1. African-American Leadership
in the Early 1900s
Objectives: 1. TSW compare and contrast the viewpoints of two early Civil Rights leaders.
2. TSW debate the viewpoints of Booker T. Washington & W.E.B. DuBois.

2. Black Leadership in the early 1900s – 2 Views
Accomodationists
Booker T. Washington
Rising Expectations
W.E.B. Du Bois & Ida B. Wells-Barnett

3. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois

4. Booker T. Washington Lived 1856-1915 Born a slave in Virginia
Educated at Hampton University
Founder of Tuskegee University

5. Tuskegee University – Early 1900s
A Few classes at Tuskegee in the Early Years: History (above), Blacksmithing (top right), & Mattress making (bottom right)

6. Booker T. Washington Views given in “The Atlanta Compromise” in 1895
Blacks should not blame whites for their situation
Blacks should start from the bottom, work their way and “be patient”
Work for economic opportunity
Opposed agitating for black rights because it would cause setbacks

7. Booker T. Washington
Wanted programs for job training and vocational skills for black Americans
Ask whites to give job opportunities to Black people
B.T.W. went on to found the Urban League which provided jobs and training for blacks
B.T.W. was unpopular with many Black leaders, but was popular with white leaders in the North and South. Why?

8. W.E.B. DuBois Born in Massachusetts to a free black family (1868-1963)
Educated at Fisk, Harvard, & Berlin
Sociology Professor at Atlanta University in 1897

9. W.E.B. DuBois Views given in The Souls of Black Folks
Strongly opposed B.T.W.’s acceptance of segregation and Jim Crow
Felt that white people caused problems by denying rights to Black people

10. W.E.B. DuBois Advocated the “Talented Tenth”
Felt that talented Black students should get a good education and then help everyone else
Felt it was wrong to expect a citizen to “earn their rights”

11. NAACP National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
Founded by 60 people, 7 of whom were African-American (including DuBois & Ida B. Wells-Barnett)
NAACP's stated goal was to secure for all people the rights guaranteed in the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments to the Constitution
DuBois was the only African-American among the organization's executives (even the NAACP’s president was a white man)