Accommodation

Definition

Accommodation refers to a strategy employed by African Americans during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, emphasizing cooperation and adaptation to the prevailing social order rather than direct confrontation. This approach was seen as a means to gradually improve social conditions and attain civil rights through patience, hard work, and earning respect from the dominant society. This ideology was a significant aspect of the broader debate about how best to achieve racial progress in America, often juxtaposed against more militant approaches advocating for immediate equality.

5 Must Know Facts For Your Next Test

1. Accommodation became popular as a response to the harsh realities of Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation and discrimination in the South.
2. Booker T. Washington was the primary proponent of accommodation, believing that economic progress was essential before seeking full civil rights.
3. Critics of accommodation, such as W.E.B. Du Bois, argued that it perpetuated second-class citizenship and delayed the quest for equality.
4. The accommodation strategy focused on building a strong black community through education and economic development rather than direct political action.
5. While accommodation gained traction among many African Americans, it faced criticism from younger activists who sought more immediate and aggressive methods of achieving civil rights.

Review Questions

• How did the concept of accommodation influence the strategies employed by African Americans in their pursuit of civil rights during the late 19th century?
  • The concept of accommodation significantly shaped African American strategies for civil rights by encouraging individuals to adapt to and work within the existing social structure rather than directly oppose it. Advocates like Booker T. Washington emphasized vocational training and economic self-sufficiency as practical ways to gain respect from white society. This approach aimed at gradual progress rather than immediate confrontation, leading many to focus on building economic stability within their communities.
• What were some key criticisms of the accommodation strategy proposed by figures like Booker T. Washington, particularly from contemporaries like W.E.B. Du Bois?
  • Critics of accommodation, especially W.E.B. Du Bois, contended that this approach reinforced systemic racism by suggesting that African Americans should accept second-class citizenship until they proved their worthiness for equality. Du Bois argued that this philosophy undermined the urgency for civil rights and self-advocacy. He believed that a more assertive stance was necessary to confront injustice head-on and called for immediate access to higher education and political rights.
• Evaluate the long-term implications of accommodation as a strategy for African Americans in the context of subsequent civil rights movements throughout the 20th century.
  • The long-term implications of accommodation as a strategy were complex; while it laid foundational efforts toward self-improvement and community building, it also sparked crucial debates about efficacy in achieving true equality. As younger generations grew frustrated with slow progress, they increasingly sought more direct action during the Civil Rights Movement. This shift highlighted a spectrum of strategies within the movement itself, ultimately contributing to a broader understanding of resistance that combined elements of both accommodation and confrontation, reshaping future activism.

Related terms

Booker T. Washington: An African American educator and leader who advocated for accommodation, emphasizing vocational education and economic self-reliance as a pathway to improving the status of African Americans.

W.E.B. Du Bois: A prominent African American intellectual and activist who opposed accommodation, calling for immediate civil rights and higher education for the 'Talented Tenth' of the African American community.

Civil Rights Movement: A social movement in the 1950s and 1960s aimed at ending racial discrimination and ensuring equal rights for African Americans, often incorporating both accommodationist and more confrontational strategies.