Civil Rights Advocates Late 1800’s – Early 1900’s

The Matter of Civil Rights The Promises of the Civil War Amendments 13th Abolished slavery 14th guaranteed citizenship and equal protection of the laws 15th stated that right to vote could not be denied due to race, color or previous condition of servitude Reality of life in the late 1800’s Vote was denied by poll taxes, literacy tests, KKK Equal treatment denied Jim Crow laws de juré segregation (by law) required legal segregation based on race Economic opportunities were limited by lack of education (Plessy v. Ferguson)

Booker T. Washington Born a slave Founder of Tuskegee Institute Believed in Vocational education Wrote autobiography Up From Slavery Patient, gradual approach to civil rights “Prove” equality

W.E.B. DuBois Born in North a freeman Well educated (Harvard) Founder of the Niagara Movement → NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Educate according to ability – all fields and types of education More direct, less patient, militant approach to civil rights

Ida Wells Born to slave parents Teacher/Journalist One of founding members of NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) Anti-lynching campaign, suffragist “One had better die fighting injustice than die like a dog or a rat in a trap”