Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were influential black leaders. Their leadership strengthened the minds of the black race. They worked for the advancement of African-Americans in American society, but their methods of achieving this goal differed greatly from one another. It is hard to fathom that two men, who helped to strive for the great goal of racial fairness, could have been such opposites, but it is true.

Booker T. Washington was born a slave on April 5, 1856 in Franklin County, Virginia. Once the slaves were emancipated, his family moved to West Virginia. There, his family was poor, and he had to work in a salt furnace and then a coal mine. In school he named himself Booker Washington. Only later did he find out his name was Booker Taliaferro. So he combined both names to form his now famous name, Booker T. Washington. He went to school at the Hampton Institute, which was an industrial school for blacks. Later on, he based his educational theories on his time at Hampton. He founded the Tuskegee Institute, which was a Negro school, which eventually became known for its hardworking, reliable graduates.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born into an affluent family on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was educated at Fisk and Harvard universities. He was the first black person to obtain a Ph.D. from Harvard. He taught at Atlanta University. He also led the Niagara Movement. The Niagara Movement was an organization founded by black Americans to racial discrimination. The movement placed most of the blame for America's racial problems on whites. It opposed the view of Booker T. Washington. He later became a Marxist and a Communist.

Washington and Du Bois were alike in few ways. They were both black leaders. They were both teachers and authors. They were also both subject to discrimination from whites. They were both spokesmen for their separate ideologies.

Du Bois and Washington were polar opposites of each other in every aspect except for the reasons previously stated. They were so much so that Du Bois published a book named The Souls of Black Folk, which contained many essays criticizing Washington's views. Du Bois went on to write many other essays and speeches opposing the viewpoints of supposed "Uncle Tom's." Du Bois assigned Washington of giving the black race the "distinct status of civil inferiority." Washington was for surrendering basic human rights and dignity for economic advancement. Du Bois thought that was detrimental to the black race. Washington thought that a vocational education was far more important to blacks than higher education. Du Bois thought that the really important things in life laid in the realm of the mind. The term "The Talented Tenth" was the trademark of his educational philosophy. To him, this was, "The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people. No others can do this work and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men." Washington stated that blacks should work hard and become economically prosperous before they should ask for racial equality from the whites. Du Bois thought that this was absolutely preposterous. Blacks shouldn't have to ask for equality from whites, it is God's gift to them and every human being deserved it. Du Bois believed that the whites were responsible for keeping the black men down and that the black man should cry out and declare his independence. Washington wanted to please the whites, because he thought that was the only way anything good could happen. Even when he was a child, he made his name Washington, whom was a well-known white historical figure of prominence.

Du Bois was more radical, whereas Washington was very moderate. Washington was a realist, Du Bois was a romantic. Du Bois wanted to stir men's hearts, Washington wanted to stir men's minds. Washington was loyal to his country, Du Bois was loyal to his race. Washington was possessed humility, and could relate to the common man, Du Bois was arrogant, egotistical, and imperious. Since he could not believe that the average Southern white man had any desire to help the Negro, Du Bois could see no future in the South for the ambitious young people of his race. Directly contradicting Washington's counsel, Du Bois urged them to go North for freedom and advancement. He encouraged urban migration at every turn, believing that the "country represented oppression and serfdom," while the "city represented opportunity." Despite all of Du Bois attacks on him, Washington still managed to be more popular at the time, and more famous today.