Booker T. and W.E.B.

Gustavo Quintero
English 48B
February 14, 2008
Journal #23 Question #2(Midterm)



Quote:
"Just keep your mouths shut, do not grouse,
But work, and save, and buy a house"(Randall 1969).


Summary:
The poet Dudley Randall is comparing and contrasting the two drastically different political styles of Booker T. and W.E.B.


Response:
First I want to comment on how well Randall breaks down the main differences between the two black rights activists. We all know that Booker T. was in favor of accepting the black persons role in society and educating oneself. Whereas Du Bois was in favor of speaking out against social injustices and actively engaging people about these injustices. If you did not know anything about these two men all you would have to do is read this poem and you would instantly know the two positions that these black men were on. Booker T. was a more quiet man who did not like conflict. He favored improving oneself by becoming educated in the industrial sector. Booker T. saw what the black slaves were good at and told them to embrace it. This he argued was for the better because it was self improvement. This idea stems from the fact that Booker T. was born into slavery. Being a slave Booker T. was not granted many opportunities but when they presented themselves he took complete and full advantage of them. In the above quote he says to mind your own business, work and buy a house. What a timid way to view the struggle of race relations. I have argued before that I do not agree with Booker T's politics but understand where he is coming from. Booker T was just much to accepting of his role in society. This really bothers me. What if Martin Luther King Jr had accepted that blacks were inferior? Would they have the same civil rights they do now? Possibly, but they surly would have taken much longer to achieve.