Reference no: EM133279705

Question 1. Analyze Booker T. Washington's attitude toward education for blacks and accommodation to white society. What assumptions and beliefs formed the basis of his philosophy? Was his approach the right one for his time and place? Overall, was Washington's leadership helpful for or harmful to the advancement of African Americans?

Question 2. Discuss the most important differences between the racial philosophies of Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Were their differences as substantial as the friction between Bookerites and Niagarites would suggest, or were their goals more alike than antagonistic? How might one account for the mutual antagonism between the followers of the two men? Were one man's views more suited to the temper of the times than the others?

Question 3. Evaluate the success of the self-help movement of the late nineteenth century. Could the black population overcome its social, political, and economic difficulties on its own, or did circumstances demand outside assistance for true advancement? Did the alliance with white philanthropists benefit the self-help movement or undermine its fundamental purpose?

Question 4. Discuss the role of African-American institutions of higher learning in the late nineteenth century. Broadly speaking, what two main types of higher education were available to African Americans? How much control did African Americans wield over these institutions and what benefits did they gain from them? Was one form of higher education more suited to the needs of black Americans, or were blacks best served by the coexistence of the two types of institutions?

Question 5. Analyze W. E. B. Du Bois's concept of the Talented Tenth and the agenda of the Niagara Movement. Were Du Bois's plans and ideas too elitist to aid the average African American? Or did the elevation of a small percentage of black Americans offer the best means to elevating the race as a whole?

Question 6. What economic opportunities did the New South offer to African Americans? What opportunities did southern blacks create for themselves? How did segregation and discrimination simultaneously hinder blacks' economic advancement and create economic opportunities for them?

Question 7. Historian Deborah Gray White has called the National Association of Colored Women "unprecedentedly 'feminist.'" Analyze and evaluate this statement in light of the NACW's rhetoric and actions. To what degree did the organization attempt to overcome prevailing gender norms, and to what degree did they use those norms to justify their activism?