The Struggle for racial uplift

1. The Struggle for racial uplift By: Jamari Miller

2. Racial Uplift Background Information • “For most African Americans, the collapse of the economy after 1929 simply aggravated an already desperate situation.” (Dierenfield and John White) For many decades after the Emancipation Proclamation blacks were still being oppressed any way the white man could find. During this era two of black’s most prominent leaders emerged, W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington, and also the argument of racial uplift from discrimination and racism. The 1950s and 1960s struck the beginning of the civil rights movement and now racial uplift became a even larger concern. All of our leaders wanted to see the black race rise above the oppression but differed in how we should get there. Leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr., and Booker T. Washington wanted to conform and up rise while also making the white man happy. Other black nationalists like Malcolm X, and Marcus Garvey wanted to separate from the whites and didn’t care how physical the situation had to be. The argument I want to address is, what is the best way for African-Americans to approach racial uplift? Which brings up the argument of Accommodationistsvs. Separatists also Dubois vs. Washington. Each system has proved to have positive effects, in my opinion, and we need both sides working together to be the most socially successful. I believe that the black race lost them selves in the argument on how to get to the top and over looked that everyone was chasing the same goal, which was an African-American uprising.

3. Research Question: How should the African-Americans approach racial uplift as a whole? • Thesis Statement: Misled by the distractions created by the white man, African-Americans should approach racial uplift by following the blueprints left for them by our copious leaders.

4. Example: • Atlanta Compromise Vs. The Talented Tenth • Booker T. Washington 1856-1915, Washington was born in Virginia in to late slavery. Washington moved with his family to West Virginia. Booker T. Washington received a degree from Hampton University and decided in 1881 to find his own institution, the Tuskegee Institute. Washington shot himself to fame in 1895 with his Atlanta Compromise speech. Washington argues that blacks should approach racial uplift by embracing our knowledge of the agriculture and build from there. Washington said in his speech. “It is not strange that in the first years of our new life we began at the top instead of the bottom, that a seat in Congress or the State Legislature was more sought than real-estate or industrial skill.” (Washington) This quote speaks volumes to what I am trying to prove in my paper and that is that the African-American race as a whole still isn’t where these leaders wanted us to be and that is due to how we approached uprising. Washington stated in his speech that blacks seem to miss the understanding that hand labor holds just as much dignity as a job in the congress.

5. EXAMPLE: • Atlanta Compromise vs. The Talented Tenth • W.E.B. DuBois, 1868-1963. • W.E.B. DuBois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He studied at Harvard University and, in 1895, became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. DuBois is the founder of the NAACP and was not a fan of Marcus Garvey. Even though W.E.B. DuBois was a very prominent example for the black race, in my opinion he possessed some negative traits. Dubois created a rebuttal to the integrationist thinking speech of Booker T. Washington the Atlanta Compromise. Dubois believed that his race could beat the white man at his own game and that they should strive for a higher education. DuBois believed the African-American race had a “Talented Tenth” that would lead the mass of us to the top. But I believe it takes the ideas from everyone to truly uplift our race, we can’t exclude any scholar with a good point.

6. Example: • Martin Luther King, Jr., Jan 15th 1929 – April 4th 1968 • Martin Luther King, Jr., can be described as the apostle of nonviolence. Martin Luther King, Jr. was born in Atlanta, Georgia he was deeply influenced by his Grandfather, the Rev. Adam Daniel Williams who was a preacher at the Ebenezer Baptist Church. Something I did not know about Rev. Williams was that he was “A pioneer of black social gospel, Williams combined elements of Booker T. Washington’s emphasis on black business development with W.E.B DuBois call for civil rights.” (Dierenfield and John White). When thinking of civil rights Martin Luther King Jr., is the first name to come to mind and that is because he is the most popular. MLK was the most successful in his attempts during the civil rights movement because he was provided with the example left by his grandfather. Martin Luther King Jr., was against the violent approach to uprising but he still had effective tactics. “With the goal of redeeming “the soul of America” through non-violence the Southern Christian Leadership conference was established with MLK JR. being the leader.

7. Example: • Malcolm X 1925-1965 • Malcolm Little (Malcolm X) was born in Omaha, Nebraska to Louise and Earl Little. Malcolm’s father, Earl Little, was a preacher, an active member of the UNIA, and he strictly followed Black Nationalist leader Marcus Garvey. Because of this Malcolm X seen racism at 1st hand his entire life, his family was harassed by the Ku Klux Klan because of his father’s affiliations. Two turning points in X’s life were; sadly in 1931 Earl Little was murdered and left at a raceway and when the police came they pronounced it a suicide. The other in 1939 one day in class Malcolm X expressed to his teacher he wanted to be a lawyer and she responded "One of life's first needs is for us to be realistic… you need to think of something you can be… Why don't you plan on carpentry?" next year Malcolm dropped out. After a life of crime and imprisonment Malcolm X converted to the nation of Islam, his leader being, Elijah Muhammad. Malcolm X became a prominent, powerful, and fiery separatists speaker.

8. Example: • Separatists vs. Accommodationists • Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) founded by Garvey vs. National Association for the Advancement of Colored People Founded by DuBois (NAACP) • UNIA had millions of members in the 1920s they were said to be bigger than the civil rights movement. They supported Black Nationalism which was the goal for a “separate territory for Negro people (as a goal)Pan-Africanism: unity of all Black-Negro-African people; Black pride, value Black, ignore White racism” The UNIA and NAACP strived for the same goal but UNIA “strategies differed from the NAACP in the sense that it was nationalist and separatist. It sought to create a political and economic system for blacks that was completely differentiated from whites' system and it fostered a love for everything Africa” • NAACP Integrated leadership internationally had white and black members • Both focused on leaving to Africa but Dubois and Garvey weren’t fans of each other

9. What we believe • The Universal Negro Improvement Association advocated the uniting and blending of all Negroes into one strong, healthy race. It is against miscegenation and race suicide. • It believes that the Negro race is as good as any other, and therefore should be as proud of itself as others are. • It believes in the purity of the Negro race and the purity of the white race. • It is against rich blacks marrying poor whites. • It is against rich or poor whites taking advantage of Negro women. • It believes in the spiritual Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. • It believes in the social and political physical separation of all peoples to the extent that they promote their own ideals and civilization, with the privilege of trading and doing business with each other. • It believes in the promotion of a strong and powerful Negro nation in Africa. • It believes in the rights of all men • Universal Negro Improvement Association • Marcus Garvey, President-General • January 1, 1924

10. Why I selected the topic: • I have always stayed true to the understanding that some men believe what they stand for so strictly they die for it. Many African-American leaders have lost there life trying to pave the way for us and I selected this topic because I am concerned about my race. I believe African-Americans possess the greatest potential, and are more capable of achieving things never achieved before than any other race. We have so many divine black leaders who have given us the blueprint to being the most successful we can as a race. I believe that the white man does not want to see the black man successful and has did everything in his power to keep us from reaching it. I can see how great the world would be if the black race as a whole took advantage of the knowledge passed to us and achieved our full potential. I chose this topic because just like Martin Luther King Jr. and W.E.B DuBois I want the best for my race, and I can envision the possibilities to be achieved.

11. What I Learned: • While researching for this paper I learned that even though our greatest leaders had different a prospective on uplifting they were all chasing the same goaland that some men were not working together because of ego.

12. Significance to History • My topic is the most significant to the Civil rights than anything thing else. Other topics discussed what started the Civil Rights Movement and continued to fuel the fire. But my topic discusses how we can stimulate racial uplift and overcome the obstacles set against us by the white man. My research expands over the very peak of the civil rights movement.

13. WORKS Cited: • Dierenfield, Bruce, and John White. A History of African-American Leadership. Third. Great Britain : Pearson Education, 2012. Print. • DuBois, W.E.B. “The Talented Tenth .” . N.p., n.d. Web. 2 Apr 2013. • Washington, Booker. “Atlanta Compromise .” . N.p., 18 september 1895. Web. 2 Apr 2013. • "Martin Luther King Jr. - Biography". Nobelprize.org. 2 Apr 2013 http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1964/king-bio.html • http://www.ssc.wisc.edu/~oliver/soc220/Lectures220/AfricanAmericans/Integrationists%20and%20Separatists.pdf • http://www.biography.com/people/web-du-bois-9279924 • http://www.biography.com/people/malcolm-x-9396195 • http://dornsife.usc.edu/cdd/civic/bmus/Charlotta%20Bass%20and%20the%20UNIA.html#CharlottaBassandtheUNIA-TheRootsoftheUNIA