How did African Americans take an active role in shaping their destiny during Reconstruction?

During Reconstruction, numerous attempts were made by
white supremacists in the South to keep Blacks as near to slavery as possible. These so
called "Jim Crow Laws" often used rather devious methods to prohibit Blacks from voting,
sitting on juries, or holding public office. Among the more durable obstacles that
prevented black advancement was the U.S. Supreme Court decision of Plessy vs,
Ferguson which affirmed that separate facilities for Blacks and Whites did
not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment as long as those
facilities were "equal," hence the doctrine of "Separate but
Equal."

Blacks were elected to public office in the South,
even to Congress during Reconstruction, but their progress in shaping their destiny
through the period was often stymied. Their greatest gains came on the heels of the end
of Reconstruction through the work of two men:  Booker T. Washington, who had been born
a slave, and founded the Tuskegee Institute. He advised Blacks to work where they were
to improve their station in life; and not resist the law.  Later, W.E.B. DuBois, who was
born during Reconstruction but was later educated at Harvard, said the key to
improvement was education and enfranchisement. He opposed the pacifistic attitudes of
Washington, and insisted that segregation must be ended immediately. He was instrumental
in founding the NAACP which used legal means to secure rights for Blacks. During
Reconstruction itself, Blacks were unable to make substantial strides in the South
because Southern Whites opposed them every step of the way.