This idea of African Americans being able to find themselves reminds me of Garrison's idea that students are in college to find themselves. However, African Americans use to be denied the right to education because many were subjected to slavery for their entire lives. Once slavery was abolished, within "the last quarter of a century" Washington says, African Americans could attempt to seek the education that they were deprived of, and find themselves. Therefore, this also reminds me of Freire's main idea of the oppressed becoming aware of their oppression through education and finally being given the encouragement to use their voices.

I think that this means Washington believes a little bit of struggle creates a well rounded person that is ready to work in the real world.

African Americans were forced to work as slaves, but as free people, they must learn to work for themselves and not others.

I think this means that teaching a variety of skills will create a well-rounded student that is in tune with the resources and environment surrounding them.

Doesn't this contradict what Washington just said on the previous page about not needing to teach or train in the subject of agriculture?

Why do they not need training in agriculture? Does he think this because their family members/ancestors may have taught them training in agriculture already? If so, I feel as though that might not be the case.

At the beginning of this article, I was also thinking and feeling this way. However, I can see throughout his argument that it is not exactly like this, and that there is more benefits to industrial work oftentimes.

I think this shows that the Institute is always changing, trying to stay on top of the latest developments in the area so that their students are better prepared for the workforce.

Students should not be expected to stay in their home communities, it should be a choice they get to make.

drudgery = hard work/dull work

Girls should not be expected to do domestic work, and people should not be disappointed if they cannot do it. Is this also expected of men? The answer is no.

This is interesting, for the parents' desire for their children to be taught books reminds me of Barr's emphasis on teaching the classics to students in school. However, Washington believed it was important to teach students how to work (prepare for the world).

Why don't more schools apply this technique? I feel as though students learn best when they are instructed and then can apply that instruction to real world situations.

Why are the domestic classes only offered to the women? I feel as though men and women could have benefitted from all of the classes the Institute had to offer, not just the ones that matched the stereotypical gender roles.

Could this be considered a liberal arts education? It is an education pulling from various categories that could make for a well-rounded person.

I think this means that Washington believes African Americans feel the need to seek higher education rather than stick with industrial education because they believe they owe it to their ancestors. They believe that they must take advantage of everything their ancestors were never offered.

When reading this I am imagining a strong arm winding up and smacking a firm wall with a sledgehammer hard enough to break apart the wall. This visualization allows me to understand the purpose of this part of the quote, that hard work and consistency can create change/make a difference.

I believe that people don't always have to do what will make them best off, they should be free to pursue their passions/what they want to do in life.

(It won't allow me to highlight the other part of the sentence I wanted to use for my annotation)

I am confused by what Washington means when he says "the service which the race demands." Is he encouraging the stereotypical jobs for each race?

This reminds me of Freire and his idea that education is an awakening for the oppressed to use their voices.

It frustrates me that Washington is taking his frustrations out on women taking the opportunity to do more than the stereotypical domestic work. Why can't Washington also be frustrated with the men who do not know how to do these things.

Would that be because they were escaping the labor once forced upon their ancestors? Do those of color believe they have to do more than what their ancestors did in order to make up for what they were not allowed to do?

Why can't the sister and the brother both have an education?

When I was in high school, my mom would always say that they don't teach us some of the most important life skills in class. She was always ranting about how we should have to take a finance class to prepare for adulthood.

When we are taught only one way of life, we stick to that one way of life (afraid to branch out into the unknown).

I wonder if when this happened, Southern white men regretted their actions? They forced African Americans into accomplishing their physical labor instead of learning to do so themselves, so when slavery was abolished, there were few left to run the work on the plantations (many slaves left as their first act of freedom and the Southern white men didn't know how to do the work themselves).

It makes me angry that the African Americans did all the heavy lifting, but the Southern white men took all of the credit and praise. No one likes when someone steals the credit for their own hard work.

I think this means that African Americans ran the South even though they were not acknowledged for it.

I think this means that African Americans were never given an opportunity for education, which kept them oppressed because they were never able to learn that they could do more than the physical labor forced upon them.

On plantations, African Americans would perform the undesirable jobs. As a result, African Americans practically ran the entire plantation, not the Southern white man.

I think that this means it was a common belief among African Americans that if they learned how to perform the gritty/undesirable jobs, they would gain societal acceptance from slave owners. They might have thought that if they took on this work then the slave owners would be grateful for them and show them mercy, when they would truly take advantage of them instead.

At the origin of American history, white Americans gained their freedom. Meanwhile, black Americans were denied their freedom during this time. However, with abolition, African Americans were finally given freedom, yet it was the first time in American history that two races were free at once.

The process of being forced to work is nothing like being a working citizen. Working is meant to be for one's own fulfillment, while being worked is meant as a form of oppression.

ascendancy = dominance, superiority, predominance

There is no easy escape from the treatment African Americans face, they must act if they want to experience a difference.

Today, it is frustrating to think that even from the beginning (the founding of our nation) we were unable to uphold the ideas put forth in the Declaration of Independence. For the longest time, and still often times today, people in our country were not treated like they were "created equal".

I think this means that the North and South, despite and because of both of their histories, must work equally towards the solution.

The process of gaining political and civil rights for African Americans has to be accomplished with the help of the entire nation. It is a large problem, it requires a large group working towards the solution.

Washington's ideas weren't all steps back for African Americans, for he spoke out against their violent mistreatment in the South.

Could this be due to Washington's emphasis on industrial education, preparing African Americans to do gritty physical labor in the country?

We can't judge or blame people based off of their ancestors' actions. In high school, I always hated that everyone knew my older siblings because it often felt like my future was already written for me even though I had not even experienced it myself yet.

Sitting idle and waiting for the right time to come could take forever, and the foundation for the future generation is already being established.

Is a big part of this reconciliation between the North and South Washington's doing with the "Atlanta Compromise"?

(the beginning of this sentence that I highlighted is to also be included in my annotation here)

Political and civil rights for African Americans will not happen magically, they will take time, insistence, and hard work to achieve. Therefore, it is no longer important to remain patient like Washington asked.

I think this means that society doesn't just need African American laborers, but they also need educated African American leaders in different areas (i.e. teachers and professional men).

abatement = lessing

The time has come to ask for/fight for the three things Washington asked African Americans to give up.

I feel like this is a bit frustrating, for Washington convinced African Americans to take a step back for a bit, but it just created more barriers.

I think this means that in order to progress and advance, we must know when we have to take a step back or pause from our perusal.

Does Washington do this because he knows it is not the right time to fight for civil and political rights with so many changes regarding race already happening?

Was this new close contact between different races a contributor to the racism and prejudice that would soon intensify?

I think this means that some of the other African American leaders were not nearly as successful as Washington at achieving their own personal goals because they failed to reach those outside their race, working alone and not with others for their cause.

Washington did what no leader before him did, he made all differing groups work together to converse and compromise.

When and how did the switch from Douglass as a leader to Washington occur?

I think this means that after the failed attempt at achieving equality as a freemen, many free African Americans moved onto focusing on Abolition. They hoped that in the process they would gain more freemen that desired the equality they could not achieve with fewer people.

Freemen tried to separate themselves from slaves and become a member of American society. They wanted and attempted to be on the same playing field as all other men in the nation.

Actions of African Americans in Free States differed from those in the South. In the South, slaves revolted, while in Free States they worked to develop themselves as people separately from white influence.

We briefly touched on this in Traditions/Revolutions, and I know we will learn more about it later on in the course.

This reminds me of learning about the everyday acts of rebellion among slaves in Traditions/Revolutions. We talked and read about slaves signing, slowing down their work, burning food, etc. as everyday acts of rebellion (anything to make life harder for the plantation owners). We also talked about slaves burning down plantations as an act of rebellion.

I think this means that when people are strongly banded together, their first instinct is to fight against those who do not agree with them.

Does this mean conversation between leaders and followers?

demagogues = troublemaker

I think this means that criticism from those who are most impacted by one's thoughts is important because it leads to conversation and compromise (democracy).

I wonder if this is because African Americans wanted to push for more civil and political rights, but Washington encouraged them not to for the time being?

I think this means that people were willing to work with Washington to find solutions because of the strong leadership qualities he possessed.

When I was first annotating "The Education of the Negro," I also found Washington's idea of teaching industrial education singularly focused. However, towards the end of his article he made me come around to the idea because it seemed like a good way to instill a desire in students to work for themselves instead of someone else.

I wonder how Washington's voice was able to stand out among thousands of others and gain such a large audience?

I think this means that Washington put himself into the shoes of someone from the North in order to better understand and connect with those who inhabited the region, for he was already a man of the South.

Washington strategically created the "Atlanta Compromise" to gain the approval of all groups. While it truly just called for African Americans to step back for the time being in regards to their perusal of civil and political rights, different groups were able to interpret it as they saw fit.

I think this means that society expected that if any African American spoke out with ideas at the time, it would be involving complaints for more rights.

Did Washington believe that African Americans should not push for their civil and political rights? Was this because he believed so much change was occurring already with abolition that it would be too much to push for more for the time being?

indissolubly = lasting or durable

I think this means that Jim Crow was in control of everything, all colored people's fates were driven by the Jim Crow laws (racial segregation).

I think ... Hill (where the white people resided) = Life Dale (where the black people resided) = Death

I feel sad that Du Bois was excited to come back to the town, yet nothing was what he expected it to be.

Even when successful, African Americans experienced unfortunate circumstances because of discrimination.

I think this means that the Burkes got the seventy-five acres that everyone believed would go to someone white, so Du Bois is excited.

This reality within the South makes me really sad, I couldn't imagine living in fear each day.

blighted = wrecked

A singular session of school? Not week after week of school?

I think Progress means industrialization.

Without the little school running, all the young people in the town got sucked into the cycle of work/physical labor.

I think this means that this is the moment Josie passed away.

I think that this means Josie kept working despite it being bad for her health because she saw it as a duty and not a passion.

If Du Bois longs for his little school, then why did he leave? Was it unsuccessful because the children had to work?

Time keeps moving forward without any worry of what happened in the past, so we should be able to move forward and want more for the future.

I think that the Veil refers to a barrier and Opportunity refers to equality between white and black people.

I wonder why town is put in quotations? Could it be because it isn't truly town if people of color felt unwelcome there?

Josie wanted an education, but she was depended upon to work at home.

I wonder why Du Bois put mean in quotation marks? Is it to emphasize that their discrimination and racism was much worse than mean, but that the statement is coming from an innocent child?

Despite hard work and a desire for something, people of color still came in second to those who were white at this time.

This reminds me of Washington's idea of industrial education, for the children miss school in order to work (physical labor).

There are students of both races within Du Bois' classroom, hints at the school not being segregated.

Du Bois uses such descriptive words that it is easy to visualize a classroom full of a variation of children.

I think this shows that Du Bois has a real passion for teaching others, one could probably consider it his way of leadership.

It is easy to visualize a classroom that was neglected for years and is currently running on a low budget (borrowed and recycled materials/furniture).

It makes me sad that Du Bois was riding a high from getting the school, but was immediately brought back down by not being treated as an equal to the other men.

I think this means that they had the knowledge of experiences, but ignorance in regards to education that could shine a light on their oppression.

Would this be considered a reversal in gender roles during the time?

This reminds me of the line from Du Bois "The Souls of Black Folk Part I" that mentions "The steady withdrawal of aid from institutions for the higher training of the Negro." This girl longed to learn, yet she lacked an education probably because of Washington's encouragement to give up the pursuit of higher level education for African American youth.

I think this means that Du Bois had trouble finding himself somewhere to teach, which was very discouraging.

This description provides me with a visual of racial segregation occurring.

I think this means that Du Bois was a student at Fisk University, a historically black university.