In the early 1900's the living conditions under which many African Americans were living was very poor. There was racial segregation, the passing of Jim Crow laws, sharecropping, and lynching. Africans were treated unequal and were highly discriminated against. African children were least likely to attend school, get high or well paying jobs, and raise a family out of poverty. There were few activists in this time period for the treatment of Africans, but two young men stepped forward. Du Bois and Washington, both from different backgrounds but both out to help the African race. Du Bois was born into a free family and makes certain demands to improve the living for his race, while Washington was born into a slave family and seeks economic improvement.
             Washington believed that African children should be educated. At the end of the Civil War the number of African children going to school tripled, and in 1905 the amount of children attending school sky-rocketed again. In 1920, 65% of white children were going to school, and 55% percent of African children attended school. Yet, $22 was spent on each white student and $3 was spent on each black student. Schooling for African children was hard, there were few schoolhouses and students were often packed into tiny shacks that were supposed to be schools.
             The number of schoolhouses in Alabama in the year 1871 for whites was 2,399, with 184,441 children attending schools, and 76.9 children per schoolhouse. The number of schoolhouses for Africans that same year was 922, with 165,601 children attending and 179.6 children per schoolhouse. Schools for African children were overcrowded and not much learning would take place. More schools had to be built in order for education, discipline and morals to be taught. More money had to be given to African education, this another reason why the Tuskegee Institute was erected.
             Since 1890 the number of illiterate African children over the age...