At the beginning of the history of the civil rights movement two eminent African American leaders, Booker T. Washington and WEB Du Bois were born to achieve one goal: education for all African Americans. During the turn of the century, between 1895 and 1915, many theories were developed about how African Americans would obtain first-class citizenship. With two separate views on how to achieve this goal, the African American community was split down the middle on who to support. While Booker T. Washington believed in industrial and agricultural labor, W. E. B. Du Bois proposed a strategy of pursuit through higher education in order to achieve first-class citizenship for the African-American race. Born the son of a slave, Booker Taliaferro Washington was considered during his time to be a spokesperson for the African-American race. Washington believed that if African Americans focused their attention on economic struggle, they would eventually gain the rights they deserved. With this in mind, he encouraged blacks to attend vocational schools where they could learn to work in both industry and agriculture. In his famous speech at the Atlanta Exposition he declared: "Our greatest danger is that, in the great leap from slavery to freedom, we may overlook the fact that the masses of us must live by the produce of our own hands and fail to maintain keeping in mind that we shall prosper in proportion as we learn to ennoble and glorify the common work, and to apply brains and skill to the common occupations of life" (Humanities Washington). Washington's suggestion was one with which the Negro race was familiar. Southern and Northern whites accepted his plan because it recognized the inferiority of the black race. The "Okayed" nigga is... middle of paper... families. Appealing to the talented tenth, Du Bois argued that if the top ten percent of African Americans were educated and trained, they could return to their communities and help raise the remaining ninety percent, who did not qualify to go to school. The tenth talent). Both Du Bois and Washington dedicated their lives to finding a way to gain rights for the American Negro. Each of these intellectual individuals dedicated their lives to this goal. However, it appears that WEB Du Bois was more logical in his proposal for the advancement of African Americans. He aimed straight for success, success that blacks deserved and did not accept inferiority. I absolutely agree that intelligence, regardless of condition or time, is the key, but as Du Bois said: "Education must not merely teach work, it must teach life" (The Talented Tenth).