Du Bois’ and Washington’s Disagreement on the Issue of Education Essay

The effects of racial discrimination and the resulting segregation echoed in every area in the late 19^th and early 20^th century, causing the debate concerning the need for integrated schools to become rather polarizing even within the African American community. Whereas the concept of integrated education supported extensively by W.E.B. Du Bois was prevalent, the approach developed by Booker T. Washington also represented several valid points such as the necessity for a strong, self-directed effort in learning as the basis for gaining a platform in the community (Aiello, 2016). Despite the fact that the concept of integrated learning remains the only valid approach toward an inclusive and non-discriminatory environment, the plight of both philosophers could be understood given their background and the struggles that they faced.

Indeed, Washington’s perspective on education, as well as the area of education on which he focused, namely, an industrial one, suggested the development of practical skills geared toward gaining competence in farming and different types of manual labor. The described approach to learning stemmed directly from Washington’s background, particularly, his childhood experience as the son of an African American mother, who was a slave at the time (Aiello, 2016). In turn, Du Bois, who was born to a family of African American landowners and had the opportunity to graduate from Atlanta University, understandably insisted on the importance of higher education.

Thus, even though the present-day interpretation of social justice allows viewing integrated education and the acceptance of diversity as the only possible solution, the ideas that Washington proposed were justified by the sociocultural background in which he was born and raised, as well as the atmosphere of hostility, hatred, and ostracism by which African American people were surrounded (Aiello, 2016). Furthermore, Washington’s focus on industrial education as opposed to Du Bois’ emphasis on higher education restricted the opportunities of African American people to advance within the U.S. community, which could be explained by the restrictions that Washington himself faced as he grew up in the 19^th-century U.S.

Reference

Aiello, T. (2016). The battle for the souls of Black Folk: WEB Du Bois, Booker T. Washington, and the debate that shaped the course of civil rights. ABC-CLIO.