What was the central tension between Booker T. Washington and W. E. B. Du Bois about civil rights strategy?

• A. Du Bois urged immediate political equality while Washington advocated gradualism
• B. Washington advocated vocational education and gradual advancement; Du Bois urged immediate civil rights and political equality
• C. Both supported segregation
• D. Both rejected education as a path

Answer: (B)

The key idea being tested is the disagreement over how to win civil rights: pace and methods. Booker T. Washington argued that Black Americans should focus on practical skills, schooling in trades, and building economic strength to gradually gain respect and a place in American society. He believed progress would come slowly if Black communities showed they could contribute economically, and that rights would follow from that stability rather than from direct challenges to segregation.

W. E. B. Du Bois rejected that gradual path. He urged immediate pursuit of civil rights and political equality, supported higher education for Black leaders, and called for active protest and legal challenges to Jim Crow. He believed political power and higher-level education were necessary to secure true equality now, not later.

So the best answer captures this contrast: Washington’s vocational education and gradual advancement versus Du Bois’s push for immediate civil rights and political equality. The other options don’t fit because they misstate the positions (Du Bois did not advocate only immediate political equality with Washington’s gradualism, and Du Bois and Washington did not reject education or advocate segregation).