Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and the Struggle for Racial Uplift [Paperback]

Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, And The Struggle For Racial Uplift by Jacqueline M. Moore (Associate Professor of History at Austin College, Sherman, Texas) is an informed and informative depiction of two remarkable and quiet different men who helped shape Black American history. Placing each man's work in historical context, and studying the debate conflict of ideas that both had and alternatives to either one's point of view, Booker T. Washington, W. E. B. Du Bois, And The Struggle For Racial Uplift is an intelligently written, scholarly, evenhanded, and "reader friendly" analytical survey and presentation which is strongly recommended for students of Black Studies, as well as non-specialist general readers with an interest in the contributions of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois to American society and culture.

Ok, so I'm on page 64, chapter 4, titled The Conflict. I've been introduced to these men being guided from childhood up to, apparently, The Conflict (chapter 4). So far I've been able to more thoroughly understand who BTW is through his eyes, as well as WEBD, and it's painfully obvious that they really could only see what it was that they saw on a daily basis in their childhood. WEBD did slightly see black life through a different eye while at Fisk, but I imagine it was more of a 'I am a little better than you' attitude which probably didn't go over well with rural southern blacks. BTW saw dire poverty day in and day out, being born a slave in VA; WEBD grew up free in MA, lived in an integrated town and went to integrated schools and only briefly met racism face-to-face. It's truly no wonder these two men saw two valid yet completely different outlooks. BTW advocated the learning of a trade, carpentry for example, to put blacks in the seat of economic equality putting blacks in a secure position for equality. WEBD felt susceptible to the prejudiced and racist mentalities encouraged upon blacks in higher learning and in life period , especially while in the south and Philadelphia. As I'm reading this, I'm beginning to see that this same ideas on education exists today amongst college youth and beyond, with the basic idea of practicality vs. stimulation. Everyone wants to be able to support themselves and their families with a secure job, but at the same time, you want your mind to be stimulated and trabajar in a creative and nourishing environment focusing on your talents and strengths.

I can't imagine what it would be like to live in the turn of the 20th century, I can only read and try to picture it in my mind. Due to timing, I was not there, therefore, I cannot say, they should have done x instead of y and blue instead of reen. Fortunately for me, reading J. Moore's novel-like continuum of history and facts I have a hard time putting it down. I understand both sides of the spectrum, in hindsight, it would have made that time period much more continuous, if they were able to come to some kind of agreement and compromise on issues during a time when so many were hoping for a better life. Leaders are good, but sometimes they can be even more distracting to the actual problem at hand. If there is no compromise, there seems to be confusion and misplaced hatred and it's no good for anybody and certainly not the cause if no one can agree. This is why I really like this book, it has me thinking of other things that aren't necessarily explored here but because I'm reading about it, it has me thinking about other topics tangent to the topics discussed here. And that, is my FAVORITE kind of book! keq

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