Debates in the Education of African Americans
Booker T Washington (1856-1915), founder of the Tuskegee institute, is well-known for his debates on education. Washington had a robust public speaking circuit focusing on the education of African Americans. He believed that African Americans should not integrate into schools, rather they should focus on labor in order to become closer to the land and stewards of their own space. His opinions differed greatly from those of W.E.B. Du Bois.
W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) rejected the idea that Blacks should exclusively labor arguing instead for the education of African Americans. He believed that African Americans should reject bigotry, go to college, and stand up against disciminiation. He “envisioned a different type of education for blacks, one that would provide leaders to protect the social and political rights of the black community and make the black population aware of the necessity for constant struggle.” His ideology would become the basis for the education of African American children through an Afrocentric lens.
Anna Julia Cooper (1858-1964) was an educator and theorist who focused on the education of Black women. She was a huge proponent of intersectionality, focusing on the importance of the education of Black women. Her work brought many Black women out of the woodwork, both into speaking positions about the education of Black women as well as the increasing number of Black women earning degrees.
Marcus Garvey (1887-1940) was another advocate for the education of African Americans. He was an African nationalist and founded the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA), a large nationalist group that emphasized the importance of educating blacks and creating a separate economy, distinct from white capitalism. His movement later led to the Pan-Africanist movement, an underlying support for the Shule system.