UCLA Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies

Title Du Bois and Africa, 1933-1963

Permalink https://escholarship.org/uc/item/52j5232c

Journal Ufahamu: A Journal of African Studies, 8(2)

ISSN 0041-5715

Author Smith, Earl

Publication Date 1978

DOI 10.5070/F782017380

Peer reviewed

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00 OOIS JlMl AFRI~ 1933-.19)3

by

Earl Smith

To say that a nation is in the way of civilization is a oontrali.ction in terrrs and a systan of human cultwre wtY:>se principle is the rise of one race en the ruins of another is a farce and a lie. It represents a field for stalwart man­ hood and heroic dlaracter, and at the sane time for IIDral obtuseness and re­ fined brutality. 'lbese striking oontra­ dicticns of dlaracter always arise when a people seemingly be<:xne oonvinoed that the cbject of the world is not civiliza­ tion, but Teutari.c civilization.

-w.E.B. Du Boi.s

"Jefferson Davis As A Representative of .Ci.vilization"2

Harvard University Ccnmena:m:m.t Address -- (1890)

I

Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, Black sch::>lar, was born (February 23, 1868) "by a river and in the shadcM of two ~t hills, five years after the Em:mcipaticn Proclama­ tion,"3 in the tcMn of Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was laid to his final rest on the oontinent of Africa, Accra, Ghana August 27, 1963.

The history of DuBois' ninety-five years is, in effect, a history of the making of Anerica. Fran his early youth in Great Barrington, New England to his final days in Ghana, Du Bois was as much .a part of this history as any irrlividual oould possibly endeavor to be.

Alth:mgh much has been written about Du Bois,4 there is no ccnplete essay on his thought and en:leavors as these relate to Africa. Du Bois starts his seoond chapter In Battle for Peaae, with these words: "I am not sure just when I began to feel an interest in Africa."S But, fran sare of his earliest oorrespondence we can nCM date that beginning sarewhere between 1885 and 1890. This is deduced fran his oorrespondence with, 5 for example, the John F. Slater Fund arrl Rutherford B. Hayes. 6 '!be point here is that Du Bois had an interest in Africa t:l'u:'ou;}hout his lcnJ arrl rewarding life.

The task of surveyin;r and analyzing Du Bois' tlx>\.ght and worlc oo Africa cannot be ·given i ts fullest treatnent here­ in. The long range goal is to take the entire lifespan of D.l Bois as this relates to Africa, of which this essay is only a beginning. Therefore, we will not make use of such epoch rnaki.I¥] worlcs as The Suppression of the African Slave Trade, 7 The Negro, 8 or the st:l.mnin:J 1915 essay "The African lbots of War. "9 '!his essay will be limited to the years 1933-1963, in my ~oo sare of the nost fruitful in tenns of D.l Bois' worlc oo Africa. 'lhis is the period that he closed out his editor­ ship of the Crisis and returned to Atlanta University to devote IroSt of his research time to questioos that were of grave cx:maem to Africa, especially the eradicatioo of oolonialism. It was at this time that D.l Bois becane relentless in his critique of oonventiooal wisdan and the role of oolonialism arrl inl;lerialism oo the African cxmtinent.l O

'lhe present essay is long overdue, especially in light of a woJ:k by Isaacs treating the sane subject, altrough it does so in a cynical and unsystematic manner. 'lhe misinterpretatioo of Harold Isaacs put forth in a lecrling journal oo race rela­ tions entitled "D.l Bois and Africa"ll is mrfortlmate. '!he caricature of D.l Bois and his views on Africa by Isaacs and his false cxmtatptu::>us statarent that D.l Bois' "view was doNn­ right myopic"l2 is merely a subjectivist assertion which is proven false by the factual material presented belCM. Isaacs feels that DuBois was an out and out individualist arrl "a z:anantic racist" 13 and sees these as singular threads that nm through IOOSt:, if not all of his worlc.

Closin;r his paper saying that it is hard to imagine what would have happened if D.l Bois had not failed in his life­ ly pursuits, I saacs ad:is that this "leaves one ally to guess what a great man he might have becare had he been able to set himself resolutely all his life against all foDIB of tyrarmy. "14 Isaacs, like so many ardent bourgeois intellectuals, cannot see the greatness in D.l Bois. He fails to understand the nature of the st.ru3gle for darocracy as a worl d-wide struggle let alone that same struggle for denocracy as it applies to the liberation of millions upon millions of Black peq>le in Africa. Dr. D.l Bois devoted IroSt of his life to that struggle and at the sane time to the struggle of his own peq>le here in Aneri.ca. The dialectical unity of these two struggles escapes Isaacs and others wm rebound into cynicism while essentially giving false views oo the man, W.E.B. D.l Bois. 6

II

In 1933 the world capitalist systan was still trying to recover fran the events caused by oontradictions of capital. The oontinued efforts tcWcu:d capital acxnm..llation, high prices on produced c::xnm:xli ties and low wages, in the lcng run re­ sulted in the steep decline of iroustrial production, the ba~ of the Arrerican eoonaey. '!he depressicn of 1929-19 33 resulted in the degradation of the Arrerican world.ng pcpllatian where l.liletployrrent readled seventeen mi.llicn. However, since this was a world-wide phenatenon, a world-wide econcmi.c crisis, the effect WaS "felt in oolonized"Africa as weu.lS

Dr. IXl Bois at this tine was still hard at worlc as editor of the Crisis which he founded in Novatber, 191016 as organ of the NAACP. It is fran his desk as editor of the Crisis that he set forth the follaring view he held until the end of his life:

Pan-Africa neans intellectual understanding arrl cooperation cm::ng all groups of Negro descent in order to bring about at the earliest possi­ ble tine the iroustrial and iritual emanci­ pation of the Negro peq>le.lr

To understand the philoscphy of IXl Bois as it related to Africa at a tine when the cx:ntinent was partitioned to the capitalist~ of Eurcpe and North Arrerica, it is neoessaxy to understand that it took a strcng belief such as Du Bois had to refute the racist prq>aganda of oolcnial- capitalism in Afri­ ca which by the end of World War I was very deeply entrenched there.l8 A central part of this prq>agaiX!a, eni:led:led within the ethnocentrism of mainstream historiography on Africa, was being taught at all leading institutions of higher learning, anong these Clarlc, Harvard and Yale.

The struggle of IXl Bois was not a roral struggle (im­ portant as rorality is) of a man yearning to tie together in sare ranantic way the African past with the Afro-Arrerican present. Du Bois' view was not a part of the fashionable back to Africa idea of this decade.19 Du Bois :repeatedly stated: "I do not advocate the return of Negroes to Africa."20 Rather, it was a struggle that first and fo:rem:>st recognized the eoo­ nanic, political, social and ideological CH>ression of African peq>le wlx> , for the IOOSt part, during his lifetine were oon­ ceived of as inhuman, heathen and merely d:>jects of ethnographic study.

Pan-Africanism21 as a philosophical outlook becane a. 7

strategy and tactic to arrest the perpetuatien of oolonialism - a WCf¥ to unite Africa against the export of oc:rrm:xii.ties, eJCpn::priatien of laOO and ensl.avenent of labor by the daninat­ i.n;J Ellrcpean powers. This Du Bois understood very well and in his survey of what is new called Black Histocy, BZaak Fo l,k Then and NOIJJ : An Essay in the History and Soaio"'logy of the Negro Race, he set out to oorrect the :reoord of what he saw as "neither reasonable nor probable" the dictum that "Black people have no histocy. "22 Du Bois was i.OOefatigable in his criticisms of African historiography which was based en the racist as~ ticns that the histocy of African whites was the history of Africa! He saw in the people of Africa the need not to serve the hegem:ny of the white world but a self detemri.nation which did not include in any WCf¥, 8\i:>jugatien to Ellrq>ean rule. To believe otherwise, as many at that tine did, was to believe in samthing that Du Bois called a "m::rlern philoscphy. " He was quick to add:

This philosqlhy is the child of the African slave trade and the industrial eJ

This was not all. In his analySis of Africa Du Bois was very clear and oonsistent on the role that labor played as a oc:rrm:xii.ty in the develcprent of Emq:le. ~oontly this ccn­ oept has been :referred to as the "develcprent of underdevelq>­ ment. "24 Althouftl in 1939 when BZaak Po"'lk Then and NOIJJ was published DuBois was not a Marxist25 in the strict sense, his frane of reference was decidely so. His analysis of labor as a OCiliiDdity verifies this:

Thus there arose and made itself manifest, by the middle of the eighteenth oontmy, the new metlxx1 of increasing inCXlllE! based en the buyi.r¥J and selling of labor as a oc:rrm:xii.ty. '!be profit which arose there­ fran furnished the first great accunula­ ticns of capital • •• and was the inoon­ tive and tedmi.que which started the world. • • These were the oottcn gin, the stean en:p.ne , the flying shuttle, [and] the power loan•••• These things were not the cause of the Industrial Hevolutien: theY were the :result of the African slave trade. 26

The attention Du Bois paid to ea:>JXIT'Ii.c matters was a part of his overall ccnoern for deao"'lonization in Africa. It was this concern that led his sharp critique of the oonvention­ al wisdan prepared by the ne~r~ly organized ocmnittee en Africa 8

at tre initiative of the Phelps States Fund27 in 1942 entitled The Atlantia Chartez> and Af!'iaa fz>om an Ame!'iaan Standpoint. Du Bois' critique ackn<:Mledged that there were Black peq>le serving as oollaborators oo this project. He says of this:

and while at first thou;Jht it may be over­ stressing the rare elerent to mention it, yet we must remE!!'Ii:>er that in nost nodem oountries today, Africa is discussed and dissected without the presence of Africans.28

The principle ooncmn of Du Bois lx:Jwoever canes at the end of his review as a two part criticism. First he says that the report is prcrBritish but in his own words, "it {the report] believes in the British oolonial system by and large and in the British attitude tcMal:d colored peq>le" (p. 436). SeeinJ this as unfortunate, he oontinues, giving the secxmd and IOOSt :im­ portant part of his critique:

a second criticism would be the failure to stress adEquately the dangers of the e<::x::11<:r mic eJCploitation of Africa•••• '!be cx:m­ mittee should remerci:>er that the atnmt of capital invested in Africa has greatly increased since the first world war and especially Aneri.can capital•••• 'Ibis capital is invested in Africa without any of the oontrols which surrounded invested capital in Elll:q:>e and Aneri.ca. • • • t.Jnler these ciro.nnstanoes to leave out strcng reference to the an:bing of investnent would leave us cpen to blane either for a lack of kn<::Mledge or lack of cntrage. 29

It was at Atlanta, first te!lporarily as a visiting prcr fessor and then as head of the Depart:Jrent of Sociology that Du Bois devel.qled ~tematically his anti-~alist stand oo Africa. Under the presidency of Dr. Jolm Hope at Atlanta University, he was given the range to develq> and researoh to­ pics on Africa as he saw fit- the necessity being for a fuller understanding of the oolonial history to provide ways to dis­ saninate a nore oorrect history than were available at the tirre.30 The stress that DuBois put on research, writing and lecturing is i.Jrportant to our understarrling of what was to be his style for the rest of his life. 31

It was while Du Bois was at Atlanta, near the end of his second te.nn, that one of the clearest staterrents by him on Africa appeared. In Foz>eign Affaiz>e an essay entitled "'nle Realities in Africa: Elll:q:>ean Profit of Negro Develq:mant?" 9

Du Bois asks a question that was awropriate for the tiire and is still relevant today.

If anted natives were going to be used in European disputes, would not native oolo­ nial revolt be a ma,tter of years?" 32

Tying together for this era develcpnents on the a::nti­ nent of Africa and the seocn:i WOrld War, Du Bois saw as i.npor­ tant "the cx:npetition for profit. n33 Am:lng the European ~rs Africa played a significant role in "the private profits of foreign invest::rrents, "34 SE> nuch so that international 'WOrld peaoe was c:alStantly in a state of flux. It was with World War II that "a substantial i.npact on the subsequent develcpnent of Alrerican inperialism"35 began. All of Africa played a central role in the c:alSOlldation of Anerican nonopoly centro! over oolonized Africa on which Dr. Du Bois reflected in 1943. Shortly after the appearance of his article "The Heali.ties in Africa" DuBois received a letter of bewil.denrent asking for clarificaticn fran one "interested in the future prd:>lems of the United Nations in the post-war era." Specifically the :i.rxJuirer wanted to know why Du Bois advocated taking away polltical oon­ trol f~ "ccmnerc:ial and business interests. " His reply dated July 6, 1943 fran his l:x:t!e in Balti.Ioore said:

[It] wishes the United States to seize ter­ ritory and administer it for private profit, and the cnly

Characteristic of DuBois was his frankness! In oonclu:ling this c:crrm.mication he went on to say - undersooring the point:

I am oonvinced that the develcpnent of bade­ ward races and lands cannot be left in the unguided and unoontrolled ~r of private investors...... This sort of profit ought to be curbed by international legislation and guardianship. And this is not solely for philantrq>hy, but for insurance against future war and tuntoi.l. 36

Du Bois ends "The Jealities in Africa" by seeing the roost dan­ gerous situation in the world at that tiire as that between 10

"Eurcpean capital and colored labor involving high profit, J.c:M wages, and cheap ri!lll materials." 37

In March, 194438 with the \D'lderstanding he was to be "retired" by Atlanta University cx:rne June of that year (see oote #31 ), Du Bois oontributed one of the few articles accept­ ed fn::m him by the American JournaL of SocioLogy , 39 organ of the Atrerican SOciological Association. By seeing "raoe cx:nflict••• playing a fatal role in the m:xlem worl d" he wrote "Prospect of A world Without Racial o:nflict. "40 castigating the majority views of this era - t00se of Smuts of sa.rt:h Africa, Churchill of Englan9, DeGualle of France arid :R:x>sevelt of the United States (altlnlgh DuBois did not mentioo the latter by name directly) , he issued a critique of the racist philoscphy of Gd::>ineau as it infl uenced these statesnen. He wrote:

We have with difficulty reached a place in the trodern white world where \\'IE! can contem­ plate the abolition of poverty; where \\'IE! can think of an industrial organization with oo part of its essential c::x:>-qlerators depriv-­ ed of incx:rne which will give them sufficient food and shelter, along with the necessaxy education and sate of the cx:mforts of life. But this conception is confined almost en­ tireLy to the white race. 4l

Extending his critique to the scattered disciplines of of the social sciences with their role in praroting col.crri.alism and the belief that Black people have no history, DuBois felt that the sociiil sciences becane inst:runents in the handS of the colonialists to prove the inferiority of the African people wtx> \\'ere~ used as slaves for the a::rnfort and culture of mas­ ters. 42 1\m:lng the a:mnents he made \\'ere: "Ea:rlcmi.cs even today canrx>t talk straight on ool.crri.al inperialism. "43 Du Bois' near final views on colonialism in Africa are reflected in the points that he I!a3e in this essay.

III

Fran Port- Au-Prince, Haiti in a letter dated Sept.e"lber 12, 1944, Du Bois info:oned his friend and colleague Mr. Arthur Springam - then president of the NAN:P - that he had acoepted the NAACP offer of ent>loynent and would arrive in New YOJ:k on Sept:atiJer 22.44 The jcb was DuBois' se<::orrl term of ent>loyrrent with the NAACP and was in the capacity of Di.rector of Special Research which in his a.m woros meant "to revive the Pan-African novetrent and give general attention to the foreign aspects of the race prcblem. " 45 11

After taking the position with the NAACP he becc:me an official d:>server to the founding cooference of the United Natioos. During that time he sent a scathing CXJTili.IIlique to the United States delegatioo. based upon his d:>servations that said in part:

'!be attenpt to write an international bill of rights into the San Franc:i.soo cooferenoe witl'nlt any spec:i.fic nentioo. of the pec.ple living in oolanies seems to me a m::lSt unfortunate prooedure. 46

DuBois was busy with the question of peaoe arxl oolanies in general but particularly as related to Africa. His imnedi.ate and major efforts to these erxls resulted in the publication of Col-01.' and Demoar>acy: Col-onies and Peace in 1945 and the oc:nven­ in:J of the Fifth Pan-African COngress, Mandlester, Engl.arxi in the sane :year. 48 Another event of inp:>rtance was the publica­ tion of the Encycl-opedia of the Negro: Preparatory VoZwne unth Reference Lists and Reports of which Du Bois was oo-editor. 'lbere was to be sure, an "imnedi.ate need for such an erx:yclcpe­ dia to cnmter distortioo, to provide the truth, arxl to pxaoote further study"49 of Black pec.ple in the United States and Africa.

Du Bois spent nuch time with the revival of the Pan­ African m::M!IIleilt. He felt deepl y that: "Africa has cxrre to the plaoe where acticn has suooeeded talk"50 arxl

m::lSt of the pec.ple of darker skin tlu:oogh­ out the \

Initially in his prograus oo Pan-Africa DuBois felt that the leadership for such a novarent "stercs naturally fran the wast Indies and the United States,"52 an inoorrect position to have been taken by him especially in light of his anti-oolanial staros. This view, uOOerstaixli:ng the genesis of the Pan-African m::M!IIleilt, was quickly abandoned for "Dr. Du Bois always cx:nsi~ ed his Pan- Africanisrn as an aid to the furthering of the idea of natiatal self-detemd.natioo. arong Africans, urXIer their own leaders, for their own benefit,"53, 54

Related to DuBois' oonnectioo with the Pan-African m::M!IIleilt a lalg letter was sent to him by the W3st African Stu­ dents Unioo which e>epressed c:x:ncern for the calling of the Fifth Pan-African Congress outside of Africa "affecting the future of Africa and the welfare of peoples of African descent. n55 '!be 12

western African Students Union urged that Liberia be chosen in­ stead as the site of the Ccngress. The letter in part stated:

lfar.1ever, it will be possible to have a wider and rrore effective representation of different sections of progressive African q>inion when the · Ccngress is held in Liber­ ia than "WOuld be possible in Europe. 56

In his reply to the Union~ Bois stated that this Congress was in fact a preliminary congress with the real Pan-African Con­ gress to be held in Africa in the next year of two. 57 we kna-1 na-~ that this p:rc.posal was not to eventllate l.IDtil 1958 in what was the First All African Peeples Conference held in Accra, Ghana. Dr. Nkrumah noting this stated: "You, Doctor, inculcated into our souls the necessity of Pan-Africa - a united Africa. When I q>ened the all African People's Conferences here in Accra, to which your gcx:rl wife so elcquently presented your address ••• I told them that this was in fact the Sixth Pan-Afri­ can Congress."58

Amidst mudl difficulty with travel arrangenents due to the ending of World War II, DuBois attended the Fifth Pan-Afri­ can Congress held in Mandlester, Englarrl Octd::>er 15, 1945. His contribution to the Pan-African novem:mt was ackncMledged by Peter Abrahams who said:

Dr. W.E. Burghardt~ Bois, the eminent Negro scholar and writer, was unaninously elected International President of the Congress. This Congress, therefore was the rrost representative yet asserrbled by Africans and peq>le of African descent to plan and 'WOrk for the liquidation of irrperialism•.•• He [Dr. Du Bois] can, justly, be called the 'Father' of the Pan-African novem:mt.59

Returning to60 the United States DuBois gave reports on the 'WOrk of the Congress61 and set out to publicize as far as possible the results. He wrote:

If the 'WOrld today is art and luxw:y, electricity and focd, am:mg other things, Africa is contributing through its gc)ld and diarronds, its copper and cl'x>oolate arrl extraordinary part. In return it is not only getting a fair share of the re­ sults, but the fact that this is true is bedevilling and will continue to frustrate 13

the restoration and advan~ of civili­ zation.62

In an earlier nenti~ wo:rk, Color and Demoaraay: Co­ 1 lonies and Peaae 1 published just prior to bu Bois departure for Manchester, England, there appears what is still the clas­ sic stat.enent on colanial-inperialism in Africa. The thesis of the l::x:>dc affinns "its applicability to 1:0day1 s world" ••• "has not••• lessened. n63 Sate of the major points that Du Bois makes in it are "colonies are slU!l5 of the world" (p.l7) and that:

1) the substantial and :permanent advan~ of a group cannot be allowed to depend on the philanthrcpy of a master ±f the desires and initiative of its neri:>ers are given no free­ dan, no dem:>cratic expression; and if, on the other hand, the will of the master is swayed by strong nntives of aggrandizerrent and gain (p.ll) •

2) the continuation of the belief of vested intfrre5ts in the theocy of racial infer­ iority and their dislike of minorities of aey sort will ·be enoouraged by fai:).~ to fa~ the prd:llem of the future of colonies - the prd:llem of those hundreds of millions of pecll?le on wlx:m· the world !eng has walked witl). c:!al;eless and insOlerit t:eet (p.57).

3) On~ Hitler and the Nazis had obtained pao~er they built an oligarchy, not a deno­ cracy (p. 80) •

4) '!he attitude of the United States in this devel.c:prent [of world inperialism] puzzles the d:lserving world of libei:alism. Intel­ ligen~ and high wages in this land are linked with an ~aordinal:y develcptent of the rule of wealth and synpathy with inperial anbi tion in other lands, as well as steps toward greater Anerican inperial­ ism (p. 85).

These exoel:pts are given to shcM the range of Du Bois 1 thinking on colonialism and i.i:tperialism at this time. He closes Color and Demoaraay: Colonies and Peaae with these very insightful words: ·

'lbere has ~ surfeit of creed, dogma, and 14

priestly a,ssunption to bridle the intelli­ genae of rren~ there has been encugh of the ainil.ess arrogance of science used to heal and kill, destroy and build. '!be daY. has dawned wren above a wpunded, tired earth · ~lfish sacrifice, witrout sin and hell, may join 1:hrougtl technique, shpm of ruth­ less greed, and make a new religion, one with new klx:Mledge to shout fran old hills of heaven: Go down ~!64

The rrove to the NAACP and tl:ying to settle into his new position as Director of Special Research soon proved to be of ilrm=nse difficulty for DuBois, In his posthmously published Autobiography he wrote:

As events soon proved, in my inv:;i.tation to retum to the NAACP, there were three cx::n­ flicting ideas as to what my status would ·be. My CMn t:lx>ught was that I was tO have no power or place in the regular organiza­ tion except to give such advice as I was asked. I was to have freeocm to write and express my cpinions, avoiding of oourse anything that would hurt the organization. I was to oontinue the long in:terrupted in­ terest of the NMcP in Africa. ~ • • I natural­ ly expected to work and to have an area of wol:k which was mine. • • • 'lliat in fine I would continue to be myself, woPdng in cx::q>eration but not in cx::rrplete subordination to any­ body. It d,i.d npt ocrur to me that anyone would expect of ask that. 65 ·

Du Bois oontinued by pointing out the oonfrontation that he had with Walter White. '!be Correspondence Voltme 3, shaYs this oonfrc'mtation carrieq to the point of absurdity where the ]):)ctor had to :request that "mail or telegrams addressed to me [not be) opened by anyone except Miss Irene Diggs, n66 and "sarething ImlSt be Cbne llmediately about office space for my work. n67 HcMever, these inconveniences which grew larger as time went on, did not prevent Du Bois fran carrying out the re­ search and work that he was hired to do for NAACP.

In the capacity of Director of Special Research, Du Bois published two major books,68 wrote aJ:Peals,69 gave lec­ tures70 and influenced the careers of many students both Black and white, while relping to nold the nost positive image of Africa in world history. The late William leo Hansberry put all this succinctly wren he said: 15

Du Bois elected, harrever, to restrict him­ s;eif tq no single branch of human epdeavor but chose rather to wozk untiringly for human causes ••• 71 ,

In 1947 the se

[It is) also dangerous for logical social cx:mclusions. Therefore I arri s;eeking in this book to remind .readers ••• heM critical a part Africa has played in human history, past and present, and l.'lovl inPJssible it is to forget this and riqhtly explain the present plight of mankirrl. 72

When this work was c:x::nplet;ed Africa was still colonized. Insioo of eleven chap~ the story of Africa in world history was writteil by a scholar Whb honestly felt the burden of not having oc:nduct.ed nrire research for the project, a task 01,1 Bois felt should take a lifetbre of research. 73 By not being coo­ fined to academi..c ~stions, Du. Bois Waf? able to acme fo:rward with what he had C1or'1!3, a belief so . strong that he castigated the Africanist William Leo Hansberry for his failure to publish his own manuscripts on Africa- saying :that the "ovmwhelming weight of cx:mventional opinion on ¥rica has overawed him." Du Bois reasoned: ·

I am faced with a dilemna, that either I do this nCM or leave it for otl:)ers wm have not had the tragedy of life which I have, forcing me to face a task for which they may ~ small stanadl and little enqour­ agenent fran the world round about. If, out of It¥ alnost ineyitable mistakes and inaccuracies and false ccnclusions, I shall have at least clearly stated It¥ main is­ sues - that Black Africans are man in the same sense as white European and yellCM Asiatics, and that hi·story can easily prove this - then I ~ rest satisfied even 1.IDder the stigma of an inCXIlplete and, to inany, inccnclusive wo:r:k. 7 4 ·

'Ihls shcMed that Du Bois understood ~ dictum that his 16

era was "a critical tine for the social sciences not a tine for oourtesies,"75 so he went ahead arrl published The Wortd and Afriaa whic;:h has stood the test of tine, remaining a basic text for any social scientific study of the social histo:ry of Africa.

In lOOting rrore closely at Du Boi!?' discussion in this latter wo:rk, we see that he is oonoerned with a historical a­ nalysis of Africa through a critiqte of the European presence there. Being a philosopher of the materialist bend, DuBois felt that "life is not deteJ;mined by oonsciousness, but oon­ sciousness by life." The Wortd and Afriaa Ts reflective of this philosophical view whidl is:

set-out fran real, active men and on the basis of their real life processes. [Du Bois] de!!nnstrated the. develcprent of the ideological reflexes and eclxles of this life process, 76 in relation to Africa.

This is srnething that another philosopher, the great thinker Hegel, was not able to do in his reflections on Africa (cf. Phitosophy of History) . This is · so because his scientific method and his philosophical world view began outside of the danain of human social ,;lations, that is, outside of the so­ cial milieu of sOciety.

The situation in Africa demanded a sttrly able to pene­ trate the Ieyth of the "da:rk oontirent" and wipe out the stench of etlmoqentrism that had hithe;rto cbni.nated rrost of the wo:rk in African social studies. Du Bois, , rroving through his thesis on Africa fran slave:ry to neo-slave:ry, wrote:

Eventually Negro slave:ry and the slave trade were abandoned in favor of oolari.al irrperialism, and the England which in the eighteenth aentw:y established nodem slave:ry in America on a vast scale, ~­ ed in the nineteenth aentu:ry as the official emancipator of slaves and fotmder of a method of oontrol of htnnan labor and material whiah~roved mQre profit- ab te than s tavery. ·

In The Wortd and Afriaa Du. Bois made use of the rrost pertinent literature available on the subject at that time. For exanple he extensively used the classic work by Dr. Eric Williams, CapitaUsm and Stavery. He translated the .wo:rks of the GeDnan Africanist, Dr. leo Frabenius, who is still regard­ ed today as one of the forerrost authorities on Africa. 17

Ms. Arma Graves' wo:rk was used as was the work of the late J.A. Rogers. The point is that I:X:l Bois undertcx::k the project as well prepared as was possible even if he himself had certain reservations about its cx::npleteness.

In the last chapter "On the Future of the Darker Races," a very poignant question is asked: "I::oes the World Need Afri­ ca?" Very quickly Du Bois answers:

The Negro race has been the foundation upon which the capitalist system has been reared, the Industrial Revolution carried through, and imperial oolonial­ ism established. . . . If we confine our­ selves to America we cannot forget that America was built on Africa. 79

Although the wo:rking of neo-oolonialism are Im.lch rrore cx:mplex within the oontext of global imperialism, these do not invali­ date the thesis Du Bois put fo:rward in 1947.80

N

DuBois was fired fran the NAACP effective Decerrber 31, 1948 which Volume 3 of the Correspondence explains in detail. At this t.ine ~ver, The Counai l on African Affairs was well established in its wo:rk on Africa and under the chainnanship of Paul Robeson81 DuBois officially joined its staff as Vice- Chai nnan. 82

Although no single volume has appeared to date on the history of the Council, we can, fran scattered sources, piece together Du Bois' role in furthering its wo:rk until its dis­ solution in 1955 ("A result largely attributaJle to the oonstant hounding of the federal goveD1I!Ellt and the hostility of the camercial media") . 83

During his tenure with the Council Du Bois intensified efforts tc:Mard world peace, especially as related to Africa •. He continued his contact with African leaders and African stu:lents who sCM in the Council a vehicle for help with their respective struggles back 11a'c¥e. 84 The weight that scxreone of DuBois' stature carried in the struggle for African unity, acted as a catalyst for the support needed by the Council to carry fo:rward its program of work.

Working for "peace and peace nON," Du Bois at the age of eighty three continued to advocate freedan for the peoples of Africa. 85 His work was not in vain even through the rrost 18

rabid McCarthy era scandals that at one point saw Du Bois handcuffed and fingerprinted for his peare activities. 86 Still with the Council on African Affairs, Du Bois was being banned from the mainstream press and therefore had to publish with progressive joumals and newspapers. 87

One of the essays of this period that stands out in his continued efforts against colonial-inprrialism is "A Future for Pan Africa: Freedom, Peare, Soc.:ialism." In this essay (which is an open letter to the then Pri.Ire Minister of Ghana, the late Dr. Kwarre Nkrumah), Dr. DuBois succinctly states:

Pan-Africa will seek to preserve its own past history and write the present account, erasing from literature the lies and dis­ tortions about Black folk which have dis­ grared the last centuries of European and Airerican literature; above all, the new Pan-Africa will seek the education of all its youth on the broadest possible basis without religious dogma and in all hospi­ table lands as well as in Africa and for the end of making Africans not sinply profitable workers for industry nor stoolpigeons for propaganda, but for making them rrodern, intelligent, rewn­ sible rren of mission and character.

DuBois' relationship to Africa, his credits and debits are not, as it is SCIIEti.rres incorrectly assurred, "beyond re­ proach."89 He was, to be sure, his severest critic. He said:

Onre I thought of you Africans as child­ ren whom we educated Afro-Airericans would lead to liberty. I was wrong. 90

In this respect, one of the major failings of Du Bois was the unsucressful atterrpt to tum the struggle against colr"lial-imoerialism into a mass struggle, clearly understood by· him as c:::videnred. in his "Last M:ssage 'lb The World."

As the title suggests he is interested in letting the world knCM what it is he had to say for the last tine. It was so characteristic of Du Bois that in this rressage he felt the neressity for self-criticism. He said:

... I have been uplifted by the thought that what I have done well will live long and justify II¥ life. That what I have done ill or never finished can nay 19

be handed on to others for endless days to be finished perhaps better than . I could have done. 91

This was Du Bois' reminder to us that the work on Africa at which he labored so long and hard, still remains to be a:xn­ pletect.92

v

The therre on the relation of Black people in Anerica to Black Africans is central to Du Bois' understanding of Afri­ cain world history. This aspect of DuBois' thought sh:Ms itself as early as the project studies at Atlanta University. For exarrple, it is reflected in the rronograph published under the general heading: Atlanta University Studies of The Negro Problem: Annual Publication Nurrber '!Welve entitled Ec:onomie Cooperation Among Negro Amerieans.93

This is elucidated again by Du Bois in a talk he gave in cx:rrnerroration of the thirty-:Eirst anniversary of Black History Week to an audience at Allen University in Colunbia, South Carolina, February ll, 1957. The talk in part said:

Whither nON do we go? We Anerican Negroes cannot lead the colored peoples of the world because they far better than we understand what is happening in the world today. But we can try to catch up with them. . • So far as Africa is concerned we can realize that socialism is part of their past history and will without a shade of doubt play a large part in their fu­ ture.... [To help in] curbing the pCMer of private capital and great rronopolies [we] stand ready to rreet and cooperate with world socialism as it grCMs arrong white and Black. 94

The relation of Black Anericans to Africa is also evi­ denced in one of his last articles entitled "Anerican Negroes and Africa's Rise To Freedan." He said:

Would it not be wise for Anerican Negroes themselves to read a few boc:ks and to do a little thinking. for themselves? It is not that I would persuade Negroes to bea::xre CXliltllUili.sts, capitalists or holy rollers; but 20

whatever belief they reach, let it for Q:xi 1 s sake be a matter of reason and not of ignorance, fear, and selling their souls to the devil. 95

This inportant IreSsage needs to be heeded today especially with the rise of neo-oolonialism and its masking of social reality.

Du Bois tied the struggle against racism in Aneri.ca with the struggle against inperialist danination in Africa. This, as his legacy points out, 'lf.'Ould help break the inperial­ ist chain that q;Jpresses Black people in various parts of the world. During this latter phase of Du Bois 1 life, oolonialism had entered the highest stage of its danination. With this, there energed in Africa for the first tilre - a systematic, relentless resistence to oolonialism beginning with passive canpaigns but grOO.ng into anted struggles~ It was this era that produred such heroic freedan fighters as the men and \YO­ men of MPIA in Angola and FREI.JM) in M;)zarcbique.

Du Bois was able to discern the c:x:mtours of this late phase. Characteristic of him was his ability to inoorporate new developrents into his ideas for social dlange in Africa cis evidenred in his \YOrk after the Bandung Conference of Color­ ed Peoples (1955) , which had a lasting effect upon him.

VI

'lb oonclude then on Du Bois and Africa, it has been said of him that:

'!he greatness of Dr. Du Bois lies in the fact that he rentered the nearly ten decades of his life upon the fundamental questions of his tilre - and of our tilre: racism, oolonialism, i.nperi.alism, war, illiteracy, poverty, hunger, exploitation; and that he did this with astonishing persistence, absolute integri.ty and historic effectiveness.96

This sumnation of Du Bois 1 life is so true. Du Bois, cne of the greatest Aneri.cans of the twentieth rentury, has not been given his hard earned place in the annals of science and his­ tory. This I ccntend is changing and IrDre and IrDre people are beginning to understand the forred suppression of his tOOught - "isolated by petty defamation, by suspicion, by officially contrived alienation. n97 This is a slow process and will socn end. 21

As the late Dr. Martin Luther King explained:

Dr. DuBois was not only an intellectual ¢ant exploring the frontiers of kna.Yledge, he was in the first place a teacher. 98

'lhl.s quality which Dr. King was so oorrect in assessing in Du Bois, is what has extended into the present. His thought lives and it is ever so prq>retic as were the days when his voice and pen consistently rang out.

One of the last writings by DuBois on Africa requires our attention. He said:

Persons who today are .rightly -worried alxlut the future of civilization should give their attention to Africa for it is the failure to do this for so many years in the past that has been a prima cause of the present critical situation.99

The essay ends with the follaring sentence, which relates di­ rectly to the alxlve: "Here lies the great threat of world war."

Today as we witnessed the defeat of Portuguese oolonial­ ism in ~zanbique and Angola, the escalated anted struggle in Zinbabwe, and the forward rrovarent to build the anted struggle in the citadel of racism, South Africa, the writings of Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois have gained in :i.rcportance thus providing both historical and cxmtenp>rary clarity on such burning questions as the relation of Africa to the -world econo­ mic ·situation and to -world peace. '1he forces fighting for human rights in Africa kncM of the -wol:k by Du BoislOO and still today he is considered the "Father of Pan-Africanism," as well as Africa's adcpted son. ·

There is no need to elalxlrate on the fact that Du Bois chose to live his last days in Ghana, at the personal invita­ tion of President Nkrumah, to a:nplete his life long anbition, "The Ehcyclq:ledia Africana. " Exact details of the major short­ canings under which the project had to be tmdertaken and Du Bois' :role in seeing tl1e project through sone of · these diffi­ culties, has been explained in detail by his secretary, the late Dr. Alphaeus Hunton.lOl '1he project was being tmdenn:i.ned by the "Eurooentric minded school of Africanists" prior to and after Du Bois' death. 'lhl.s was canented by the coup d'etat which seized pc:Mer in Ghana thus curtailing the prq>OSed ten volune -wol:k. It is only recently that there is indication that the total effort Was not lost to reaction. (see note #92.) 22

We close then with words that a yom1g Du Bois could utter of that great Black leader Frederick Douglass, where Du Bois was speaking at a nerorial service being held upon the death of Douglass in 1895. 'lhese sane words aptly apply to Du Bois himself: ·

As wanderers along an l.li'IkncMn path, it is due to ourselves and hUII'al'lity that we pause today and seek to fathan the true rreaning of the death of a long trusted leader. We must not rush on rrerely crying in half-triunphant sa

When one studies any aspect of the life of Du Bois, one is studying a phen<;:arenon.l03,10ll In "Du Bois and Africa" it has been shcMn that it was through him that the world cane to knav and W1derstand Africa, and its correct role in world history.

Footnotes

1. I would like to thank my wife, carol A. Budi for her persistent efforts in helping to develop the idea for this paper into its final fonn. Also this paper c:Mes nruch to Dr. Herl:>ert Aptheker. Through his good graces I was able to attend his Fall, 1976 seminar at Yale Uni­ versity on "The Life and Wo:rk of W.E.B. Du Bois." Especially I thank Dr. Aptheker for his generosity of depositing with rre the manuscript of Herl:>ert Aptheker ed.

The Correspondence of W.E.B. DuBois; Volume 33 Selea­ tions3 l944-l963 (Massachusetts: University of Massachu­ setts Press, forthcx::ming). QuotationS fran this wo:rk are with the pennission of the editor. This paper has benfr­ fitted fran the critical CCITilEI'lts on the first draft by Professor William B. Wiggins of the University of Con­ necticut. All errors that remain in the text are mine alone.

2. W.E.B. Du Bois, "Jefferson Davis As A Representative of 23

Civilization," {Unpublished Ms., Harvard University Ar­ chives, Carrt>ridge, Massachusetts).

3. The Autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois: A Soliloquy on View­ ing MY Life From the Last Decade of Its First Century, ed. He:rbert Aptheker {New York: International Publishers, 1968), p.61.

4. 'lb date there is no de fini tive biography on Dr. Du Bois. In place of this see the follCMing: Shirley Graham Du Bois, His Day Is Mar(}hing On {New York: J.B. Lippinc;ott, 1971); Virginia Hamilton, W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography {New York: Thanas Y. Crowell, 1972); Herbert Aptheker, "On The Meaning of Dr. DuBois," in Soul of The Republic, {New York: Marzani & .Munsel, 1964), pp.l-8; H. Aptheker, "Du Bois Final Years," Journal of Human Relations 14 {1966): 149-155; the special issue of FreedoTTlilays Magazine, Volune 5, No.1, Winter, 1965; and John H. Clazk, Ester Jackson, Ernest Kaiser and J.H. O'Dell ed. Black Titan: W.E.B. Du Bois {Boston: Beacon Press, 1970). A very useful guide to writings about Du Bois has been recently published. See Dan S. Green, "Bibliography of Writings About W.E.B. DuBois," CLA Journal 20 {March 1977) :410-421.

5. W.E.B. Du Bois, In Battle For Peace: The Story of MY 83rd Birthday, with Comment by Shirley Graham {New York: Masses and Mainstream Publishers, 1952), p.l5.

6. HeJ::bert Aptheker, ed. The Correspondence of W.E.B. Du Boisj Volume l, Selections, l877-l934 {Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press, 1973-), pp.l0-18.

7. W.E.B. Du Bois, The Suppression of The African Slave Trade To America, Z638-l870, ed. Herbert Aptheker {New York: Kraus-Thrnpson, 1973) •

8. W.E.B. Du Bois, The Negro {New York: Oxford University Press, 1970).

9. W.E.B. DuBois, "The African Roots of War," Atlantic Monthly 115 {May 1915):707-714.

10. "For the last century, Eurq:le' s interest in Africa has been ••• the annexation of oolonies and investnent for pro­ fit in African labor and raw materials." See W.E.B. Du Bois, "Black Africa Tarorrow," Foreign Affairs 17 {1938): lOD-llO. Also helpful to this period is Du Bois, Dusk of Daum {New York: Harurt, Brace & World, Inc., 1940), Du Bois, The World and Africa {New York: International Pu­ blishers, 1967), and He:rbert Aptheker ed., The Correspon- 24

dence of W.E.B. Du Bois; Volume 2, Selections, l834-l944 i (Massachusetts: University of Massachusetts Press, 1976).

11. Harold R. Isaacs, "Du Bois and Africa," Race 2 (Novenber 1960) :3-23.

12. Ibid., p.l3.

13. Ibid., p.l7.

14. Ibid., p.23.

15. A succinct understanding of the crisis of 1929-1933 can be found in N. Sivachyov and E. Yazkov, History of the USA Since World War I (Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1976). As this relates explicitly to Africa see Richard Wolff, The Econorrrics of Colonialism, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1974).

16. Du Bois was editor of the Crisis fran 1910 through 1934, "the longest single sustained piece of work by Dr. Du Bois" (Herbert Aptheker, Annotated Bibliography of the Published Writings of W.E.B. Du Bois, New York: Kraus­ Thcnpson, 1973) , p.l20. See also the essay by Dan S. Green, "W.E.B. Du Bois: His Journalistic career, II Negro History Bulletin 40 (March/April 1977):672-677.

17. W.E.B. DuBois, "Pan-Africa and New Racial Philosophy," Crisis 40 (November 1933):262.

18. Earl Smith, "Underdevelop:rent and Urbanization In East Africa," (Unpublished Ms., University of Connecticut, 1977).

19. This "return to Africa" scheme is m;:>st consistently re­ ferred to in relat;i.on to the Garvey noverrent, which carried over to this pre-World War II period. A critique of Garvey's emigration plan is in 11¥ review-essay of Tony Martin, Race First: The Ideological and Organiza­ tional Struggles of Marcus Garoey and the Universal Ne­ gro Improvement Association (Connecticut: Greenwood Press, 1976), fortha:rning in Saience and Soaiety. On the emigration rroverrent of Blade Airericans to Africa see Carter G. Woodson and Charles H. Wesley, The Story of the Negro Retold, (Washington, D.C.: Associated Publishers, 1935), and St. Clair Drake, "Negro Alrericans and the African Interest," in John P. Davis ed. The American Negro Reference Book (New Jersey: Prentire Hall, 1968), pp.662-705. 25

20. Herbert Aptheker ed. The Correspondenae of W.E.B. Du Bois; 3 Vo Lwnes (Massachusetts: University of Massachu­ setts Press, 1973-), 1:365. In a letter fran a white student interested in the "race proolem" , and asking especially about Black Arrericans going back to Africa DuBois replied, "I do not advocate the return of Negrces to Africa nor the return of white people to :Etlrqle. I · believe that the world belongs to its inhabitants and that if an Englishman wishes to migrate to Arrerica or a Negro wishes to migrate to Africa both should have the right to do so under such general rules of physical health and erorx:nri.c opportunity as rould be laid da-m by fair and just rren."

21. The roncept of Pan-Africanism, in the sense that Du Bois used it, was first articulated by him in the address he wrote for the Pan-African Conference of 1900 (I.onoon) , entitled "'lb the Nations of the World." which has been reprinted in W.E.B. Du Bois, An ABC of CoLor (New Yo:rk: International Publishers, 1969), pp.l9-23. See also W.E.B. Du Bois, Dusk of Dabm (New Yo:rk: Harrourt, Brace & World, Inc., 1940), The Autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois ed. Herbert Aptheker (New York: International Publishers, 1968) and W.E.B. Du Bois, "Pan-Africa: A Mission In My Life," United Asia 7 (March 1955) :65-70.

22. W.E.B. Du Bois, "preface" to BLaak FoLk Then and Now: An Essay In The History and SoaioLogy of the Negro Raae (New Yo:rk: Heru:y Holt and Co., 1939), pp.vii-ix.

23. Ibid., 367. DuBois' a:nplete views on the slave trade as it was linked to expanding capitalism can be found in The Suppression of the Afriaan SLave Trade To The United States~ L683-1870 ed. He:rbert Aptheker (New Yo:rk: Kraus-'l'hcttpson, 1973) •

24. See Walter R:>dney, How Europe UnderdeveLoped Afriaa (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1974); Tamas Szentes, The PoLitiaaL Eaonomy of UnderdeveLopment (Hungary: Akademi.ai Kiado Publishers, 1973); and Clarence Munford, "~alism and the 'Ihi,.rd World Eronat'\Y," BLaak SahoLar 6 (May/June):lS-26 and 52-55.

25. See Jairus Gilden, "W.E.B. Du Bois and The Socialist ~t," (Unpublished Ms., Yale Un:j..versity, 1977).

26. B"Laak FoLk Then .and Now, p.369. The ideas stated here are fran Marx. See Karl Marx, CapitaL: A Critique of PoUtiaaL Eaonomy 3 Velures (New Yo:rk: International Publishers, 1967), 1. Du Bois' views are fran his early 26

academic training at both Harvard and the University of Berlin. On this see his "Apologi~" where he gives an acoount of these early enoounters with Marx. 'Ibis is in The Suppr>ession of the Afr>ican Slave Tmde.

27. See DuBois, Cor>r>espondenae, 1:331-340.

28. W.E.B. Du Bois, review-essay of The Atlantic Char>ter> and Afr>ica fr>om an American Standpoint: A Study by the Com­ mittee on Afr>ica, the War>, and Peace Aims, in Phylon 3 (1942) :435.

29. Ibid., pp.346-347.

30. Cf. the naroranda dated June 25, 1934 - point nurrber six in Cor>r>espondence, 1:251-252.

31. The fact that Du Bois was so active in his work on Africa at this tine was related directly to his understanding t:ruit he was to have a life-long jd:> at Atlanta under Dr. Jolm Hope, to pursue this interest. '!he specific details on this oontroversy that DuBois had with Atlanta, his "retirenent" and so forth were piovided in He:rbert Aptheker' s Fall, 1976 seminar at Yale. See also Cor>r>e­ spondence, volUire three.

32. W.E.B. Du Bois, "The Realities In Africa: European Profit or Negro Developnent?," For>eign Affair>s 21 (July 1943) : 726.

33. Ibid., p.727.

34. Ibid., p.727.

35. N. Sivachyov and E. Yazkov, History of the USA Since Wor>ld War> I, p.l75.

36 . See Cor>r>espondence, 2:365-366. The letter to which Du Bois is replying is. fran Eric Cochrane.

37. "The Realities In Africa," p. 732.

38. This is the sarre year that Du Bois was inducted into the National Institute of Arts and Letters. See Cor>r>espon­ dence, 2:371-372.

39. Recently there have been sttxlies that reoognize the out­ right and intended amri.ssion of Du Bois fran mainstream Ar~Erican Sociology. See for this Herman and Julia Schwendinger, The Sociologists of the Chair> (New York: 27

Basic Books, 1974); James Blackwell and Morris Janowitz ed. Blaak Soaiologists (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974); and Dan S. Green and E. Driver, "W.E.B. DuBois: A case in the Sociology of Sociological Nega­ tion," Phylon 37 (Decerrber 1976) :308-333. The authors of the latter text conclude that, the ideologies of Social Darwinism, Manifest Destiny, and Racism were all a part of the belief in white superiority - whidl result­ ed in Du Bois being left out of the sociology profession. Green and Driver quote DuBois, showing why this it so. Du Bois states thus: "Making all due allowances for different ways of interpreting facts, it ltn.lSt be confessed by all honest rren that a theory of human civi­ lization whidl stands sponsor for the enonnities cxmnit­ ted by European civilization on native races is an out­ rage and a lie. "But do the theories of Darwin and Spencer, properly interpreted, support any crude viavs of justice and right and the spread of civilization as those current today? It may be safely answered they dp not. Ignorant and selfish interpretation of great sociological laws ltn.lSt not any longer be allowed to abscure and degrade those laws" (pp.328-329).

40. W.E.B. Du Bois, "Prospect of a World Without Racial Con­ flict," Amenaan Jo~al of Soaiology 49 (Mardl 1944): 45Q-456. The article has been reprinted in W.E.B. Du Bois Speaks: Speeahes and Addresses 1920-1963, ed. Philip S. Foner (New York: Pathfinder Press, 1970), pp.l24-136.

41. Ibid. , p .132, II'\Y stress.

42. A reoent update of this ~gurrent by Du Bois can be found in the excellent volune edited by Talal Asad, Anth~opo­ logy and the Colonial Enaounte~ (london: Ithaca Press, ],.973).

43. "Prospect of a World Witlx:>ut Racial Conflict," p.l34.

44. Co~~espondenae, 2:417-418.

45. Autobiog~aphy, p.326.

46. Co~espondenae, 3:122 (forthcxming).

47. W.E.B. DuBois, Colo~ and Demoa~aay: Colonies and Peaae ed. Herbert Aptheker (New York: Kraus-'Iha!pson, 1975).

48. Cf. George Padnore ed. Colonial and Colo~ed Unity: A P~og~am fo~ Aation (london: William Morris, 1945). 28

49. See Clarence G. Contee, "The Encyclopedia Africana Pro­ ject," African Historical Studies 4 (1971): 77-91. Contee is condescending about DuBois throughout this essay; but much of it is descriptive and escapes Contee' s bias and is valuable. See also the very infonnative essay by L.H. Ofosu-A~;piah, "The Encyclopedia Africana," Journal of Modern African Studies 5 (1967) :567-569.

50. W.E.B. Du Bois, "Pan-Africanism: A Mission in My Life," United Asia 7 (March 1955):65-70.

51. Correspondence, 3:58.

52. W.E.B. Du Bois, . "The Pan-African MJvenent," in George Padrrore ed. Co ZoniaZ and Co Zared Vni ty, p.l3.

53. See Daniel Walden and Kenneth Wylie, "W.E.B. Du Bois: Pan Africanism's Intellectual Father," Jour>naZ of Human Relations 14 (1966):35.

54. An excellent autobiographical statement by Du Boi9 as this relates to Pan-Africa is in· a letter dated July 9, 1945 to George Padrrore. See Correspondence, 3:163-165.

55. Letter fran the west African Students Union, Correspon­ dence, 3:172-177.

56. Ibid., p.l74.

57. Ibid., p.l78.

58. This is fran the book by the late Mrs. Du Bois (1907-1977). See Shirley Graham Du Bois, His Day Is Marching On (New York:J.P. Lippincott, 1971), p.3l.

59. Peter Abrahams, "The Congress in Perspective," in George Padrrore ed. Colonial and Colored Unity (London: William Morris, 1945), p.ll.

60. DuBois arrived LaGuardia Field, New York on Monday, November 26. See Correspondence, 3:228.

61. Cf. Du Bois colurm in the Chicago Defender, 24 Noverrber 1945, entitied the "Winds of Tine." See also Dr. Irene Diggs, "Du Bois and the Pan-African Congresses," A Current Bibliography On African Affairs 5 (1972):122-184.

62. Correspondence, 3:230.

63. Hexbert Aptheker, "Introduction" to Color and Democracy: 29

Colonies and Peace, by DuBois (New Yorlc: Kraus-Tharpson, 1975), p.l5.

64. Color and Democracy: Colonies and Peaae, p.l43~

65. A71:tobiography, p. 327.

66. Correspondence, 3: 232. 'Ibis is fran the text of a IlE!lD­ randum dated January 31, 1945 to !by wilkins.

67. Correspondence, 3:233. This is fran the text of a IlE!lD­ randum dated April ;10, 1945 to Walter White,

68. Color and Democracy: Colonies arid Peace,. and The World and Africa.

69. "An Appeal to the WO+ld: A Statatent on the Denial of Human Rights to Minorities in the case of Citizens of the United States of America and an Appeal to the United Nations for Redress." Prepared for the NAACP in 1947.

70. "In 1946 I was asked to visit Colurrbia, S.C. and speak to a meeting of the Southern Negro Youth Congress, whose ieaders, James Jackson and I.Duis Bumh.arci, I knew and crl­ mired for their hard worlc and sacrifices," Autobiography, p. 3~2. '!he speech has been reprinted in FreedoTrlJJays, winter, 1964, pp. 8-15.

71. William leo Hansberry, "W.E.B. DuBois' Influence On Afri­ cqn History," Freedo77UJ)ays 5 (Winter 1965) :87.

72. W.E.B. DuBois, The World And Africa, p.vii.

73, Ibid, 1 p,xi.i,

74. !bid., p.xi.i.

75. '!he phrase is by lbbert Lynd. It is cited in 1\melia .Mariotti and Bernard .Magubane, "Urban Ethnology in Africa: Sane Theoretical Issues," in w. Arens ed. A Century of Change in Eastern Africa (Hague: .t-blton, 1976), pp.249- 273.

76. Karl Marx and Frederick Engels, The German Ideology (M::>s

77. Georg Hegel, The PhiZosphy .of History (New Yorlc: Dover Publications, 1964), pp.93,98 and 99. "The peculia,r African character is difficult to cx:nprehend, for the very .reason that in reference to it, we must qui'*- give up the 30

principle which naturally aca::rrpanies all our ideas - tre category of universality .•. The Negro, as already observed, exhibits tre natural man in his cxnpletely wild and un­ taned state. We I!UlSt lay aside all thought of reverenre and norali ty - all that we call feeling - if we would rightly oorrprehend him - there is nothing hanoonious with humanity to be found in this type of character. Fran these various traits it is manifest that want of self­ central distinguishes the character of the Negrres. This cx:mdition is capable of no developrent or culture, and as we find them at this day, such have they always been. The only essential oonnection that has existed and oonti­ nued between the Negroes and the Eurcpean is that of slavery. In this the Negroes see nothing unbecaning them, and the English who have done nost for abolishing the slave trade and slavecy, are treated by the Negroes themselves as enemies. For it is a point of first inpor­ tanre with the Kings to sell their captured enemies, or even their arm subjects; and viewed in the light of such facts, we may oonclude slavery to have been the occasion of the increase of human feeling arrong the Negroes ••• At this point we leave Africa, not to rrenticn it again. For it is no historical part of the world; it has no noverrent or developnent to exhibit. Historical ITOVeitel'lt in it - that is in its northern part - belong to the Asiatic or European world. Carthage displaCEd there an inportant transitory phase of civilization; but as a Phoenician oolony, it belongs to Asia. Egypt will be considered in referenre to the passage of the human mind fran its East­ em to its Western phase, but it does not belong to the African Spirit." All this fran .Hegel, one of the great­ est thinkers of the Irodern world!

78. The World and Afriaa, p.64, It¥ stress.

79. Ibid., p.227.

80. For a very penetrating analysis of this in the present epoch see Nioos Poulantzas, "Internationalization of Capitalist Relations and the Nation State," Economy and Society 3 (1974) :144-178. See also KWane Nk:rurnah, Neo­ Colonialism: The Highest Stage of Imperialism (New York: International Publishers, 1966) •

81. Paul R:>beson personally asked Du Bois to join the Council on African Affairs as Vire Chainnan at the end of his tenn with the NAACP. Infonnation on the Council was provided by Mrs. J:brothy K. Hunton in a personal interview on Novenber 5, 1976. Mrs. Hunton is the widc:M of Dr. Alphaeus Hunton, who worked very closely with DuBois and was also 31

eQ.itor of the Council's newspapers New Africa and Spot­ light on Africa.

82. 11 Sareti.ne after returning to the NAACP he had [Dr. Du Bois], without oonsultirig Walter White, aco=pted a plaa:! an the board of directOrs of The Council On African Af­ fairs, a small organization which was disseminating infonna.tion a:nnng 1\lrericans on the state of African oolcr nies, exposing their exploitation and the poverty of their people, assisting African students who managed to reach the US and endeavoring to establish closer relations be­ tween African and Af:rcr-Arrericans. 11 See Shirley G. Du Bois, His Day Is Marching On, p.97.

83. Herbert Aptheker, "Editorial Ccmrents r II Correspondence, 3:601.

84. See the report by M.P. Naicker, "The South African Miners Strike of 1946," Notes and Documents. This is published by the United Nations Centre Against Apartheid, #21/76, Sept.enber, 1976. Mr. Naicker writes about the Council On African Affairs and the untiring efforts waged to see basic human rights obtained in Africa. Especially Mr. Naicker makes note of DuBois' and Robeson's efforts.

85. For an extended view of Du Bois cono=pt of Peaa:!, see his article "Arrerica and World Peaa:!, 11 in New Wor>ld Review 20 (November 1952):49-52.

86. There are ntl!lerous soura:!s available to pull together an understanding of this era in Du Bois' life. See:· a) The New Yor>k Times of Saturday February 10, 1951 where Du Bois states, "There is no basis, in fact or fancy, for the charge that the Peaa:! Infonnation Center was in any way a representative of a foreign principle" (p.l6). b) See the article cited in note number 85 above. c) DuBois, Chapter 13 In Battle For> Peace, pp.l40-159. d) The Crisis 56 (May 1949) , where Du Bois, Paul Robeson and The Council of African Affairs were denouna:!d. The unsigned editorial stated "[The] outfit called the Coun­ cil on African Affairs [was] long ago labeled a cx:mnunist front." The editorial then castigates Paul Iti:>eson as being anti-Black for his international peaa:! activities. e) Henry Singer, "An Analysis Of The New York Press Treatrrent of The PeaD:! Conferena:! at the Waldorf Astoria," Journal of Educational Sociology 23 (January 1950):258- 270

87. This ban also included the publication of DuBois' books. For instanD:! The Souls of Black Folk had to be published 32

by Blue Heron Press (1953), and In Battle For Peace (1953), by Masses and Mainstream.

88. W.E.B. Du Bois, "A Future for Pan-Africa: Freedan, Peace, and Socialism," National Guardian: The Progressive News­ weekly ll March 1957, p.ll.

89. Cf. Patricia w. Ratero, "W.E.B. Du Bois, Pan. Africanists and Africa," Journal. of Black Studies 6 (June 1976): 321- 336.

90. W.E.B. Du Bois, "China and Africa," New World Review 27 (April 1959) :28-31.

91. W.E.B. Du Bois, "His Last Message To The World," in Journal of Negro History 49 (April 1964):145.

92. There has been recently published Volurre l, of the Dic­ tionary of African Biography (Michigan: Reference Publi­ cations, 1977). This is the first of the original Encyclopedia Africana Project conceived by DuBois in 1909. It is being published under the auspices of the Ghana AcaCleley of Science, the director is Dr. L.H. Ofosu-AH;>iah (see note #49 above). See also the rooving obituary by William Branch, "Ghana Gives State Funeral To Dr. Du Bois," Amsterdam News 7 Septenber 1963.

93. W.E.B. Du Bois, Economic Cooperation Among Negro Ameri.o. cans, Atlanta University Stu:lies of the Negro Problem, No. 12 (Georgia: Atlanta University Press, 1907).

94. W.E.B. Du Bois, "The American Negro and the Dcuker World," Allen University Bulletin 21 (May 1957):9-15.

95. W.E.B. DuBois, "American Negroes and Africa's Rise to Freedan," National Guardian: The Progressive Newsweekly, 13 February 1961.

96. Herbert Aptheker, "Editorial canrents," W.E.B. DuBois, "Africa and World Peace," Political Affairs 47 (February 1968): 81.

97. Truman Nelson, "W.E.B. Du Bois As A Prcphet," Freedom­ ways 5 (Winter 1965) :58.

98. Dr. Martin Luther King, "Honoring Dr. DuBois," Fran his speech at the Freedomways sponsored Intematicnal · Cultural Evening in honor of DuBois' Centennial birth­ date, February 23, 1968, held at Camegi.e Hall. The speech has been reprinted in W.E.B. Du Bois, Dusk of 33

Daum (New Yorlc: Schocken Books, 1969), pp.vii-xvii.

99. W.E.B. Du Bois, "Africa and World Peace," p. 81.

100. See Patricia w. Rarero, "W.E.B. Du Bois, Pan-Africanists and Africa.," Journal of Blaak Studies 6 (June 1976) :331. Ms. Rarero inoorrectly assumes that Du Bois is unknown at this tllre in Africa. Later on in her own essay she states that as recent as 1973, there was a street named after him in Nairobi, Kenya! Volume three of the Cor­ respondenae clearly shavs the lasting influence that Du Bois has on contarporary Africa, and the respect given to him by African people.

101. W. Alphaeus Hunton, "Concerning The Encyclopedia Afri­ cana," Freedomways 7 (Spring 1967) :139-149.

102. W.E.B. Du Bois, "Douglass As Statesman," ed. Herbert Aptheker, Journal of Negro History 49 (October 1964): 265.

103. Herbert Aptheker, "'!he Life of Dr. Du Bois." This was a public lecture delivered at Yale University on Febru­ ary 9, 1976.

104. J. Saunders Redding, "Portrait••• W.E. Burghardt DuBois," The Ameriaan Saholar 18 (Winter 1948) :93-96. * * * * * Earl S"dth.is a Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Conneatiaut in Stors. Presently he is preparing a book length manusaript entitled "Du Bois and Afriaa". Other essays and reviews by him have appeared in Blaak Saholar~ Freedomwa:ys~ Journal 9.f. Modern Literature and other periodiaals.