W.E,B. Du Bois
One Of The Greatest Intellectuals Of The 20th Century, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, Was Born In Barrington, Massachusetts On February 23, 1868.
Du Bois Was A Leader In Black American Protest For Most Of His Adult Life. He Emerged At The Turn Of The Century As An Opposing Voice To Booker T. Washington, Who Appeared To Have Accepted Segregation And Assimilation --- Or In Du Bois's Eyes, Defeat. Du Bois Believed Blacks Should Challenge And Question Whites On All Grounds.
His Book, The Souls Of Black Folk, Written In 1903, Presented Al Alternative To Booker T. Washington's "Accommodation" Platform And Is Considered A Classic Work In The Civil Rights Movement.
W.E. B. Du Bois Was Also Instrumental In The Formation Of Both The Niagara Movement And The NAACP, Which Grew Out Of The Niagara Movement. He Was The NAACP's Only Black Officeholder When It Was Chartered. He Worked For 20 Years With The NAACP, Including Serving As Editor Of The Organization's Primary Publication, The Crisis.
Du Bois Was A True Renaissance Man. During His Distinguished Career He Was A Professor, Sociologist, Novelist And Nonfiction Writer Who Made Contributions To Politics, Social Issues And The Arts. He Earned A Bachelor's Degree cum laude From Harvard University In 1890. In 1895 He Became The First Black American To Earn A Ph.D From Harvard.
He Was Tried As An Anti-American During The McCarthy Era And Was Acquitted For Lack Of Evidence. He Won The Lenin International Peace Prize In 1958.
In 1963, W.E. B. Du Bois, At the age of 95, Became A Naturalized Citizen Of Ghana. He Died August 27, 1963
"In Order For Black People To Live, We Must Continue To Breathe Life Into It." -- Hubert Gaddy, Jr.