W.E.B. Du Bois, American Historian, And Pan-Africanist Civil Rights Activist – 1868 To 1963
At a time when Jim Crow laws, heated discrimination, and lynching of Blacks were the order of the day in the United States Of America, W.E.B Du Bois was among the few who condemned the act and took radical measures for the equality of the Black race in the country.
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He was a writer, sociologist, editor, pan-African activist, historian, and professor at Atlanta University. Du Bois was the first African American to have obtained a doctorate degree, paving the way for other zealous Blacks to further their education in a society where opportunities for such were in limitation.
Through various essays and articles, Du Bois exposed the biased nature of the United States military after examining the black soldiers who survived the First World War in France.
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Du Bois advocated for the integration of Blacks into American society, however, much of his works tendered towards separation. His cause for the liberation of Blacks and suppressed Asians in the U.S. led to his integration of various peoples of color in the Niagara movement at its formation.
Du Bois traveled all around Europe, Africa, and Asia preaching the course for the freedom of blacks, thus he saw to the formation of the Pan-African Society, pioneering the various conferences it held during the first half of the twentieth century.
Early Life Of W.E.B Du Bois
W.E.B Du Bois (William Edward Burghardt) was born on 23, February 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The only son of Alfred and Mary Silvina Bughardt who lived in one of the relatively small free Black and White societies of Great Barrington.
His family had some potion of lands to their name, but his maternal grandfather was a slave picked up from the coast of West Africa during the period of the slave trade.
Before Du Bois could come of age, his father Alfred deserted the young boy, thrusting Du Bois into his mother’s care only. Though, with the help of Bughardt’s extended family, Du Bois was tendered for until he came of age.
Through his mother’s chains of efforts, Du Bois attended secondary school in the town of Searles High School where despite the little correlation he had with the Whites in school, experienced a notch of segregation.
Du Bois expressed his bitterness about the inequality of his race, saying he felt like a child who was abandoned by his parents. That disparity and his academic excellence encouraged Du Bois to pursue his cause for the equality of all in the states and his teachers unreservedly supported him.
His wealth of excellence in academics gained him the opportunity to write for the New York Globe and Freeman magazines during his teenage years.
When Du Bois graduated from High School, his church, the first congregational church in the community he lived donated resources with which Du Bois was sent to Fisk University, a black college located in Nashville, Tennessee from 1885 to 1888.
While at Fisk University, Du Bois was embittered by the blatant discrimination of his race by the Whites which was literally different from the community he grew up in, thence he dedicated himself to fighting for the freedom of Blacks.
Du Bois’ stay at Fisk University spurred his desire for more knowledge and degrees and he was lucky to have gotten a scholarship to a university in Berlin.
However, Du Boise wasn’t fortunate enough to acquire his doctorate degree at the university, hence he returned to the United States where he got admitted into Harvard University to study history while also teaching Classics at Wilberforce University, Ohio.
Stepping Into His Career
During his pursuit of educational excellence, Du Bois found himself not only engrossed in his own studies but also in the educational development of his fellow Black peers. His dedication to sharing knowledge led him to tutor several individuals, fostering an environment of intellectual growth and empowerment within his community.
However, it wasn’t until the 1890s that Du Bois began to formalize his teaching abilities, taking on the role of a distinguished history and economics professor at the esteemed Wilberforce University.
It was during this period that Du Bois’s fervent curiosity and passion for societal change began to manifest in his groundbreaking research endeavors. Driven by a deep-seated desire to unearth the root causes of racism and social discrimination against the Black community, he embarked on a comprehensive investigation that would pave the way for his monumental contributions to the field of sociology.
The culmination of his intensive research efforts materialized in the publication of “The Philadelphia Negro,” a seminal work that not only presented his findings but also marked a watershed moment in the history of social sciences.
Du Bois’s meticulous research, marked by statistical measurements and sociological interpretation, provided a groundbreaking framework for the scientific study of complex social phenomena, earning him the well-deserved Father of Social Science.
Du Bois’s endeavor toward black nationalism heightened after his public rebuttal of Booker T Washington’s encouragement for Blacks to accept their suppressive social conditions rather than advocating for the equality of all. Booker Washington who was the leader of Black groups stood in favor of the Whites, thereby influencing his fellow negro people not to revolt against the whites.
Though Du Bois was initially a follower of Washington, this publicized statement aroused Du Bois to rebut against his former idol. Du Bois in the compilation of essays named “The Soul of Black Folks” published in 1903 argued that White Americans should take responsibility for their contributions to racism pillaging the American society.
This heated argument brought about a division amongst the Blacks with the “conservatives” supporting Booker Washington and the radicals supporting the opinions of Du Bois.
In 1905, Du Bois with the help of William Monroe Trotter established the Niagara Movement that radically fought racism in various districts in America.
By 1909, the Niagara Movement was dissolved and Du Bois along with other Blacks and White supporters joined the National Association For The Advancement Of Black People (NAACP) where he was made the editor of the organization’s magazine “The Crisis” leading to his resignation at Atlanta university.
Du Bois advocated for the advancement of Black literature through the magazine so readers would know and see the beauty of Black people.
His cause for Black nationalism prompted Du Bois’ encouragement for Blacks to develop a separate group economy for all producers and consumers against the prevalent economic discrimination.
Du Bois was among those who championed the formation of the Pan-African organization and fostered the congresses the organization held between 1919 and 1927. During one of these pan-African conferences, Du Bois wrote a letter titled “Adress to the Nations of the World” asking the European countries to help in the fight against racism and grant independence to all their colonies in Africa and the West Indies.
The Legacy Of W.E.B Du Bois
W.E.B Du Bois, through his tireless advocacy, groundbreaking research, and relentless pursuit of racial and social equality, left an enduring legacy that continues to resonate in the realms of civil rights, academia, and social justice.
As a prominent civil rights activist, his unwavering commitment to the empowerment of the black community and the eradication of racial discrimination laid the groundwork for future generations of activists and advocates.
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