Dear Mr.DuBois,

After sitting in on your speech yesterday I admire your efforts to advance our people but, I just dont see them being practical. Now a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of also hearing a different approach from Mr. Washington that blew me away. In a sense Washington explored a future that included me and my family living a peaceful life. 

Mr. DuBois it has also come to my attention that youre not from around these parts. If Im correct the word around town is that you are from the north and grew up a free man. So no offense to you but I just dont think you fully understand the consequences that we face with your ideas. Dont get me wrong I see your point of trying to gain political power for the benefit of our community but having a seat at the table doesnt mean we are going to get very far.

I think its best to work with the skills we already have by share cropping and cultivating the land. I was able to get my hands on Mr. Washingtons book Up From Slavery where he stated Among a large class, there seemed to be a dependence upon the government for every conceivable thing. The members of this class had little ambition to create a position for themselves, but wanted the federal officials to create one for them. How many times I wished then and have often wished since, that by some power of magic, I might remove the great bulk of these people into the country districts and plant them upon the soil upon the solid and never deceptive foundation of Mother Nature, where all nations and races that have ever succeeded have gotten their start a start that at first may be slow and toilsome, but one that nevertheless is real.  This gave me chills! Mr DuBois I think what you arent understanding is that Mr.Washington only wants us to be an independent people. For so long we have looked to the government to accept us and include us in this nation but we havent taken the responsibility to use our resources wisely. From slavery we have had this idea that labor made us inferior to the white man when that could indeed be the very thing that gets us ahead. Mr. Washington said It means a great deal, I think, to start off on a foundation which one has made for oneself. And our foundation is labor.

Lastly, I just think Mr. Washington just wants to keep us safe. I dont know too much of what goes on up there in the north but I do know here in the south were having a different experience. Im not saying you all are not experiencing discrimination or hardships but things that work up there would just simply not cut it down here. The risk could just about clear out a whole city of black folks (literally) if we pushed our demands so quickly. I want to leave you with this quote from Mr.Washington The wisest among my race understand that agitations of social equality is the extremist folly, and that progress in the enjoyment of all privileges that will come to us must be the result of severe and constant struggle rather than of artificial forcing. I think our time will come but for now please consider taking the steps to create a foundation for our people. 

Sincerely,

Sally Mae Bishop  (Sharecropper)

References

Washington, B. T. (2008). Up From Slavery: An Autobiography. Project Gutenberg.