Share stories highlighting the theme “ DIGNITY OF LABOUR”.
➢ Expected content:-
• Content should include highly inspirational stories of real life
heroes/characters who work hard but do not get any respect
in the society.
• Example:- Helpers in hospitals/school buses, wardboys,
sweepers, watchmen etc.
• In what way these respectful citizens of India face insult.
• Conclusion:- What is our role to make people understa
Answers
Answer:
The Dignity of Labor
Perhaps the most developed me in Up From Slavery is that of finding dignity in labor. Washington believes that slavery has given black Americans a distorted perception of labor—that it is a degrading rather than an uplifting and honorable practice. Through his education program at Tuskegee Institute, speeches, and testaments from his own life, Washington wishes to reverse the perception of labor as dishonorable, since he believes that finding dignity in labor will help to uplift not only black Americans but also people of all races.
Specifically, Washington believes that laboring for oneself or one’s community can help to grant both “independence” and “self-reliance” to black Americans. He is deeply critical of those who pursue an education to avoid or circumvent physical labor. Washington feels that engaging in hard labor is the truest form of education, and that book learning and scholastic pursuits are useless unless paired with some sort of practical purpose. By connecting labor with the ideals of self-reliance and independence, Washington is attempting to appeal both to those looking to promote racial uplift—the development or assimilation of black people into American society—and to those dedicated to the ideals of American exceptionalism and individuality. He also connects these ideals to the philosophies of American Transcendentalists such as Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau, who argued that individuality and independence are quintessential parts of the American social tradition. Washington is connecting with a wide audience here, claiming that both blacks and whites in the country can find the value in labor if it is connected to these American ideals.
Further, Washington suggests that labor is not just valuable for “utility” but also for “beauty and dignity.” Many African-Americans were skeptical of Washington’s theory of racial uplift, which advocated for black people to stay where they are and attempt to excel at labor and vocations that were thought of as undignified and reserved for the lower classes, such as carpentry, blacksmithing, farming, etc. However, he suggests that the dignity and poise that are traditionally attributed to the arts and upper class professions can be acquired through labor as well as through these “higher” pursuits. In the famous “Atlanta Exposition Address,” which he includes towards the end of his narrative, Washington tells the mixed-race audience that there is “as much dignity in tilling a field as writing a poem.” He claims that there ought to be as much value and beauty placed in physical labor as there is in writing a poem, practicing law, holding a government position, etc. Many black Americans saw labor as degrading, because as slaves they were inhumanly forced to labor without any pay, but Washington sees labor as a way by which to restore dignity to black people from the degrading practices of slavery.
Washington goes further than just suggesting that labor is valuable in its power to restore beauty and dignity to black Americans, and he suggests that labor is valuable to all people, regardless of race. Washington wishes that all men would attempt “to make each day reach as nearly as possible the high-water mark of pure, unselfish, useful living,” and he pities anyone, no matter their race, “who has never experienced the joy and satisfaction…of an effort to assist in making some one else more useful and more happy.” In other words, in Washington’s view, the ideal American, and truly the ideal human, will find fulfillment in the practice of labor and service for others. This idea of universal joy in labor fits Washington’s ethic of racial uplift, for he believes that gradual uplift may be acquired by devotedly laboring in one’s place and working one’s way up to a higher place in what he believes is America’s “meritocracy.” More broadly, Washington believes that, if all Americans labored with the same mindset that he is advocating, the entire country would experience a form of improvement and enlightenment.
For Washington, labor is not simply a sector of economic development, a form of racial uplift, or a necessary burden of life. Rather, labor is the ideal mode of personal improvement, one that endows upon the laborer political, social, and economic independence as well as joy, beauty, and self-worth. While many critics opposed Washington’s ideas of labor as problematic for African Americans—because his ideas suggested that race and political equality are secondary concerns to personal development and individual freedom—Washington persisted and applied these ideals to his life, his speeches, and his educational leadership. To Washington, physical labor was the most effective means by which to not just achieve racial equality, but also to elevate humanity.
Explanation:
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