William Edward Burghardt "W. E. B." Du Bois (pronounced
/duːˈbɔɪz/ doo-BOYZ; February
23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil
rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up
in a relatively tolerant and integrated community. After graduating from Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate, he became a
professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University. Du Bois was one of the
co-founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) in 1909.
Du Bois rose to national prominence as the leader of the Niagara Movement, a group of African-American
activists who wanted equal rights for blacks. Du Bois and his supporters opposed
the Atlanta Compromise, an agreement crafted by Booker T. Washington which provided that Southern
blacks would work and submit to white political rule, while Southern whites
guaranteed that blacks would receive basic educational and economic
opportunities. Instead, Du Bois insisted on full civil rights and increased
political representation, which he believed would be brought about by the
African-American intellectual elite. He referred to this group as the talented tenth and believed that African
Americans needed the chances for advanced education to develop its
leadership.
Racism was the main target of Du Bois's polemics, and he strongly protested
against lynching, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in education and employment. His
cause included people of color everywhere, particularly Africans and Asians in
their struggles against colonialism and imperialism. He was a proponent of Pan-Africanism
and helped organize several Pan-African Congresses to free African colonies
from European powers. Du Bois made several trips to Europe, Africa and Asia.
After World War I, he surveyed the experiences of American black soldiers in
France and documented widespread bigotry in the United States military.
Du Bois was a prolific author. His collection of essays, The
Souls of Black Folk, was a seminal work in African-American
literature; and his 1935 magnum opus Black Reconstruction in America challenged
the prevailing orthodoxy that blacks were responsible for the failures of the Reconstruction era. He wrote the first scientific
treatise in the field of sociology; and he published three autobiographies, each
of which contains insightful essays on sociology, politics and history. In his
role as editor of the NAACP's journal The Crisis, he published many influential
pieces. Du Bois believed that capitalism was a primary cause of racism, and he
was generally sympathetic to socialist causes throughout his life. He was an
ardent peace activist and advocated nuclear disarmament. The United States' Civil
Rights Act, embodying many of the reforms for which Du Bois had
campaigned his entire life, was enacted a year after his death.
/duːˈbɔɪz/ doo-BOYZ; February
23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil
rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor. Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up
in a relatively tolerant and integrated community. After graduating from Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate, he became a
professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University. Du Bois was one of the
co-founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored
People (NAACP) in 1909.
Du Bois rose to national prominence as the leader of the Niagara Movement, a group of African-American
activists who wanted equal rights for blacks. Du Bois and his supporters opposed
the Atlanta Compromise, an agreement crafted by Booker T. Washington which provided that Southern
blacks would work and submit to white political rule, while Southern whites
guaranteed that blacks would receive basic educational and economic
opportunities. Instead, Du Bois insisted on full civil rights and increased
political representation, which he believed would be brought about by the
African-American intellectual elite. He referred to this group as the talented tenth and believed that African
Americans needed the chances for advanced education to develop its
leadership.
Racism was the main target of Du Bois's polemics, and he strongly protested
against lynching, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in education and employment. His
cause included people of color everywhere, particularly Africans and Asians in
their struggles against colonialism and imperialism. He was a proponent of Pan-Africanism
and helped organize several Pan-African Congresses to free African colonies
from European powers. Du Bois made several trips to Europe, Africa and Asia.
After World War I, he surveyed the experiences of American black soldiers in
France and documented widespread bigotry in the United States military.
Du Bois was a prolific author. His collection of essays, The
Souls of Black Folk, was a seminal work in African-American
literature; and his 1935 magnum opus Black Reconstruction in America challenged
the prevailing orthodoxy that blacks were responsible for the failures of the Reconstruction era. He wrote the first scientific
treatise in the field of sociology; and he published three autobiographies, each
of which contains insightful essays on sociology, politics and history. In his
role as editor of the NAACP's journal The Crisis, he published many influential
pieces. Du Bois believed that capitalism was a primary cause of racism, and he
was generally sympathetic to socialist causes throughout his life. He was an
ardent peace activist and advocated nuclear disarmament. The United States' Civil
Rights Act, embodying many of the reforms for which Du Bois had
campaigned his entire life, was enacted a year after his death.