W.E.B. Du Bois

W.E.B. Du Bois, born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, was an iconic sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, author, and one of the most important African American thought leaders of the 20th century. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895. Du Bois’s extensive body of work focused on the racial discrimination faced by Black people in the United States. His seminal work, 'The Souls of Black Folk' (1903), is a classic in African American literature, blending sociological data, essays, and personal narrative to challenge the pervading ideologies of racism and segregation of the Jim Crow era. In this book, Du Bois introduced the concept of "double consciousness," describing the identity struggle of African Americans trying to reconcile their African heritage with their upbringing in a prejudicial American society. His scholarship laid the groundwork for the field of African American studies and for modern theories of race and racism. Beyond his academic contributions, Du Bois co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909, serving as the director of research and editor of its magazine, 'The Crisis,' for several decades. Throughout his life, Du Bois was an advocate for Pan-Africanism, the belief that all people of African descent have common interests and should work together in the struggle for freedom. Du Bois organized the first of several Pan-African Congresses in 1919 to address these issues on a global scale. Du Bois's later works increasingly reflected Marxist thoughts, leading him to join the American Communist Party in his 90s. Disenchanted with the progression of civil rights in America, he emigrated to Ghana in 1961, where he continued to research and write until his death on August 27, 1963, at the age of 95. Du Bois's life and writings continue to be studied and appreciated for their profound impact on the civil rights movement and black emancipatory thought.