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The Gilded Age era began with Reconstruction and with the promise that Black Americans would not only rise up in status but be included in the nation's civic life. It opened new avenues for the working man to improve his station by starting his own business, or by moving out west to work his own farm. And it set forth the idea that for the first time in the nation's history each man, of any color, would be accorded a single vote.
The Gilded Age era began with Reconstruction and with the promise that Black Americans would not only rise up in status but be included in the nation's civic life. It opened new avenues for the working man to improve his station by starting his own business, or by moving out west to work his own farm. And it set forth the idea that for the first time in the nation's history each man, of any color, would be accorded a single vote.
Yet by the century's end, Black Codes, the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, and Jim Crow laws were limiting blacks in ways that were often more oppressive than even slavery. Sharecropping had replaced slavery as a way to keep blacks working in menial roles that did not allow them to become landowners themselves, and the voting rights so recently granted were taken away by the establishment of Jim Crow Laws. While the country was in an age of tremendous change, racism was still a prevalent problem.
Yet by the century's end, Black Codes, the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson, and Jim Crow laws were limiting blacks in ways that were often more oppressive than even slavery. Sharecropping had replaced slavery as a way to keep blacks working in menial roles that did not allow them to become landowners themselves, and the voting rights so recently granted were taken away by the establishment of Jim Crow Laws. While the country was in an age of tremendous change, racism was still a prevalent problem.
IDA B. WELLS:
IDA B. WELLS:
In 1892, three African-American men set up a grocery store in Memphis. Their new business drew customers away from a white-owned store in the neighborhood, and the white store owner and his supporters clashed with the three men on a few occasions. One night, as the three men guarded their store against an attack they ended up shooting several white vandals attempting to trash their store. They were arrested and brought to jail, but they didn't have a chance to defend themselves against the charges—a lynch mob took them from their cells and murdered them.
In 1892, three African-American men set up a grocery store in Memphis. Their new business drew customers away from a white-owned store in the neighborhood, and the white store owner and his supporters clashed with the three men on a few occasions. One night, as the three men guarded their store against an attack they ended up shooting several white vandals attempting to trash their store. They were arrested and brought to jail, but they didn't have a chance to defend themselves against the charges—a lynch mob took them from their cells and murdered them.
These brutal killings incensed Wells, leading to her write articles decrying the lynching and the wrongful deaths of other African Americans in similar circumstances. Putting her own life at risk, she spent two months traveling in the South, gathering information on other lynching incidents.
These brutal killings incensed Wells, leading to her write articles decrying the lynching and the wrongful deaths of other African Americans in similar circumstances. Putting her own life at risk, she spent two months traveling in the South, gathering information on other lynching incidents.
Wells wrote an in-depth report on lynching in America for the New York Age, an African-American newspaper run by former slave T. Thomas Fortune. She lectured abroad in 1893, looking to drum up support for her cause among reform-minded whites. In 1898, Wells brought her anti-lynching campaign to the White House, leading a protest in Washington, D.C., and calling for President William McKinley to make reforms.
Wells wrote an in-depth report on lynching in America for the New York Age, an African-American newspaper run by former slave T. Thomas Fortune. She lectured abroad in 1893, looking to drum up support for her cause among reform-minded whites. In 1898, Wells brought her anti-lynching campaign to the White House, leading a protest in Washington, D.C., and calling for President William McKinley to make reforms.
W.E.B. DU BOIS:
W.E.B. DU BOIS:
W.E.B. DuBois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895. Not long after, DuBois published his landmark study—the first case study of an African-American community—The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899), marking the beginning of his expansive writing career. While working as a professor at Atlanta University, W.E.B. DuBois rose to national prominence when he very publicly opposed Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise," an agreement that asserted that vocational education for blacks was more valuable to them than social advantages like higher education or political office. DuBois criticized Washington for not demanding equality for African Americans, as granted by the 14th Amendment. DuBois fought what he believed was an inferior strategy, subsequently becoming a spokesperson for full and equal rights in every realm of a person's life.
W.E.B. DuBois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895. Not long after, DuBois published his landmark study—the first case study of an African-American community—The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899), marking the beginning of his expansive writing career. While working as a professor at Atlanta University, W.E.B. DuBois rose to national prominence when he very publicly opposed Booker T. Washington's "Atlanta Compromise," an agreement that asserted that vocational education for blacks was more valuable to them than social advantages like higher education or political office. DuBois criticized Washington for not demanding equality for African Americans, as granted by the 14th Amendment. DuBois fought what he believed was an inferior strategy, subsequently becoming a spokesperson for full and equal rights in every realm of a person's life.
In 1903, Du Bois published his seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of 14 essays. In the years following, he adamantly opposed the idea of biological white superiority and vocally supported women's rights. In 1909, he co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as editor of its monthly magazine, The Crisis.
In 1903, Du Bois published his seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of 14 essays. In the years following, he adamantly opposed the idea of biological white superiority and vocally supported women's rights. In 1909, he co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as editor of its monthly magazine, The Crisis.
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON:
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON:
Born into slavery in Virginia in the mid-to-late 1850s, Booker T. Washington put himself through school and became a teacher after the Civil War. In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama (now known as Tuskegee University), which grew immensely and focused on training African Americans in agricultural pursuits.
Born into slavery in Virginia in the mid-to-late 1850s, Booker T. Washington put himself through school and became a teacher after the Civil War. In 1881, he founded the Tuskegee Normal and Industrial Institute in Alabama (now known as Tuskegee University), which grew immensely and focused on training African Americans in agricultural pursuits.
A political adviser and writer, Washington clashed with intellectual W.E.B. DuBois over the best avenues for racial uplift. While DuBois advocated for government enforcement and provisions for equality, Washington argued that over time blacks could prove equality to whites. He believed blacks would be fully accepted as equal to whites when they proved that status through hard work and growth in their economic status.
A political adviser and writer, Washington clashed with intellectual W.E.B. DuBois over the best avenues for racial uplift. While DuBois advocated for government enforcement and provisions for equality, Washington argued that over time blacks could prove equality to whites. He believed blacks would be fully accepted as equal to whites when they proved that status through hard work and growth in their economic status.
Adapted from: The Atlantic, and Biography.com
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