Letter to W.E.B. Du Bois

Dear Dr. Du Bois, We may differ in our methods, but I believe we share the same ultimate goal - the uplift and advancement of our race. Your recent critique of my philosophy has caused me to reflect deeply on our divergent approaches. You advocate for immediate political and civil rights, for higher education of the 'Talented Tenth,' for agitation and protest. I understand your impatience and share your ultimate vision. But I fear that demanding too much too soon will provoke white backlash and endanger the progress we have made. My approach is more gradual. I believe that economic self-sufficiency must come first. When we prove ourselves valuable to the economy, when we own land and businesses, when we demonstrate that we can be productive citizens, political rights will follow naturally. Industrial education prepares our people for immediate employment and economic independence. I do not accept social inequality as permanent or just. I merely recognize the political reality of our time. The South is not ready to grant us full equality, and confrontation will lead to violence and repression. Patient, steady progress serves our people better than radical demands that cannot be fulfilled. You call this accommodation. I call it pragmatism. You say I ask our people to give up political power, civil rights, and higher education. I say I am working to build a foundation upon which those rights can be secured and maintained. History will judge which of us was right. Perhaps we are both necessary - your vision to inspire, my methods to advance. I hope that one day we can work together rather than in opposition. Respectfully, Booker T. Washington