Contemporary Connection: A criticism of W. E. B Du Bois criticism of Booker T. Washington.

In "Excerpt from The  Souls of Black Folk," W.E.B. Du Bois is clearly critical of Booker T Washington's view on black advancement in America. In Washington's view, Du Bois was laying down and appeasing white segregationists. Du Bois believed it was more important for African Americans to achieve economic stability, possibly even equality, as a prerequisite for political and civil rights. Washington viewed this position critically, believing that this was no time for appeasement, and that African Americans should be striving toward complete equality. In my view, it  is this view that is short sighted and ultimately ineffective.
Washington wanted to work for total and complete inequality across the board, and expected all of these things to happen more quickly and smoothly than what was ever possible. Although African Americans deserved these rights, to acquire them they had to dismantle the systemic racism that persisted during this time. The racism during this time was "justified" by science and economics. Africans during this time were typically uneducated, illiterate, and were laborers. I believe that Washington had a better understanding of social engineering than  Du Bois did, and wanted to advance the independence of his race before taking on the misconception of white superiority. In my opinion, Washington wanted African Americans to begin to prove that they are equal in the workplace. This would allow for the next generation to focus on higher education as well as economic prosperity. Once these two lofty goals were achieved, the white supremacists would no longer have a leg to stand on.
I believe that the civil rights movement followed Du Bois vision rather than Washington's, and that has made all the difference. Historically, both graduation rates among black teens as well ass unemployment rates have been significantly higher than in white populations. If the Civil rights movement had taken their ques from Washington, I believe that these numbers would be more comparable. Once the races become comparable in graduation rates, employment, and higher education, no justification would remain to state that one race is superior to the other.


http://www.macrotrends.net/2524/black-unemployment-rate-history-chart
http://www.governing.com/gov-data/education-data/state-high-school-graduation-rates-by-race-ethnicity.html