How are the responses of Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois to discrimination and goals for improvement similar/different? Which leader's approach was more effective? Write a two sentence claim statement for the following in a 5th grader’s response regarding Booker T. Washington, born into slavery and later freed, championed vocational education as the means for African Americans to achieve economic independence. W.E.B. Du Bois, a Harvard-educated intellectual born after the Civil War, advocated for civil rights and higher education to empower the African American community.

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Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had different ideas about how African Americans should respond to discrimination and improve their lives. While Washington focused on vocational education to help African Americans gain economic independence through work, Du Bois believed in fighting for civil rights and the importance of higher education to uplift the community, showing that both leaders had unique but valuable approaches to achieving equality.