As a black man, a simple worker from Atalanta, the question of social equality between people of color is very important to me. So, I read the writings of two of the great spokesmen for the Black rights movement, Washington and DuBois, and tried to choose which of them made the best case. For me personally, Washington’s theses carried more weight for several reasons.
One of the main reasons for the choice of this representative was the method of construction of his speech. Washington uses simple terms that everyone can understand but skillfully turns them around in favor of his claim. This makes his speech easier to understand and accessible to many people who are not familiar with the issue of inequality in society. This is important to me because not all people are familiar with the problem and it is important to get the message across to each person. The most memorable moment from Washington’s speech is the phrase “Cast down your bucket where you are,” as it stretches throughout the piece and demonstrates the author’s position through this historical metaphor (History Matters, 2019a). He was able to get the main message across and structure his speech in his own words, which gave it a more severe and analytical tone.
If we compare it with the work of a competitor, namely DuBois, the difference is immediately apparent. The main difference was the position of the representatives, as Washington was able to convey his message both in a smaller volume and with a more specific position. DuBois, on the other hand, does not have a similar structure, and it is difficult to understand precisely what the problem is and how it might be solved in the future. It is not clear to me what DuBois considers inequality and what things lead to it, such as the phrase “first, that the South is justified in its present attitude toward the Negro because of the Negro’s degradation; secondly, that the prime cause of the Negro’s failure to rise more quickly is his wrong education in the past; and, thirdly, that his future rise depends primarily on his own efforts” (History Matters, 2019b). He has no explanation for his words, only accusations of different segments of society, which puts my mind at a standstill. So, knowing the differences between the two, I can say that Washington’s speech is much closer to me as a black man from a simple working-class background.
Reference
History Matters. (2019). Booker T. Washington Delivers the 1895 Atlanta Compromise Speech. Gmu.edu. Web.
History Matters. (2019b). W.E.B. DuBois Critiques Booker T. Washington. Gmu.edu. Web.