Final answer:
W.E.B. Du Bois believed Booker T. Washington's strategy would relegate African Americans to a life of second-class citizenship due to its emphasis on accommodation and economic self-reliance within the boundaries of segregation.
Step-by-step explanation:
W.E.B. Du Bois thought Booker T. Washington’s philosophy would lead African Americans to a life of second-class citizenship. While Washington advocated for Black empowerment through education and a form of self-help that embraced the socio-political realities of the time such as segregation, Du Bois believed that pursuing economic stability and education within the confines of segregation and disenfranchisement would ultimately concede to white supremacy and would hinder the achievement of full civil rights and equality. Du Bois was concerned that Washington's approach to dealing with segregation, known as 'accommodation', would lead to African Americans accepting a lower status in society, and reinforced the idea that they were not equal to whites which was the prevailing attitude in the Jim Crow South. Washington, on the other hand, held a more conservative view, centered around the belief that Black Americans should focus on practical education and economic self-reliance, proposing that political rights and social equality would eventually follow.