African Americans in the Progressive Era

Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois

The two most prominent African American leaders during the Progressive Era were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois.

Washington founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama, an African American teachers’ college that later became Tuskegee University. An educator and author, Washington advocated for African Americans while promising white America that he would not demand the black vote or insist upon integration. He received endorsements from middle- and upper-class whites, including many Progressive government and industrial leaders, who approved of his conciliatory attitude and did not see him as a threat. Most middle-class blacks also strongly supported his ideas. Washington formed many alliances with political, philanthropic, and education leaders and promoted a strong agenda for African American education. He believed that establishing
alliances with and gaining the support of whites made for the best path toward increased opportunities for African Americans, particularly as they gained
educational opportunities.

Some African Americans, including members of the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People), criticized Washington in his later years for not taking a strong public stand against segregation and discrimination. Civil rights activist and author W.E.B. Du Bois participated in this criticism and spoke out forcefully in favor of changing the political climate and laws that led to discrimination. Du Bois wrote and published numerous articles and published the works of other African American authors, including the poet Langston Hughes. Like Washington, Du Bois strongly supported education for African Americans, but he did not believe that they should try to “fit in” to white culture. Rather, he challenged African Americans to question and stand up against the dominant views and policies that most whites—including Progressive activists—supported.

*How did Washington and Du Bois differ in philosophy as to how blacks could better their lives and get ahead? Whose approach would most Progressives have likely preferred? Why?