Contents
W. E. B. Du Bois
Writing The Souls of Black Folk and co-founding the NAACP.
The Philadelphia Negro · The Souls of Black Folk
- Born
- 23 February 1868
- Birthplace
- Great Barrington, USA
- Died
- 27 August 1963
More people
W. E. B. Du Bois
W. E. B. Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian and civil-rights campaigner. He combined research, literary writing and political organisation in a long challenge to racial inequality.
Early life
Massachusetts childhood
Grew up in Great Barrington and excelled at school.
University education
Studied at Fisk, Harvard and in Berlin; became the first African American to receive a Harvard doctorate.
Career
- 1890s
Social research
Investigated Black urban life and began an academic career.
- 1897–1910
Atlanta University
Led research and taught while developing his public criticism of racism.
- 1910–1934
The Crisis
Edited the NAACP’s magazine after helping found the organisation.
- Later decades
International activism
Continued scholarship and Pan-African organising, moving to Ghana late in life.
Selected work
The Philadelphia Negro
A detailed sociological study based on field research.
The Souls of Black Folk
Essays connecting personal experience, history and the problem of racial exclusion.
Black Reconstruction
Reinterpreted the role of Black Americans in the Civil War and Reconstruction.
Beyond work
Pan-Africanism
Helped organise congresses connecting struggles against racism and colonial rule.
Ghana
Worked on an African encyclopaedia project after moving to Ghana in 1961.
Sources & photo credit
Life and career ↗Institutional or specialist reference ↗Photo: James E. Purdy / Adam Cuerden. Public domain · Original image. Cropped and displayed in monochrome.
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