"The black men of America have a duty to preform, duty stern and delicate, a forward movement to oppose a part of the work of their greatest leader. So far as Mr. Washington preaches Thrift, Patience, and Industrial Training for the masses, we must hold up his has and strive with him, rejoicing in his honors and glorying i the strength of this Joshua called of God and of man to lead the headless host."
"The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremest folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing." Booker T. Washington, The Atlanta Exposition address.
" Mr. Washington represents in Negro thought the old attitude of adjustment and submission; but adjustment at such a peculiar time as to make his program unique. This is an age of unusual economic development, and Mr. Washington program naturally takes an economic cast, becoming a gospel of work and money to such an extent as apparently almost completely to overshadow the higher aims of life." W.E.B. DuBois, The souls of Black folk.
The battle of Ideologies between these two great leaders has raged on for nearly 100 years. Both of these men had similar aspirations for their race, but completely different ideas on how to reach the goal. In Brief DuBois philosophy involved the belief that education provides freedom, and Washington believed that through labor, financial independence can be achieved. Both of these philosophies have roots in the day and time when created, but amazingly the question can still be asked today. Which is a faster route to success in America?
