This is an excerpt from a speech given by Booker T. Washington in 1895:

"The wisest among my race understand that the agitation of questions of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all the privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing. No race that has anything to contribute to the markets of the world is long in any degree ostracized. It is important and right that all privileges of the law be ours, but it is vastly more important that we be prepared for the exercise of these privileges. The opportunity to earn a dollar in a factory just now is worth infinitely more than the opportunity to spend a dollar in an opera house."

Why did W.E.B. Du Bois criticize this speech by referring to it as the "Atlanta Compromise"?

A. He did not believe that African Americans were in an inferior economic situation to whites.
B. He did not believe the speech's message would be accepted by African Americans.
C. He believed white southerners would oppose a gradual end to segregation.
D. He believed the process outlined would take too long and not do enough to maintain progress.



Answer :

Final answer:

W.E.B. Du Bois criticized Booker T. Washington's 'Atlanta Compromise' speech for accepting segregation in exchange for better opportunities, calling it an accommodation to white supremacy.


Explanation:

W.E.B. Du Bois criticized Booker T. Washington's 1895 'Atlanta Compromise' speech because he believed that it implicitly abandoned political and social rights. Du Bois felt that Washington's approach of accepting segregation in exchange for better education and job opportunities did not address the fundamental issues of civil and political equality faced by African Americans.

Washington's speech was seen as a strategic compromise to gain support from white lawmakers and philanthropists, but Du Bois viewed this approach as a form of accommodation to white supremacy, which ultimately hindered the progress towards full equality.

Du Bois, in his book 'The Souls of Black Folk,' directly confronted and criticized Washington's tactics, arguing for more immediate and assertive actions to secure political and social rights for African Americans. This critique led to a longstanding debate between the two prominent figures in African American history.


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