Washington v. Du Bois

It’s interesting that in Right to Ride the author sheds so much light upon this divide between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois’ position on education and its place in activism even though the book mainly surrounds the advances of more regional activists and organizers. For instance, Kelley posits, “Booker T. Washington [was] an educator who compromised on the question of black citizenship and maintained public silence in the face of white supremacist atrocities” (Page 3). Even more, Kelley goes on to describe in later chapters how Washington ruined J. Barber’s career and political aspirations by using his influence to destroy Barber's public image and trust (Page 196). Further, as the leader of the Tuskegee Institute, Washington was the proponent of black education throughout the United States during his life and even after it, pushing it towards a more accommodationist black education system rather than a substantive one for social change. Thus, Washington pushed for black education in light of the growing market and need for employment; in other words, Washington advocated for a more technical education, placating those White Architects of Black Education pursuing cheaper employment and competition in the workplace. Conversely, Kelley paints Du Bois in a completely different light, repeatedly calling him the agitator. She states, “As the foremost scholar of race, Du Bois remained vigilant in his efforts to dedicate his work as a historian, sociologist, and author to trace historical and contemporary contours of African American life and to delineate ‘the problem of the color line’” (Page 8). Even more, Du Bois constantly fights for equal rights within the educational realm instead of placating white power and influence. Ultimately, I wanted to outline this divide because I have recently seen it reappear over and over again in the context of African American activism, especially in regards to fledgling organizations budding through the surface during the late 1800s. As such, this division countermands various activists and their dreams of racial equality; Washingtonians and the influence of Washington himself go against contemporary and historical activism, giving accommodationist, white supremacy some kind of validation and tool to use against those that strive for racial equality and social justice.