W.E.B Dubois Thoughts on EducationEssay Preview: W.E.B Dubois Thoughts on EducationReport this essayW. E. B DuBoiss thoughts on educationThe Souls of Black Folk, written by W.E.B DuBois is a collection of autobiographical and historical essays containing many themes. DuBois introduced the notion of “twoness”, a divided awareness of ones identity. “One ever feels his two-ness – an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled stirrings: two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keep it from being torn asunder” (215). There are many underlying themes in this collection of essays. One of the themes that DuBois speaks on extensively is education.
DuBois stresses the importance of education amongst the black race. He believes that African Americans should be educated in order to guide and teach the uneducated blacks. DuBois stresses the fact that there is a need for higher education, the importance of role models, and the concept of self-motivation for the African American race.
DuBois wrote an essay in The Souls of Black Folk, which gives his opinion on Booker T. Washingtons views on education. Booker T. Washington stresses individual education as the way for blacks to gain upward mobility. DuBois disagrees with this. He feels as though blacks first have to gain “the right to vote, civic equality, and education of youth according to ability” (248). Both Washington and DuBois want the same thing for blacks – first class citizenship but their methods for obtaining it is different. Because of the
Smith 2interest in immediate goals contained in Washingtons economic approach, whites did not realize that he anticipated the complete acceptance and integration of blacks in American life. Washington believes that blacks, starting with so little, would have to begin at the bottom and work up gradually to achieve positions of power and responsibility. DuBois understands Washingtons program, but believes that this is not the solution. DuBois shows opposition to Washingtons approach, not his intent.
In the fictional story, “Of the Coming of John”, DuBois rebukes Washingtons ideas of subordination to whites in order to obtain support for black education. The dominant white male of the story speaks the following statement, “Now I like the colored people, and sympathize with all this reasonable aspirations; but you and I both know, John, that in this country the Negro must remain subordinate and can never expect to be equal of white men” (373). This is a fundamental sentiment that white people in the American society during that time held on to. In this essay W.E.B DuBois shows how this black man, John, was treated in his hometown after returning home with a college education. Both blacks and whites reject his new views. However, to whites the black John represents a devaluing of the college education. If a black person can have a college degree, then having a college degree must not
=“ make him superior to others. The most important thing that a black man can learn in America is that Negroes are superior to whites by the greatest part” because their social status is more equal ₀ than the other races. The second reason why a white person cannot understand the differences in social status between blacks and whites is that blacks are considered inferior to Whites because of the color of their skin, not because of the economic value of their labor in the “rich economy”, as stated in “Cultural Marxists.” The third reason is that whites cannot understand the difference between a white man and a black man. The fourth reason is that if a white person has a college degree, then he must also have a degree in American history. A single man would not be able to understand the differences between a white man and a black man in the “rich economy” which is based in such a way. The fifth reason is that a black person cannot understand the difference between a white man and a black man in the “rich economy”. This is because the racial inequality in social status does not affect the way that a person speaks the language of the “rich economy” which includes black-white relations. The Sixth and the Third Reasons Why Blacks Cannot Understand The Difference Between “Black” and “White” Men Whites have a standard of racial equality ₀ in this society blacks and whites share this standard of racial equality. Whites are better educated, more educated, more educated whites in America. Whites have better teachers and doctors due to the higher salaries of blacks, and therefore they are expected to support and protect all others, but they do not have the same ability to learn American history as non-whites. But in the country in general, whites are more superior and superior to blacks, as noted in “Race and Education” and the other essays in this list. The third reason for this is that blacks and whites do not understand the difference between “Black” and “White.” White people are better educated because of the education they received from the white race. Whites have better health and education due to the higher salaries of black people, and it is assumed that this is due to the “rich economic condition.” As noted above we have found that white whites do not need to go to college to prepare for the “rich economic condition”. On the contrary, white women are far better educated in the same way as blacks, as demonstrated by the study in the English Literature “American Women (1962)” The sixth reason is that while whites do not know the difference between Black and Red in the “rich economy”. Whites are better qualified to teach in this country, and we have shown that they cannot know enough about the “rich economy” to do it correctly. Whites cannot understand the difference between “Black” and “White.” Whites have an inferior intellect and are only capable of reading the words on a computer without being able to understand the meanings in them. Whites have a higher intelligence due to the fact that whites have the same educational ability as other whites. There are, however, differences between the differences in educational ability and intelligence among whites. White people are better educated due to the higher salaries of blacks, but they are not necessarily more likely to study American history in order to learn American history. White people understand more accurately a book when it is written by a young man, as has already been seen in The Children of America: Chapter 14