Where was w.e.b. dubois born

Join our community of over 2 million activists across the nation fighting for change and for justice. Du Bois was already well known as one of the foremost Black intellectuals of his era. Du Bois, a scholar at the historically Black Atlanta University, established himself as a leading thinker on race and the plight of Black Americans.

He challenged the position held by Booker T. Washington, another contemporary prominent intellectual, that Southern Blacks should compromise their basic rights in exchange for education and legal justice. He also spoke out against the notion popularized by abolitionist Frederick Douglass that Black Americans should integrate with white society.

In this collection of essays, Du Bois described the predicament of Black Americans as one of "double consciousness": "One ever feels his twoness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, who dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. Du Bois became the editor of the organization's monthly magazine, The Crisis , using his perch to draw attention to the still widespread practice of lynching, pushing for nationwide legislation that would outlaw the cruel extrajudicial killings.

A article in the journal gave a year-by-year list of more than 2, lynchings over the previous three decades. Du Bois, who considered himself a socialist, also published articles in favor of unionized labor, although he called out union leaders for barring Black membership. Du Bois served as editor of The Crisis until , when he resigned following a rift with NAACP leadership over his controversial stance on segregation.

He viewed the "separate but equal" status as an acceptable position for Blacks.

W.e.b. dubois family

In this role, he attended the founding convention for the United Nations, channeling his energies toward lobbying the global body to acknowledge the suffering of Black Americans. Du Bois also turned a spotlight onto the injustices of colonialism, urging the United Nations to use its influence to take a stand against such exploitative regimes.

He later organized a series of Pan-African Congress meetings around the world in , , , and , bringing together intellectuals from Africa, the West Indies, and the United States. At the end of his life, Du Bois embarked on an ambitious project to create a new encyclopedia on the African diaspora, funded by the government of Ghana.