W. E. B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington were two great leaders of the black community in the late 19th and 20th century. However, they strongly differed on strategies for black social and economic progress.
Du Bois maintained that education and civil rights were the only way to equality. In contrast, Washington had a conciliatory approach to civil rights, urging black people to accept discrimination for the time being and concentrate on elevating themselves through hard work and material prosperity. The Washington/Du Bois dispute divided African American into the conservative supporters of Washington and his radical critics on Du Bois side.
