What are the voices of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois arguing at the time? What is the call to action for identity in America? With every Black person legally “free,” think about the impact these voices had on the sense of “being” an American for the diversity of Black people.
Task:
Use your tools to craft a thesis-driven essay in which you examine and explain the call of the American identity for Black men using ideas and evidence from the assigned readings of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. In your essay, discuss Washington’s call to “cast down your bucket” and make the best of the situation compared to Du Bois’ argument that says Washington’s argument is “a complete surrender of the demand for civil and political equality.” What identity(ies) are these men speaking about? How are their claims for identity similar? How are they different?
Why aren’t you more radical than you are? Why aren’t you less?
Be sure that your essay answers the question, “so what?”— why is your thesis important?
Spend some time thinking about organization. What sections will your essay need to include? In what order should these sections go?
