I think her testimony stands out because of the amount of bravery it took for her to speak there. She had already been brutally beaten in the past for simply attempting to register to vote. She didn't allow that to stop her. She kept on for the cause and continued to do everything within her power to make a difference. She didn't allow fear to dictate. The Jim Crow era of the south wasn't too far off from the days of the slave trade it seems. I imagine it was a terrible time to live in but also a key time in history that brought about change.

In reading the Declaration of Independence in the past, I have never thought of it in this particular way. I thought of the "all men created equal" portion more in terms of every man created with equal rights to vote, own property, hold a job etc. I always felt like that is what the founding fathers had in mind. I never thought of it in terms of the distribution of wealth. I like that he is saying the idea is not to make everyone of equal wealth. The idea is a redistribution of it so that everyone can at least be guaranteed life's basic necessities while others have a cap on wealth beyond what they could possibly ever spend.

I can understand DuBois grievances with Booker T. Washington. Washington speaks about how African American men needed to essentially focus on and make the best of manual labor jobs. He seemed to want the focus to be shifted from insisting on rights to establishing personal and familial wealth through quiet hard work. DuBois seemed to characterize this as submissive in nature. He advocated for more insistence on civil rights. He doesn't directly blame Washington for how the black community had integrated into society post slavery, but he does believe his teachings contributed.

I think this is such a fantastic viewpoint. Sometimes in order to reach our overall goal, we have to "cast down our bucket" in compromise or be the first to extend the olive branch. I like that he used this same analogy for the white southerners as well. We all have to compromise to some degree to reach progress.