W.E.B. Du Bois ENGL 362 Fall 2014 Jenna Conner Sarah Oates Tamar Sparrow Early life: -Born William Edward Burghardt Dubois on February 23, 1868 in Great barrington, MA - Member of small free black community -Attended integrated schools -He was very intelligent and encouraged by educators to pursue education -He wanted to use his mind to empower African Americans -First attended Fisk University, a historically Black college in Nashville (1885-1888) -Nashville was his first experience with racism (Jim Crow Laws, Lynchings) -Then went to Harvard (1888-1890), followed by the University of Berlin -Upon his return from Berlin, Dubois was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. in history from Harvard Professional Beginnings: -Took a job at Wilberforce University in Ohio where he was influenced by Alexander Crummell and his opinion that ideas and morals are necessary for social change -While there he married his student Nina Gomer (1896) -After Wilberforce, he took a year long research position at the University of Pennsylvania in sociological research in Philadelphia's African American neighborhoods -This research lead to his milestone study in The Philadelphia Negro, the first case study about black communities -Coined the term “talented tenth;” one in every ten black men become leaders of their race -1897 attended the Negro Academy where he presented a paper rejecting Frederick Douglass’ call for black people to integrate into white society, and calling for African Americans to embrace their African heritage Atlanta Compromise: -1895 -Booker T. Washington was the main proponent of the agreement between African Americans and Southern White Americans -According to the agreement, blacks would not ask to vote, fight back against racist behavior, and would tolerate segregation and discrimination -BUT they would receive basic education (limited to vocational/industrial training, NO liberal arts/classic education), and due process of law -Dubois fought back -Said blacks should actively participate in the struggle for civil rights -Called the aforementioned agreement the “Atlanta Compromise,” in order to undermine it Atlanta University: -1897-1909 -Professor of History, Sociology and Economics -1903: The Souls of Black Folk - on the African American experience -Returns from 1934-1944 -Black Reconstruction in America - reevaluation of the role of African Americans in Civil War The Souls of Black Folk: -Published in 1903 -Book of essays about race -Reflects Dubois’ own experiences as an African American in white American society -In this book, Dubois argues against Booker T. Washington’s stance that black men should focus on labor- focused/industrial education, and instead calls for Black men to get a classical education in order to become leaders and not simply workers -Dubois justifies the reaching for higher education for African Americans and relates it to the rise of the Black middle class. First Pan-African Conference: -Pan-African Congress - series of 7 meetings: 1919-1994 -1st meeting: July 20-25, 1921 -Address issues facing Africa as a result of European colonization of most of the continent -Reputation as a peace-maker for decolonization in Africa and in the West Indies NAACP: -Had previously founded the Niagra Movement in 1905 -Civil rights group, precursor to NAACP -Founding member of the National Association of the Advancement of Colored People in 1910 -Became editor of the NAACP magazine, The Crisis -Resigned in 1934, then later returned as a director of special research from 1944-1948 Double Consciousness: -Famous Theory -Refers to psychological challenge of resolving African heritage with White/European society, education, and culture -Two cultures in conflict to create an African American identity, not just African and not just white American, but a mixture -The internalizing of this conflict is referred to as “Double Consciousness” -People begin to see themselves through the negative images of other people (racism), and as a result, low self-esteem. Political Implications: -Lifelong anti-war activist -1949: Spoke at Scientific and Cultural Conference for World Peace -Targeted by the government's anti-communist McCarthyism campaign in 1950s -Became chairman of the Peace Information Center (PIC), which resulted in the government confiscating his passport for eight years - recovered in 1960 and was able to cross the Atlantic in order to celebrate the Republic of Ghana. ○ 1961: “Encyclopedia Africana” Dubois on his 95th birthday in Ghana -U.S. government refused to renew passport in 1963, so Dubois made a statement by becoming a citizen of Ghana. He died shortly after. Similar Views - Southern Horrors -Wells and Du Bois joined forces (along with others) in 1906 to further the Niagara Movement -One of two African American women to sign “the call” to form the NAACP in 1909. -One of few African American leaders to argue against Booker T. Washington -Similar approach and actions against lynching as Du Bois - Introduced NAACP to keeping records for lynching Other Publications and Awards -Non Fiction Texts: ● NAACP’s Spingarn The Study of Negro Problems (1898) Medal (1920) The Philadelphia Negro (1899) ● USSR’s International The Talented Tenth (1903) Lenin Peace Prize (1959) The Negro (1915) ● United States Postal Service honored Du Bois The Black Reconstruction in America (1935) with his portrait on a Black Folk, Then and Now (1939) postage stamp (1992) And Many More... Works Cited "Atlanta Exposition Address, 1895." Black History Bulletin 1 (2005): 18. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2014 Johnson, Donald. "W.E.B. DuBois, Thomas Jesse Jones and the Struggle for Social Education, 1900-1930." The Journal of Negro History 2000: 71. JSTOR Journals. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Perdue, Theda. "CHAPTER ONE. Beyond The Atlanta Compromise." Georgia Southern University Jack N. and Addie D. Averitt Lecture Series. 7. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010. Project MUSE. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Phillips, Michelle H. "The Children Of Double Consciousness: From The Souls Of Black Folk To The Brownies' Book." PMLA: Publications Of The Modern Language Association Of America 128.3 (2013): 590. MLA International Bibliography. Web. 20 Oct. 2014. Seaton, Corey. "'W.E.B. Dubois & Booker T. Washington: Approaches To Developing Citizenship Post-Reconstruction In The America'." Kola 1 (2014): 51. Academic OneFile. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. Westbrook, Randall O. "Becoming An Exceptional Man: The Early Political Thought Of W.E.B. Dubois." Lincoln Journal Of Social & Political Thought 6.1 (2008): 36-56. Political Science Complete. Web. 19 Oct. 2014. http://www.naacp.org/pages/naacp-history-w.e.b.-dubois http://www.pbs.org/wnet/jimcrow/stories_people_dubois.html http://www.webdubois.org http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W._E._B._Du_Bois http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/articles/history-archaeology/w-e-b-du-bois-georgia.