In African American history there is a vast amount of people who have dedicated theselves and their work to the important activism for the welfare of the African American community. Two well known activist, also writers, are W.E.
B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. Washington was born into slavery. While growing up as a slave he had a yearning to learn how to read and write. This yearning he had was not possible during the time because of slavery.
It was illegal for any African American to learn how to read or write. When Slavery was over Washington’s family moved with their father. At a young age Washington became a houseboy for Viola Ruffin. When Ruffin realized that Washington was very interested and capable of learning she began to let him go to school after he finished all of his duties around the house. Washington founded the Tuskegee University, a historic black university.
He also became a spokesperson for the Africans Americans that have came out of slavery. On the other hand, W,E.B Du Bois was born free.
He was born into a desegregated community which meant that whites and blacks were living in the same area. Du Bois went to college and graduated from Harvard. As his life progressed on he became very active in the african american community. Some examples of him being an active member in the african american community is him being a founder of the NAACP, being a part of the Pan African Movement, and being a key component in the Niagara movement.Even though Du Bois and Washington contributed to the welfare of African Americans both opposed each other because of their different viewpoints. Du Bois’s point of view was that African Americans history was being disregarded and that they were not being recognized for their advancements in society and lived behind a veil.
On the contrary, Washington’s viewpoint was that African Americans should not push for social and political equality, so that they could be a part of rebuilding the south. In Du Bois’s writing “Of Our Spiritual Strivings and Washington’s “Atlanta Exposition Address” both writers used rhetoric to advance their viewpoints and contribute to the power and persuasiveness of the text by using rhetorical devices, figurative language, and methods of persuasion
