For Monday please read Chapter XIV of Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery. This chapter is vital because it includes the "Atlanta Exposition Address", which Washington delivered at the Cotton States and International Exposition in September of 1895. During this speech Washington outlines his philosophy regarding "the great and intricate problem" of Negros in the post-slavery South. To help you complete this journal assignment, I've offered some guiding questions and comments below. Use them if you'd like or follow your own direction...
Pay attention to Washington's overall argument and how it is supported. How does he mean to "cure" the Negro problem of the late 1800's? What does he advocate for? What is his attitude, his mood, his means of approach? Compare and contrast your observations with those made when reading WEB Du Bois and Barack Obama's memoir. How do these three social advocates differ? How are they the same? Which author and/or text do you find more compelling? Why?
Remember to parenthetically site any quotations that you offer!
Monday's reading passage can be found on the web here. If you're interested in the other chapters contained within Washington's autobiography look for the following link-bar located towards the top of the page:
Booker T. Washington > Up from Slavery > XIV. The Atlanta Exposition Address
Click the title and you're off to the beginning, with information about the author and the text. It even includes a table of contents.
If you're interested in downloading and printing a Word Document version of the Washington selection, you can do so here.
You may also find Chapter III of Du Bois's Souls to be illuminating... as it is a direct response to Washington's social theories.
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Booker T. Washington seemed to have a different view of the "problem" for African-Americans than WEB DuBois during that time and Obama, closer to our time. While the latter two expressed feelings that the world was against them, Washington felt differently. He did acknowledge that there are a lot of issues with society that have and will always be there, and just like DuBois and Obama he stated that the struggle to achieve goals must continue. However, he was very optimistic about support from others. "There is no defense or security for any of us except in the highest intelligence and development of all... [this way]...the negro man is given a chance"(Washington 6-8). He believed that all races, specifically whites and blacks could and would get along in order to give the newly freed a place. This is very different from the way DuBois and Obama feel. In Origins, Obama explains how he feels that this is a "white man's world" and that he just has to live in it. I can infer from this that at this point he did not believe that the two races could work together to benefit all, especially blacks. Even DuBois discusses how "the freedman has not yet found freedom in the promise land" (5). I can tell from this that he is very pessimistic of African-Americans truly being treated fairly and equally. In other words, he does not see anyone trying to work with African-Americans so that they can have the promised freedom. After reading all three selections, I wonder what made Booker T. Washington think so differently from the other two authors. What made him so optimistic?
ReplyDeleteThe argument that Booker T. Washington makes is very clear and he believes that blacks and whites should be able to help each other even though we are different races and not the same according to him. In The Atlanta Exposition Address, Booker T. Washington says to his people "Cast down your bucket" [5] and what he means is that blacks should look for help from whites in order to prosper instead of react negatively, and from their transition to freedom from slavery not forget that what they used to do in fields for free is still a job and if they choose to continue working there as a proffesion they should not be ashamed of working for the white man. However he also says that the white man should "Cast down their buckets" as well, and look to help the black population because the white men should remember the services that the blacks offered to them by being their slaves and if they treat them well they will be surrounded by the most "patient, law abiding, faithful people the world has ever seen." [7] Booker T. Washington's approach almost seems to be him trying to get on the good side of the white man so that his people can prosper, however in W.E.B DuBois' texts and Barack Obama's, they both have a more direct approach, and instead of humoring the white man they take a more political route and show what is wrong with the country and how things should be and how things should change to be more fair for the black man in America.
ReplyDeleteBooker T. Washington believed in his people, and had faith in them to work their hardest to achiever racial equality. He knew that the struggle would be long and arduous but he knew that over time, change would come for Blacks in the South. In his address, "The Atlanta Exposition Address", Washington said "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"(12). The mood of his address is optimistic and hopeful for change and he believed that the diminishing of racial prejudice in the South was not a matter of if, but when. DuBois and Obama differ from Washington in this respect. Washington had more faith in the mixing of White and Black society, whereas DuBois and Obama felt isolated and separate from White society. They all knew that change was needed for the sake of their people, and that although it would not be immediate or effortless, hard work on their part would help bring about this much needed change.
ReplyDeleteBooker T. Washington wanted to unite the black and white races. He wanted to speak in a way that bring the two races together in a friendly manner. On the first page of Chapter fourteen in Booker T. Washington’s Up From Slavery, he says “the thing that was uppermost in my mind was the desire to say something that would cement the friendship of the races and bring about hearty cooperation between them.” He wants to uplift the spirits of all Southern black people. He says that only a great race would do hard labor jobs and not protest. Personally I love Washington’s attitude in this reading. I thought he was very positive and encouraging. He really showed how African Americans were hard working people and how they put up with many injustices. I loved how he used the story of the ship lost at sea as a comparison to how the black man should make a stronger effort to become friends with whites. I could tell that he took a careful approach in order to get across his appoint. Overall I think this was a great speech. Booker T. Washington conveyed his ideas very well and he was able to get many people to read his speech and to listen to his ideas. I think it was one of the greatest speeches I have ever read.
ReplyDeleteBooker T. Washington expresses a positive attitude on post slavery America. He sends across a message to both white people and black expressing his belief that in order to move on and aim for a stronger, more united America, one must work with another to set and help achieve goals to better society. I believe the strongest, most meaningful phrase throughout his speech was, “Water, water; we die of thirst!” The answer from the friendly vessel at once came back, “Cast down your bucket where you are,” (5) where he expressed this need to unite and help one another in order to better society and in order to survive. That line and overall paragraph was a message directed to both the white people and the African Americans, that no matter who you are and where you are from, help will always be given to those who are in need of it. His entire speech provided an overall uniting message, one of great truth, positive attitude and overall understanding of both sides; their heartaches, challenges and goals. Unlike Booker T. Washington, Obama and Du Bois seemed to take the one way street of anger and frustration for the foul treatment of their race. They seemed to not understand or rather refuse to understand and cope with the racist issues they had encountered. I don’t believed Booker T. Washington accepted what had been done to his race but he made the best of what had happened, and encouraged others to do the same; to rid themselves of unnecessary hatred and to look at slavery as an unfortunate incident that had occurred and one never to be repeated.
ReplyDeleteAfter reading “THE ATLANTA EXPOSITION” by Booker T. Washington’s, I notice a different attitude on how to handle the racism towards blacks. He has by far a more positive approach, a more friendly solution to the problem compare WEB Du Bois and Barack Obama's memoir. “No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much […]” (Washington 6). Right there he is telling us that all races, (in this case black and whites) can and should wrote together because they can both benefit from each other’s ideas, teachings, knowledge, and skills. “To those of the white race [...] yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” (7), Booker T Washington is trying to show the white man that just because we are black doesn’t mean we are not good for anything. He wants them to remember how productive, hard workers, and loyal these man are. In my personal opinion I believe that Booker T Washington is trying to “sell” the black man unto the white society by painting a pretty picture in their mind of the usual things black man accomplish. In return this will lead to a more equal society for both races because they need each other to survive. By having a more positive and/or optimistic (Makaya 1 post) view was able to connect with both societies on a more common level.
ReplyDeleteWhile all three presented texts propose similar ideas and possible goals of the general African American population, as well as the individual "black man," each author (Booker T. Washington, Barack Obama, and W.E.B. DuBois) go about demonstrating these ideas in much different ways. This has much to do with the point of view of each piece. DuBois works to familiarize the author with the biased ideas, outlook, and the subsequently prejudiced opinions of his peers and, in his time, those falsely believed to be "superiors." This is a tool that is also successfully used in Obama's "Dreams." In this, each author gives example as to why their experiences caused the works' professed feelings because, in context, they sound, however slightly, more cruel and unusual then they might have been. Washington's piece is much more straightforward, giving it a moderately more personal feel than the texts of Barack Obama and W.E.B. DuBois. Washington begins his piece stating "I WAS born a slave..." (1). Thus, a tone is immediately set, making it much more easy for the audience to relate to the remainder of the text.
ReplyDeleteEach piece deals with the struggles associated with achieving equality, but Washington's work seems more realistic and provides a far greater sense of understanding. This is, perhaps, because he is the only author to actually have truly experienced slavery. Washington demonstrates the African American need to truly earn equality, an idea present, but less blatant in DuBois' work. It seems that Obama's text is much more inquisitive than understanding. The most sharp contrast between the three pieces lies between Washington's and Obama's pieces. Washington proposes the idea that blacks and whites can support and better each other in creating a community based on equality. However, Obama seems to view these groups as being associated with two separate worlds, as he is unsure of which to fit in, an idea probably created through his following of Malcolm X. Thus, while each piece demonstrates similar struggles and beliefs, if not "dreams," the presented ideas do not always follow the same path.