W.E.B. Du Bois: Scholar and Sociologist

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W.E.B. Du Bois was the first African American to obtain a PHD from Harvard. Du Bois was a first in many fields. The scholar conducted many case studies on socioeconomic conditions in the black community and even published the very first book on the history of Africans/Africans Americans. Du Bois was an intellect and activist who raised black conscious through many mediums.

Born February 3rd, 1888 in Massachusetts, Du Bois was always gifted in academia and was recognized as such. He was often the only black kid in his classes growing up, but his education was supported by the townspeople which made a significant difference. It wasn’t until he left his home state to attend FISK university when Du Bois would be surrounded by students who looked like him. During his time at FISK, Du Bois taught in rural Tennessee to students who, “weren’t too far removed from slavery”. This opened his eyes to a completely new culture that he was unfamiliar with. Du Bois was now aware of not only the hardships, but was exposed to a new culture, what he called the soul. He went on to obtained his BA from FISK university. DuBois continued his education at Harvard, where he wrote his dissertation on the African Slave Trade--the first of its kind. After leaving Harvard, he went on to study at the University of Berlin. He accomplished all of this before the age of 30, making him one of the greatest minds in his generation. However, his race stopped him from being able to teach at the same university he excelled in, he ended up at Wilberforce University.

At the same time, African Americans find themselves struggling to find the opportunities promised of Reconstruction. Lynching rates saw a significant spike and society seemed to be moving backwards.  Simultaneously, industrialization became a huge part of American society, and the exploitation of black labor began once again. Amazingly, Du Bois was offered to do a comprehensive case study on the socioeconomic conditions of black people across the country, again, the first of its’ time. The case study was titled The Philadelphia Negro, referred to as the book that began urban sociology in America. In 1903, Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folks, which was, and still is, a very revolutionary book. Very unique to it’s time, Du Bois gave a very wide-range of the black experience in the book. From historical recordings, to poems, to autobiographical elements. In 1905, Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement in opposition to Booker T. Washington’s Racial Accommodation theory. The movement soon became the forerunner of the NAACP, and Du Bois became the lead editor for The Crisis, a magazine published through the NAACP.

Du Bois ended up in Harlem during the 1920’s, which was obviously a very different experience from his time spent in the rural south. During this time Woodrow Wilson was president and the “war to end all wars” was almost underway. Du Bois supported Wilson, a decision he refers to as one of his worse mistake. At the time, massive propaganda was going around, making this war out to be a war for democracy. Du Bois was also doing a great job running The Crisis, it became the leading black magazine in the country and gained great credibility. The black community knew to take leadership and council from the magazine, it was one of the most important publications of the Harlem Renaissance.

Soon after he started the Pan-African Movement, a movement geared towards understanding and solving race problems on a global scale rather than a national one. He selected “the talented 10th” as leaders of the this movement, expected to started to move the community out of destitute. However, even though many liked the idea of leading a group, almost none were actually prepared to organize efficiently. The “Journey of DuBois” highlights the scholars trip to West Africa. Du Bois was blown away by what he saw in Africa, having developed a very strong emotional attachment to the continent. Du Bois states, ‘African is my fatherland, a tie that I can feel better than I can explain”.

Sadly, the economy soon collapsed, at a time when revenue for The Crisis and the NAACP itself wasn’t at all where it needed to be. Dubois saw the depression as an opportunity to “build up a new foundation” for the NAACP, focusing on economics for the very first time in the organization. However, this caused some rifts within the NAACP, leading to Dubois announcing his retirement from the organization in 1934. He felt his views and the goals of the NAACP no longer aligned.

After 10 years at what seemed to be a stagnant position at Atlanta University, Dubois slowly becomes apart of the NAACP again and even indulges in some work with the United Nations, work that quickly turned into criticism. His new mission was now anti-colonialism. In 1948, at 80 years old, Dubois still had a mission of global peace and wasn’t letting anything stop him.

Until the end of his life Dubois promoted black liberation and true freedom globally. He was more than a trailblazer, he quite literally introduced many of the research methods we rely on today. He highlighted the black community in the history books for the first time ever and told the story of Africans and African Americans that was vital for the uplifting of the community. As The first official scholar in the black community, Dubois’ legacy lives on forever.