Page 232 - Encyclopedia Of World History

582 berkshire encyclopedia of world history

Herein lie buried many things which if read with patience may show the strange
meaning of being black here in the dawning of the Twentieth Century. This meaning
is not without interest to you, Gentle Reader; for the problem of the Twentieth
Century is the problem of the color-line. • W. E. B. Du Bois (1868–1963)

Nashville, Tennessee. It was while in Tennessee that Du arguing that Washington’s strategy could serve only to
Bois first experienced overt racial discrimination. Du Bois perpetuate the further oppression of African Americans.
earned a second bachelor’s degree (1890) and a master The Souls of Black Folk also gave first expression to Du
of arts degree (1892) from Harvard University. From Bois’s most abiding theoretical contribution to African
1892 to 1893, he studied at the University of Berlin, American studies. He underscored the characteristic dual-
where he was greatly influenced by the socialist scholar ism of African Americans: “One ever feels his ‘two-ness’
Edward Bernstein. Du Bois remained sympathetic to —an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two
Marxism for the rest of his life. irreconcilable strivings; two warring ideals in one dark
In 1895,W. E. B. Du Bois was awarded the first doc- body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being
torate to be granted to an African American by Harvard. torn asunder” (1996, 58).
His doctoral dissertation, The Suppression of the African In 1905, Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement.
Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638–1870, This small organization, which met annually until 1909,
was published in 1896. It constitutes a pioneering appli- was seriously weakened by internal squabbles. Never-
cation of economic analysis to history. Previous studies of theless, it is significant as the forerunner of the National
slavery had given little attention to slavery’s indissoluble Association for the Advancement of Colored People
connection to the cotton market. (NAACP ).
After receiving his doctorate from Harvard, Du Bois Du Bois played a major role in founding the NAACP
served as a professor at Wilberforce University (1894– in 1909 and became the association’s director of
1896) and as an assistant instructor of sociology at the research. As founding editor of its magazine The Crisis,
University of Pennsylvania (1896–1897). But he is best he wrote editorials that resulted in a number of changes
known for his long association with Atlanta University, to public policy: the admission of African Americans to
where he was a professor of economics and history from officers’ training schools, establishment of legal proce-
1897 to 1910 and served as the chair of the sociology dures against those accused of lynching African Ameri-
department from 1934 to 1944. cans, and the creation of a federal work plan to benefit
Between 1897 and 1914, Du Bois completed multiple African American veterans.
sociological investigations of African Americans, includ- Du Bois’s nationalism took a variety of forms. He was
ing The Philadelphia Negro:A Social Study (1899), which a strong advocate of Pan-Africanism—a political ideology
is the first case study of an urban African American com- based on the belief that all people of African descent had
munity ever conducted in the United States. common interests and should work together in a com-
Du Bois’s views on civil rights clashed with those of mon struggle for freedom. In 1900, Du Bois served as an
another prominent African American leader, Booker T. organizer of the first Pan-African Conference, which was
Washington. Washington urged African Americans to held in London. He was also the architect of four subse-
accept discrimination for the time being and encouraged quent congresses held between 1919 and 1927.
them to elevate themselves through hard work. At first, In addition, Du Bois was an advocate of economic
Du Bois agreed with Washington. He applauded the nationalism. He asserted that African Americans needed
famous 1895 Atlanta speech in which Washington to develop a separate “group economy” of producers and
argued for “segregated equality.” But changes within consumers. Others within the NAACP did not see it this
African American communities militated against Wash- way. Du Bois’s ideas brought about an intense ideologi-
ington’s position as African American migration acceler- cal split within the organization, and in 1934 Du Bois
ated the growth of black ghettoes. Du Bois addressed resigned from the NAACP.
Washington’s position in a chapter of his most widely After leaving the NAACP, Du Bois returned to Atlanta
known book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903), cogently University, where he devoted the next ten years of his life