In 1903, W. E. B. Dubois published his seminal work, The Souls of Black Folk, which contained his scathing critique of Booker T. Washington entitled “Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others.”1 In this critique, Dubois took issue with what he took to be the program of racial reconciliation that Washington proposed. Dubois claimed that Washington’s program for the betterment of race relations in the United States was having a detrimental effect on the educational progress and social standing of black people. He claimed that the effects of Washington’s program had negative consequences, in that it asked that black people give up, at least for the present, three things: First, political power, Second, insistence on civil rights, Third, higher education of Negro youth, – and concentrate all their energies on industrial education, the accumulation of wealth, and the conciliation of the South. This policy has been courageously and insistently advocated for over fifteen years, and has been triumphant for perhaps ten years. As a result of this tender of the palm-branch, what has been the return? In these years there have occurred:
- The disfranchisement of the Negro.
- The legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority for the Negro.
- The steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the Negro. Lawson 2004. Rebecca Carroll & Booker T. Washington 2006. According to Dubois, Blacks must forthrightly push and demand the status of full citizenship, equal educational opportunities, and full participation in the political process. To do less, according to Dubois, was to deny the very humanity of blacks. I disagree that Washington’s program had the negative impact that Dubois accused it of having on the lives of black people, but that is the topic of another paper.3 While there is debate about the veracity of Dubois’s critique,4 it made a lasting impression on millions of readers of Souls. His critique reminds us to be vigilant in our assessment of programs purportedly meant to help the black community and all Americans. See, for example, Sundquist 2009. In the one hundred and twenty-five years between the publishing of Souls and the election of President Obama, there have been many changes in the manner in which race and racism impact on the lives of African Americans, so much so that there are persons who now claim that the United States is in a “post-racial” state. The claim is that race and racism are no longer significant factors in the success of any person who wants to succeed. The claim is not that there is no longer individual acts of racism, but that societal racism has diminished to the point where race no longer matters. In the United States, at least, character has finally overcome color.5 The election of a non-white male as President of the United States attests to this important social fact. It is thought by some that the election of Obama shows how far the country has come in thinking about race relations. However, all of the economic indicators show that African Americans are still doing much worse, educationally, financially, and in terms of life expectancy, than whites, despite their extensive sojourn in the United States. President Obama realizes this important fact about black life in America. He has consistently proclaimed that his public policies will help the economic and social standing of blacks. Will his public policies really be effective in advancing the economic and social standing of black Americans? One hundred and twenty-five years after the publication of Souls, I want to use a similar Duboisian critique of President Obama’s programs of social and economic progress that, by his account, are meant to advance the social and political position of all Americans. The claim here is that his universalist approach to policy-making and implementation will have a detrimental impact on the social and economic standing of African Americans. It is his use of color-blindness as a guiding principle to direct public policies that is called into question. Will this approach address the social ills that have continually plagued the African American community? I think not. I also think that a pragmatic understanding of race-talk can help us understand why colorblind policies will not work to address the social and economic problems facing the black community. It is argued, herein, that color or race conscious policies are needed to address the social and economic problems that besiege the black community. This article will utilize a pragmatic account of race to illustrate why colorblindness in public policies takes an ahistorical and decontextualized view of race and in the long term will hurt the social and economic standing of African Americans, indeed all Americans.
I know its long but in you question is says to write an essay! I hope this helps and Im sorry if this wasnt the answer you were hoping to get! Good luck!
