Battle Royal Background
Internal & External Conflict
• Double Consciousness: (W. E. B. Du Bois) “It is a
peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness,
this sense of always looking at one's self through
the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the
tape of a world that looks on in amused
contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,-an American, a Negro; two warring souls, two
thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring
ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength
alone keeps it from being torn asunder”
• Reconstruction – The era following the Civil
War, 1863-1877.
– Southern States went from riches to rags
– Freed slaves were now voting citizens
Booker T. Washington
• 1856-1914
• African American educator and political leader
• Believed that African Americans should pursue
economic success in order to earn respect
from White Americans
• Discouraged disobedience and outright
hostility
• Minstrel Show – “Black Face,” African
Americans viewed as carefree, unintelligent,
clownish entertainment
Social Responsibility
• Everyone – as individuals and as organizations
– has a duty to help maintain the balance
between what is good for themselves and
what is good for the society around them.