Postbellum Racial Philosophies: Washington, DuBois & Johnson

Even though the Civil War ended and slavery had been abolished, people’s minds and views did not change as quickly. The Reconstruction Period labels the years it took for African-Americans to build their identity and place in America, to one day be seen as equal to whites. This postbellum period also brought differing views of how to be successful in this new America where slavery no longer existed. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois completely differed in racial philosophies. James Weldon Johnson chose to approach the philosophical racial debate from a different viewpoint that greatly contributed to African-Americans’ acceptance today.

Booker T. Washington’s philosophy demonstrates more pacifism and cooperation in order to succeed. He did not challenge segregation or advocate for blacks to leave the South. Instead, he encouraged blacks to cooperate with what freedom they were granted in order to maintain peace and economic toleration (Gates & Smith, 2014). Washington emphasized self-advancement through trade and self-reliance, but he never challenged the extent to which blacks would be accepted and recognized as equal by whites. I believe Washington meant well, but he did not account for the greater majority of black Americans. Not everyone lived with kind white owners that gave them an education and helped them prepare for such an opportunity to then contribute to society once slavery was abolished. Not many blacks were educated enough to provide the same quality education to these new freed blacks as the white teachers, but segregation persisted. He advocated for blacks being self-reliant and making a life for themselves, but he did not account for all of the obstacles that prevented the majority of freed slaves to achieve success. Abolishing segregation in addition to slavery would be necessary for most of the freed slaves to achieve success.

W.E.B. Du Bois’ philosophy differs from Washington’s because Du Bois wanted to attack the root of the racial discrepancy. He saw how eradicating slavery did not solve the root issue—identity. Who are these blacks now? They were no longer slaves, but they no longer felt like Africans, and they were not fully accepted as Americans. Many had even fought in the Civil War because they believed in America, but the majority of whites still did not view them as Americans. So, who are they? Du Bois introduced the term “twoness” in his work, The Souls of Black Folk (Gates & Smith, 2014, p. 687). He shares his thoughts on how impossible it is to separate two opposing parts of his identity. He advocated racial pride, for blacks not to settle into the white America but embrace their own unique heritage and culture. He encouraged blacks to resist oppression; they were no longer slaves, so why tolerate oppression?

Du Bois primarily opposed Washington because he had considered the majority of the freed slaves. Not all of them had experiences like Washington, and they would need help achieving success. He also answered the question that Washington’s philosophy led many to ask: how can I be self-reliant if I do not even know who I am? Du Bois encouraged freed slaves to view themselves honestly and holistically, not compromising any part. Instead of simply dealing with the surface-level issues like economics, Du Bois exposed the internal issues that needed to be addressed and conquered before blacks would become successful and treated as equal Americans.

James Weldon Johnson approached his racial philosophy through literature. In The Book of American Negro Poetry, he compares and contrasts various white authors with black authors. He highlights elements of classically accepted poetry and argues that black poetry meets the same criteria, so it should be viewed as equal. The problem, he argues, is that the academic community refused to recognize black authors’ works simply because they were black. He names a few white authors in particular who are highlighted in the openings of academic textbooks for English courses, but their writing content is inferior to many of the African-American’s poetry. Some authors, like Anne Bradstreet, are equal in content and style to black authors like Phillis Wheatley. Johnson expresses his frustration with the academic world not recognizing Wheatley’s poems as at least equal in quality simply because she is black (Gates & Smith, 2014, p. 880-881).

Johnson’s philosophy seems to align more closely to Du Bois’ than Washington’s. What is unique about his approach, however, is that he fought for black’s equality through the arts. Most people around the world would never reject an artist based on his or her size, color, or beauty. Art is accepted based on whether it meets the renowned and universally accepted criteria. Only American history, says Johnson, shows any prejudice towards authors based on skin color alone rather than the criteria of the art. Much of Johnson’s critique of literature enabled many other blacks to be recognized as legitimate writers, contributors, and—ultimately—artists.

References

Gates, H. & Smith, V. (2014). The Norton anthology of african american literature 3, 1. Norton & Company.