The Niagara Movement Speech Issued At Second Conference Harp

The Niagra Movement Speechissued At Second Conference Harpers Ferry

The Niagra Movement Speech (Issued at second conference, Harper's Ferry, West Virginia, 1906) W.E.B DuBois The men of the Niagara Movement coming from the toil of the year's hard work and pausing a moment from the earning of their daily bread turn toward the nation and again ask in the name of ten million the privilege of a hearing. In the past year the work of the Negro hater has flourished in the land. Step by step the defenders of the rights of American citizens have retreated. The work of stealing the black man's ballot has progressed and the fifty and more representatives of stolen votes still sit in the nation's capital. Discrimination in travel and public accommodation has so spread that some of our weaker brethren are actually afraid to thunder against color discrimination as such and are simply whispering for ordinary decencies.

Against this the Niagara Movement eternally protests. We will not be satisfied to take one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights. We claim for ourselves every single right that belongs to a freeborn American, political, civil and social; and until we get these rights we will never cease to protest and assail the ears of America. The battle we wage is not for ourselves alone but for all true Americans. It is a fight for ideals, lest this, our common fatherland, false to its founding, become in truth the land of the thief and the home of the Slave - a by-word and a hissing among the nations for its sounding pretensions and pitiful accomplishment.

Never before in the modern age has a great and civilized folk threatened to adopt so cowardly a creed in the treatment of its fellow-citizens born and bred on its soil. Stripped of verbiage and subterfuge and in its naked nastiness the new American creed says: Fear to let black men even try to rise lest they become the equals of the white. And this is the land that proclaims to follow Jesus Christ. The blasphemy of such a course is only matched by its cowardice. In detail our demands are clear and unequivocal.

First, we would vote; with the right to vote goes everything: Freedom, manhood, the honor of your wives, the chastity of your daughters, the right to work, and the chance to rise, and let no man listen to those who deny this. We want full manhood suffrage, and we want it now, henceforth and forever. Second. We want discrimination in public accommodation to cease. Separation in railway and street cars, based simply on race and color, is un-American, un-democratic, and silly.

We protest against all such discrimination. Third. We claim the right of freemen to walk, talk, and be with them that to be with us. No man has a right to choose another man's friends, and to attempt to do so is an impudent interference with the most fundamental human privilege. Fourth.

We want the laws enforced against rich as well as poor; against Capitalist as well as Laborer; against white as well as black. We are not more lawless than the white race, we are more often arrested, convicted, and mobbed. We want justice even for criminals and outlaws. We want the Constitution of the country enforced. We want Congress to take charge of Congressional elections.

We want the Fourteenth amendment carried out to the letter and every State disfranchised in Congress which attempts to disfranchise its rightful voters. We want the Fifteenth amendment enforced and no State allowed to base its franchise simply on color. The failure of the Republican Party in Congress at the session just closed to redeem its pledge of 1904 with reference to suffrage conditions at the South seems a plain, deliberate, and premeditated breach of promise, and stamps that party as guilty of obtaining votes under false pretense. Fifth. We want our children educated.

The school system in the country districts of the South is a disgrace and in few towns and cities are the Negro schools what they ought to be. We want the national government to step in and wipe out illiteracy in the South. Either the United States will destroy ignorance or ignorance will destroy the United States. And when we call for education we mean real education. We believe in work.

We ourselves are workers, but work is not necessarily education. Education is the development of power and ideal. We want our children trained as intelligent human beings should be, and we will fight for all time against any proposal to educate black boys and girls simply as servants and underlings, or simply for the use of other people. They have a right to know, to think, to aspire. These are some of the chief things which we want. How shall we get them? By voting where we may vote, by persistent, unceasing agitation; by hammering at the truth, by sacrifice and work. We do not believe in violence, neither in the despised violence of the raid nor the lauded violence of the soldier, nor the barbarous violence of the mob, but we do believe in John Brown, in that incarnate spirit of justice, that hatred of a lie, that willingness to sacrifice money, reputation, and life itself on the altar of right. Our enemies; triumphant for the present, are fighting the stars in their courses. Justice and humanity must prevail.

We live to tell these dark brothers of ours--scattered in counsel, wavering and weak - that no bribe of money or notoriety, no promise of wealth or fame, is worth the surrender of a people's manhood or the loss of a man's self-respect. We refuse to surrender the leadership of this race to cowards and bucklers. We are men; we will be treated as men. On this rock we have planted our banners. We will never give up, though the trump of doom find us still fighting. And we shall win. The past promised it, the present foretells it. Thank God for John Brown! Thank God for Garrison and Douglass! Sumner and Phillips, Nat Turner and Robert Gould Shaw, and all the hallowed dead who died for freedom! Thank God for all those to-day, few though their voices be, who have not forgotten the divine brotherhood of all men white and black, rich and poor, fortunate and unfortunate. We appeal to the young men and women of this nation, to those whose nostrils are not yet befouled by greed and snobbery and racial narrowness: Stand up for the right, prove yourselves worthy of your heritage and whether born north or south dare to treat men as men. Cannot the nation that has absorbed ten million foreigners into its political life without catastrophe absorb ten million Negro Americans into that same political life at less cost than their unjust and illegal exclusion will involve? Courage brothers! The battle for humanity is not lost or losing. All across the skies sit signs of promise. The Slav is raising in his might, the yellow millions are tasting liberty, the black Africans are writhing toward the light, and everywhere the laborer, with ballot in his hand, is voting open the gates of Opportunity and Peace. The morning breaks over blood-stained hills. We must not falter, we may not shrink. Above are the everlasting stars.

Paper For Above instruction

The speeches by Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois present contrasting visions for the progress of Black Americans and their approach to achieving equality and justice in the United States. Washington's 1895 Atlanta Compromise emphasizes patience, accommodation, and economic self-reliance. He advocates for Black Americans to accept segregation and disenfranchisement temporarily, focusing on vocational education and industrial skills that can lead to self-sufficiency, gain respect from white Americans, and build a solid foundation for future progress. His approach aims to foster good relations and economic cooperation with whites, believing that gradual progress and practical skills would eventually break down racial barriers. However, critics argue that Washington's stance perpetuates segregation and delays political and civil rights, potentially accepting unjust systems instead of actively challenging them.

In contrast, W.E.B. Du Bois's 1906 Niagara Movement speech calls for immediate and full civil rights, political enfranchisement, and social integration for Black Americans. Du Bois demands unimpeded voting rights, enforcement of constitutional amendments, and the end of racial discrimination in public accommodations. He emphasizes protesting injustice actively, insisting that Black Americans should demand equality without compromise. Du Bois’s approach reflects a sense of urgency and moral outrage, advocating for direct confrontation of racial injustice and empowering Black Americans through education, protest, and legal action. Critics of Du Bois concern that his aggressive stance might provoke violence or backlash, but supporters view his strategy as essential for real and lasting change.

Booker T. Washington seeks to gain change primarily through peaceful accommodation, economic cooperation, and vocational training. His strategy aims to gain white respect and support by demonstrating industriousness and self-reliance within a segregated system. Its advantages include promoting stability, fostering economic development, and avoiding conflict or violence, which could jeopardize progress. Yet, this approach has been criticized for accepting segregation and racial inequality as temporary rather than challenging fundamental injustices.

Du Bois seeks change through activism, legal challenges, and asserting the rights promised by the Constitution. His method calls for direct action and protest to accelerate civil rights. The advantage of this stance is its potential to produce rapid social change and empower Black Americans. However, it risks provoking hostility or violence from opponents, and requires a boldness that might be difficult to sustain in hostile environments. Both leaders aim to uplift Black Americans but differ significantly in their tactics—Washington through accommodation and industry, Du Bois through activism and agitation.

Regarding discrimination by Southerners, Booker T. Washington appears to respond with patience, emphasizing cooperation, patience, and respect. He calls Black Americans to "cast down their bucket" and build relationships based on mutual interest and labor, portraying a pragmatic acknowledgment of racial realities. Du Bois, however, reacts with a sense of urgency and moral indignation, urging protest and civil rights activism to combat discrimination directly. His tone is emphatic and unyielding, demanding immediate justice rather than patience.

The cultural backgrounds of Washington and Du Bois undoubtedly influenced their demands and approaches. Washington's upbringing in the South, marked by a focus on self-help, vocational training, and accommodation, reflects a conservative, pragmatic ethos rooted in Southern racial norms and limited opportunities. Du Bois, educated at Harvard and rooted in the North, emphasizes liberal arts education, activism, and full civil rights, aligning with Northern ideals of justice and equality. Their differing experiences shaped their strategies: Washington's accommodation vs. Du Bois's activism.

Personally, my upbringing emphasizing social justice and advocacy aligns more closely with Du Bois's approach. The sense of urgency in fighting injustice and the belief that active protest can lead to faster societal change resonates with my values. However, I recognize the potential benefits of Washington's emphasis on patience and economic self-reliance, especially in contexts where direct confrontation may be risky.

Both speeches inspire me to action. Du Bois’s call for civil rights activism encourages me to engage in community education, voter registration efforts, and advocacy for equality. Washington’s emphasis on economic self-sufficiency reminds me that sustainable societal change also requires economic empowerment and collaboration. Combining these approaches—active civic engagement and community development—could be effective in addressing social injustices in my society.

References

• Du Bois, W.E.B. (1906). The Niagara Movement Speech issued at Second Conference, Harper's Ferry. In Harlan, Louis R. (Ed.), The Booker T. Washington Papers, Vol. 3. University of Illinois Press.
• Washington, Booker T. (1895). Atlanta Compromise Speech. Exposition of the American South and its progress.
• Franklin, J. H. (2000). Living Our Discourse: The Evolution of American Civil Rights. Oxford University Press.
• Lewis, D. L. (2011). W.E.B. Du Bois: Biography of a Race, 1868–1919. Henry Holt and Company.
• Gates, H. L., Jr. (2014). The Signifying Monkey: A Theory of Afro-American Literary Criticism. Oxford University Press.
• Harlan, Louis R. (1974). The Booker T. Washington Papers. University of Illinois Press.
• Cardon, D. (2004). The African American Freedom Movement: A comparative perspective. Routledge.
• Gordon, L. R. (2011). Mapping Decline: St. Louis and the Fate of the American City. University of Pennsylvania Press.
• Lowery, W. (2020). The Art of Protest: Culture & Activism from the Civil Rights Movement to Black Lives Matter. Smithsonian Institution Press.
• Omi, M., & Winant, H. (2014). Racial Formation in the United States. Routledge.