Chapter 10, Clashing Temperaments Summary and Analysis

Lewis explains that Washington knows how brilliant Du Bois is, but doesn't trust his methods. As a man from the Deep South who has grown up pretending to agree with more powerful white people, Booker has suffered more during his struggle to gain authority than Du Bois has. Washington starts out in slavery then works in a coal mine and finally manages to earn respect. He is even called upon to advise Theodore Roosevelt's White House. The concept of "separate but equal" is the rule in the South, and Washington does his best to appear to agree with this policy whether he really believes in it or not.

Washington has come to be called the Great Accommodator. During speeches Washington even makes racist jokes against his own people in order to fit in with white supporters and...