When talking about the history of African Americans in the early twentieth century, two important names cannot be left out; Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. They were both African American leaders in the late 1800s and early 1900s, fighting for social justice, education, and civil rights for slaves, and both emphasized education. This was a time when blacks were segregated and discriminated against. Both of these men had a vision of freeing blacks from this oppression. Although they came from different backgrounds, Washington coming from a plantation in Virginia where he was a slave, and Du Bois coming from a free home in Massachusetts, both experienced the heavy oppression that blacks were subjected to in this post-Civil War society. Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois were both pioneers in trying to achieve equality for blacks, but their ways of achieving this equality were completely different. WEB Du Bois is the most celebrated figure today as he had the best method because he gave no power to whites, and his method was intended to achieve a nobler goal than Washington's. Booker T Washington was born into slavery on a plantation in Franklin County, Virginia. Like many slaves of the era, historians are unsure of the exact location or date of his birth (Washington, Up From Slavery 7). Washington had absolutely no education while a slave; he received all his education after being freed. The fact that he did not receive an education through slavery made it that much more important to him to receive his education, and this is one of the reasons why he so strongly emphasized education. Growing up he didn't even know what education was, he first heard about it through the miners he worked with when he was a slave.......middle of paper......rights for blacks, and he was satisfied of "equal" economic opportunities, in fact, he was against the involvement of blacks in politics. Du Bois took a much more radical approach and called for blacks to be included in the political sphere. He also envisioned blacks receiving a higher education so they could compete in a rapidly growing economy, instead of being stuck in dead-end jobs like plumbers and house maids, which Washington had so strongly supported. And today Du Bois is clearly the more celebrated figure of the two. Many African-American political leaders, such as Obama, refer to him in their speeches, and it is much easier to find a poster or book about WEB Du Bois than about Booker T. Washington. Du Bois's vision had a much nobler goal, he was not satisfied with the injustice that was happening and he did something about it.