"If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make technical skill the object of education, we may possess an artisan, but not, in nature, a man. And of this world-old truth, the Negro American is no exceptional illustration. It is the training of normal school teachers, of college-bred men, of professional men, that must construct the foundation of any permanent educational system for a disenfranchised people."
—W.E.B. Du Bois, "The Talented Tenth," 1903
Based on the passage, which of the following statements best analyzes how W.E.B. Du Bois's argument regarding the role of higher education contrasts with Booker T. Washington's emphasis on industrial training, while acknowledging their shared goal of elevating African Americans?
- Du Bois contends that developing a highly educated leadership class is necessary to establish and support a broader educational infrastructure, whereas Washington asserts that building an economic foundation through vocational labor must come first.Answer
- BDu Bois rejects the value of industrial and manual labor entirely, advocating instead that all African Americans pursue classical academic degrees, whereas Washington seeks to restrict Black education permanently to agriculture.
- CDu Bois claims that political disenfranchisement can only be solved through immediate integration into northern universities, while Washington believes that Black Americans should accept segregation indefinitely in exchange for federal funding of industrial schools.
- DDu Bois advocates for a centralized national curriculum focused solely on classical humanities to bypass local segregation, whereas Washington argues that education should be decentralized to allow Southern states to dictate labor needs.