Compared with the program of racial uplift championed by Booker T. Washington, the approach supported by W. E. B. Du Bois placed greater emphasis on:

Compared with the program of racial uplift championed by Booker T. Washington, the approach supported by W. E. B. Du Bois placed greater emphasis on:

• A. Developing independent African American organizations and businesses.
• B. Mounting an open assault on political, legal, and economic barriers to African American equality.
• C. Establishing schools where African Americans could acquire practical skills.
• D. Obtaining assistance from white leaders committed to African American self-improvement.

Answer: (B)

The main idea being tested is the difference in strategy for achieving racial equality between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Washington urged gradual self-help through vocational training, economic self-sufficiency, and accommodation within the existing social order. Du Bois, by contrast, argued that real equality required active, organized challenge to the legal and political systems that maintained segregation and disenfranchisement. He supported direct action—pushing for civil rights, using legal challenges, and organizing politically to dismantle the barriers to voting, equality before the law, and access to higher education and leadership roles. This emphasis on confronting and changing oppressive structures is why the option describing mounting an open assault on political, legal, and economic barriers best fits Du Bois’s approach. The other ideas—building practical skills, creating independent black institutions, or seeking support from white reformers—align more with Washington’s program or with more gradual reform, not the immediate confrontation Du Bois championed.

The main idea being tested is the difference in strategy for achieving racial equality between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois. Washington urged gradual self-help through vocational training, economic self-sufficiency, and accommodation within the existing social order. Du Bois, by contrast, argued that real equality required active, organized challenge to the legal and political systems that maintained segregation and disenfranchisement. He supported direct action—pushing for civil rights, using legal challenges, and organizing politically to dismantle the barriers to voting, equality before the law, and access to higher education and leadership roles. This emphasis on confronting and changing oppressive structures is why the option describing mounting an open assault on political, legal, and economic barriers best fits Du Bois’s approach. The other ideas—building practical skills, creating independent black institutions, or seeking support from white reformers—align more with Washington’s program or with more gradual reform, not the immediate confrontation Du Bois championed.