Dunbar and Washington

During Monday’s discussion, we explored the varying arguments of W.E.B. DuBois and Brooker T. Washington regarding the fight of black Americans for equal rights. DuBois spoke ruefully of the appeasements Washington made for the white listeners to his speeches and readers of his writings. In his view, Washington undersold the essence of the movement, hoping for a future advancement far smoother than the current tumultuous one. I feel that this is similar to Paul Laurence Dunbar’s situation; some view him as underselling his talents by writing dialectal poetry aimed at white tastes of the era. Others view his efforts as a means to slowly try and reform biases in a less threatening medium. I wonder if Washington would empathize with Dunbar’s quote “I know why the caged bird sings” (922). In his efforts to try and compromise with the whites across the color line, he may have locked himself in a cage- forced to conform, watch his actions, and ‘sing’ for those that want him to support arguments enforcing subjugation. Dunbar made comments about never having achieved what he really wanted, which seems to enforce this tone; he may traded his advancement as a writer for the sake of being accepted by a wider audience (907). As we discussed in class, it is hard to make a judgment exactly on Washington’s decisions to craft his argument as he did, but it would be interesting to know how he would have related to Dunbar.