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Analysis - Mitchell
Ideological Coexistence
Author: Shandon Mitchell
Instructor: Crystal Clark
Class: English 2281
There has always been a struggle to achieve equality for Blacks in America. Booker
T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Charles Chesnutt were a part of this struggle.
Often noted are the differences amongst these activists' ideas. Often left out is
the common purpose that these activists shared. Instead of pitting these three activists
against each other, the sense to utilize what one has, the sense to keep pushing boundaries
and progress, and the sense to know how and when to be clever in delivering one's
agenda should all be appreciated and recognized as building blocks of a larger, single
theme: the betterment of Black Americans. In essence, all three ideas from these activists
are equally important because they all aim to help Blacks in one way or another. Each
idea is a lesson that should be employed by people at certain times, because once
again, they are all leading to a positive goal. The integral lesson of the betterment
for Black Americans should be taken away from these three activists, for its scope
is transcending and timeless.
Compromise is frequently associated with Booker T. Washington's efforts to advance
the living of Black Americans; however, his efforts were efficient. This is due to
his modest approach in addressing the issue of inequality amongst Blacks in America.
Unlike radical activists who immediately demanded equal education, jobs, and other
rights, Washington sought to get his people moving from the bottom, even if it was
a gradual process. In his famous Atlanta Exposition Address, Washington said, "Cast
down your bucket where you are – cast it down in making friends in every manly way
of the people of all races by whom we are surrounded. Cast it down in agriculture,
mechanics, in commerce, in domestic service, and in the professions" (Washington 682).
Certainly Washington wasn't directly pushing for the most glamorous jobs, but he was
seeking for the betterment of Black Americans. When the contrast between unjust conditions
of slave labor and Washington's proposal is taken into consideration, it is easy to
see that his proposal is the better option. Whether Washington proposed a compromise
or not, his efforts yielded positive results for Black Americans. Specifically, he
gained the support of many political leaders, in turn becoming influential in directing
funds towards Black issues. Furthermore, Washington helped establish a system where
some Blacks were assigned federal jobs. Obviously, his approach of utilizing what
Blacks had for the sake of progress was effective in helping the circumstances of
Black Americans.
W.E.B. Du Bois adopted a more demanding, radical approach towards Black advancement
than Washington. Nonetheless, he was highly influential and liberating for Black Americans.
In his famous piece, "The Souls Of Black Folk", he wrote, " . . . Negroes must insist
continually, in season and out of season, that voting is necessary to modern manhood,
that color discrimination is barbarism, and that black boys need education as well
as white boys" (Du Bois 747). This quote essentially captured Du Bois' attitude towards
black advancement. Du Bois placed higher education, political power, and civil rights
at the forefront of his theory. His bold sense of purpose resulted in a positive impact
on Black Americans that extended beyond his life. In 1905, Du Bois helped form the
Niagara Movement, one of the first African American organizations designed to protest
against racism and prejudice in America. Four years later, Du Bois became the only
African American founder of the NAACP, an organization that aimed to establish a society
in which all individuals have fair and equal rights. In fact, the NAACP is still active
today, thanks to the efforts of Du Bois and many other leaders of this organization.
Furthermore, his editorship role in the publication of the NAACP's official publication,
The Crisis, was used to promote his idea of Pan-Africanism, an idea of liberating
Blacks around the world by informing them of racial issues and Du Bois' social vision.
During a meeting with the Niagara Movement, Du Bois states in his "Address to the
Country", "We refuse to surrender the leadership of this race to cowards and trucklers.
We are men; we will be treated as men" (Du Bois 759). Clearly, advancing through America
regardless of difficulty, the status quo, or any other obstacle is what Du Bois stood
for. It is this same spirit of persistence that should live within people today, especially
Black Americans.
Another clever activist, Charles W. Chesnutt was an interracial writer who often wrote
about tough issues that resulted from slavery. His identity as both a Black American
and White American placed him in a position quite different than Booker T. Washington
and W.E.B Du Bois. Hence, Chesnutt used this to his advantage, taking an assimilationist
approach to his work. At the same time, Chesnutt sought to criticize the harsh injustices
of slavery and its aftermath. To get his message out to the people, Chesnutt had to
gain the support of large publishing outlets, which were mostly white. As one can
see, Chesnutt faced a dilemma: the messages that he wished to present would never
reach the masses if he were too straightforward and offending in his work. Thus, Chesnutt
adopted a clever way of embedding his messages within stories of superstition and
dialect.
In "The Wife of His Youth", Chesnutt writes of an interracial man, named Mr. Ryder,
who meets his wife twenty-five years after being separated from her. Although his
wife was whiter than Mr. Ryder, Chesnutt writes:
"I have no race prejudice . . . but we people of mixed blood are grounded between
the upper and the nether millstone. Our fate lies between the absorption by the white
race and the extinction in the black. The one doesn't want us yet, but may take us
in time. The other would welcome us, but it would be for us a backward step.'" (Chesnutt
596)
This short statement from Mr. Ryder was a way for Chesnutt to interject his own personal
message into the story. Methods like this were commonly found in his work and this
is the way that his voice was heard. His slick style, coupled with his success in
acquiring the support of large publishing outlets, is what makes his impact so special.
Chesnutt's membership in Booker T. Washington's Committee of Twelve, a group that
wrote essays by Blacks to influence white public views, and his advocacy for the Niagara
Movement, an organization formed by Du Bois and other leaders, shows how he aimed
to advance the rights of Black Americans, despite the idea that Washington and Du
Bois were opposites. These leaders may have had different approaches to Black advancement,
but their common goal is of most significance.
Although Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Charles W. Chesnutt yielded different
results, it is not accurate to say that any of these men were superior to one another;
instead, their accomplishments showed how ideas from all three of these men could
be effectively utilized. These transcending methods of Black advancement could easily
be effective today. One could utilize everything that they have and progress through
the social fabric of America, as Washington proposed. Furthermore, this person could
stand up for what is right, regardless of standards placed upon him or her, as Du
Bois did. Moreover, this same person could use his or her position as a way to spread
liberating knowledge to others, as Chesnutt managed to do. As a progressive people,
the lessons of efficiency, the unmatched persistence, and the sly ingenuity demonstrated
throughout the past must be used in the present to positively impact the future. After
all, if the method is more important than the objective, then the entire effort is
irrelevant. Thus, the common goal of the betterment of Black Americans is most important,
not the differences in the strategies to achieve it.
Works Cited
Hill, Patricia Alveda Liggins. "No More Shall They in Bondage Toil." Call and Response:
The Riverside Anthology of the African American Literary Tradition. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1998. Print.
Mitchell 4