Which statement best reflects W. E. B. Du Bois's views?

• A. Opposed Booker T. Washington and supported the Talented Tenth and Niagara Movement leading to the NAACP
• B. Supported Booker T. Washington and promoted gradualism
• C. Advocated for segregation
• D. Denied the importance of higher education

Answer: (A)

Du Bois argued for immediate civil rights and leadership by educated Black Americans. He criticized Booker T. Washington’s approach of accommodation and gradual gains, instead pushing for higher education, political activism, and equal rights. The Talented Tenth is the idea that a small, educated elite should lead the way for the race, using their learning to uplift others. He helped organize the Niagara Movement in 1905 to press for full political and civil rights, and this movement laid the groundwork for the national civil-rights organization, the NAACP, founded in 1909 with Du Bois as a leading voice. This combination—opposing Washington’s gradualism, promoting higher education, and driving organized action that culminated in the NAACP—best reflects his views.

Choosing statements that favor gradualism, segregation, or denying the importance of higher education wouldn’t fit his documented stance.