W.E.B. Du Bois

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. Unlike many prominent Black figures of his era, Du Bois grew up in the North and attended integrated schools. He was an exceptional student from an early age. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, where he first experienced the harsh realities of racial segregation in the South. He then enrolled at Harvard University, becoming the first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard in 1895. His doctoral dissertation on the suppression of the African slave trade became a foundational work of American history.

Du Bois became a professor of sociology at Atlanta University, where he produced groundbreaking studies on Black life in America. His 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk challenged Booker T. Washington's approach and argued that Black Americans should fight for full civil rights immediately, not wait for gradual change. He coined the concept of the 'Talented Tenth,' the idea that educated Black leaders should guide the community toward equality. In 1909, Du Bois co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and edited its magazine, The Crisis, for 25 years, making it the leading voice for civil rights in America.

Du Bois was a towering intellectual figure for over six decades. He organized the first Pan-African Congress in 1919, connecting the struggle of Black Americans with Black people worldwide. He authored over 20 books and hundreds of essays on race, history, and society. His concept of 'double consciousness,' the feeling of seeing yourself through the eyes of a society that looks at you with contempt, remains one of the most important ideas in American thought. Du Bois died on August 27, 1963, in Accra, Ghana, at age 95... just one day before the March on Washington where Dr. King delivered his 'I Have a Dream' speech.