Moore’s Novel is optimistic and assertive, which is evident when she says that “… although it was true that blacks had to make efforts to help themselves, without the support and encouragement of the white community and the elimination of discriminatory barriers, progress was not possible. (p. 72) Moore’s writing proves its effectiveness for it essentially explains Dubois’s theory of what blacks need to do too pursue a better life and achieve self-actualization that promotes higher possibilities and is free from lowering standards as he addresses his purpose, indicates his broad audience, and infuses a unique writing style that employs an in-depth point of view and an optimistic tone from Du Bois. “The difference was in the emphasis each man placed on his preferred method.

Washington argued that industrial education should come first so that southern blacks could gain basic schooling and useful skills with which to make something of themselves. Du Bois argued that without higher education for blacks there would be no black teachers for the industrial schools and therefor no chance for blacks to improve. ” (p. 61) Again, the writer states the goals of the 2 men to make sure the readers are able to convey the information to their own understanding.

Moore fills the readers with the knowledge that the white society of the past was philosophically corrupted and degraded the worth of black individuals due to white supremacy and the lack of cooperation from the whites, which depressed black’s motivation to instill within them their goals and expectations. The key to eliminating discrimination was to get the government to take initiative to end discrimination of the black race, but as time progressed, rebellious natured individuals presented their disapproval for this racial uplift and started clans like the KKK in order to discourage blacks from earning political rights. As their situation grew increasingly desperate, many poor blacks lost faith in the possibility of integration that both Washington and Du Bois held out as the ultimate goal. ”(p. 94). Supporting my thesis, many blacks have lost faith for racial uplift and started to think they couldn’t beat the white supremacist. “Eventually, after many struggles, the International Migration Society did send a group of 200 emigrants to Liberia in 1895 and another 321 in 1896. (p. 100) The book also did a good job stating statistical facts. One of the class discussions that we had was “Was it too early to migrate back to Africa? ” We asked ourselves this and had a big debate over it, but the novel states that only about 1,000 black people took the ship back to Africa while the population of blacks at the time was somewhere around 8,000,000, that is not even 1 percent and most couldn’t even afford it.

It was important that the book stated facts showing that although blacks tried very hard to become part of the dominant group, they did not have the tools and money to do so as the whites were very powerful when it came to black rights. They did not understand how hard the standard of living was for blacks, so the people of color continued to be ridiculed by the army of brainwashed drones, who stood tall at the pinnacle of ignorance. Overall the book did a good job adding to my understanding of the subject.

A lot of what I read in the book was learned in our in class lectures giving me a head start. Moore wishes to guide her readers out of their blind state of mind and use the perspective of the two philanthropists in order find their way through the often dark and bleak aspects of racial uplift. Before reading the book I knew little to nothing about Washington and Du Bois, but affectively it has managed to reveal all I need to know about the two and all that they have done in their efforts to achieve justice.