Civil Rights Activist: W. E. B. Du Bois

W.E.B Dubois is a proficient scholar, who studied multiple subjects at the time where most African Americans did not receive higher education.

Few men have influenced the lives of African-Americans as much as William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois is considered more of a history-maker than a historian(Aptheker, "The Historian"). Dr. Du Bois conducted the initial research on the black experience in the United States. Civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr. have referred to Du Bois as a father of the Civil Rights Movement. Du Bois conducted the initial research on the black experience in the United States, and paved the way for the Pan-African and Black Power movements. This paper will describe his life, work, influence in the black community, and much publicized civil dispute with another black leader, Booker T. Washington.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was one of the most influential figures in civil rights history, but even outside of civil rights he was a loving and caring man, He started the activist Niagara Movement in 1905 and then cofounded the NAACP in 1909. A powerful intellect, Du Bois would become the first person who was African American to earn a PhD from Harvard and was a professor of history, sociology, and economics at Atlanta University. Du Bois made significant contributions to the world and opened minds throughout the world, later changing the world forever.

The theme of double-consciousness was first defined by Du Bois in The Souls of the Black Folk. He put the term “double-consciousness” in "a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one 's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one 's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from

As the civil war is considered as the second American Revolution for most history majors, it stands that there were many people who stood up for black rights and equality, however not all the efforts had immediate results. One of the civil right activist was W.E.B. Du Bois, a sociologist and co-founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), whose book, The Souls of Black Folk, was a progressive compilation of essays that reveals the problem of racial segregation in the United States after the abolition of slavery. Du Bois discusses the effects of civil right activists that fought for equality, such as Abraham Lincoln and Brooker T. Washington. Although he congratulates them on their efforts and changes that they accomplished, he condemns them for not seen the bigger picture, which leads blacks to struggle in the new system created by the emancipation proclamation. In his book, Du Bois attempts to explain the

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a major sociologist historian, writer, editor, political activist, and cofounder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). During the Harlem renaissance and through his editorship of crisis magazine, he actively sought and presented the literary genius of black writers for the entire world to acknowledge and honor (Gale schools, 2004).

Before Du Bois brought the term “double consciousness” to light, there was no way to describe such an unspoken phenomenon. In W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk (1903) he introduces and describes how African Americans and their history have been shaped by the state of living in and wanting to overcome double consciousness. Du Bois perfectly describes double consciousness in African Americans as living behind a veil. The veil is bittersweet and produces a “second-sight” in America. From one perspective, the veil is a curse. On the contrast, it is what has made African Americans what they are today. In Du Bois’ own words, double consciousness is a “sense of always looking at one 's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one 's

The early 20th century African-American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois identified the 'double consciousness' of African-Americans as the demand that African-Americans must understand white culture as well as their own to survive in a hostile, white-dominated America. Unlike whites, who could choose to interact with blacks only when it suited their needs (whether this meant employing them as servants or going to jazz clubs), African-Americans had to be hyper-aware of the needs of whites, given white political and economic dominance.

This essay will firstly outline exactly what the Du Boisian concept of double consciousness is, before critically assessing Du Bois’s thoughts and evaluate if his theory of double consciousness is something which can be dissolved. I will look at some objections to Du Bois’s double consciousness, paying particular attention to Reed’s complaints of historical contingency. It will be concluded that double consciousness is something that extends far beyond the realm of race and despite increased multiculturalism and diversity, double consciousness is even more present now than it was during the times in which Du Bois was

Born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington , Massachusetts , he grew up to know little of his father , due to his death . He later attended to school , where all his teachers supported him and encouraged him to do more in his local high school . When he was sixteen years old , his mother died in 1885 , after six months he then enrolled at Fisk University , the best southern college for freed slaves . In 1888 , his junior year he enrolled at Harvard , where he received a B.A. cum laude , an M.A. , and a Ph.D. Then in 1899 , he published his first book , “The Philadelphia Negro : A Social Study ,” it was a study in Philadelphia . Later in 1910 he

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, otherwise known as W.E.B Du Bois, accordingly introduced the idea of “double-consciousness” which he described to be a person whose identity can be “merged into a unity that they and the nation could be proud,” as stated in The Norton Anthology of African American Literature by Henry Louis Gates and Valerie Smith (Gates and Smith, page 682). Throughout history, the stories behind the lives of African American’s has been recognized as a tough, ongoing battle. The fine line between white and black, has been the core reason of prejudice beliefs. Beliefs such as African American’s being inhuman, aggressive, unworthy of equality and liberty, etc., have lead to misconceptions of them as individuals. Being that

Double consciousness is a concept proposed by W.E.B Du Bois in his book, “The Souls of Black Folk”. The concept of double consciousness illustrates the feeling that one does not have one identity as it has been split into, if not two then more, therefore making it a challenge for individuals to develop an identity which is true to the individual.

W.E.B Dubois created a double consciousness concept. This concept help explains the challenges many African Americans experience trying to find their true identity. It simply means you are constantly questioning yourself and judgments based on standards set by “whites” or the ones claiming you are free in America. W.E.B Dubois theory supports that African Americans will always have an identity crisis because you have two separate ways of thinking, culture, speech, values, and beliefs based on the environments created. If you constantly care how others view you, how can you truly be yourself? This double consciousness concept has affected my life tremendously and constantly contradicts the lives of African Americans. W.E.B DuBois describes “double consciousness” as follows: “It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two

The idea of double consciousness, termed by W.E.B. Du Bois, for African Americans deals with the notion that one’s self has duality in being black and American. It is the attempt to reconcile two cultures that make up the identity of black men and women. One can only see through the eyes of another. A veil exists in this idea, where one has limits in how he or she can see or be seen. This individual is invisible to the onlookers of the veil, and those onlookers may be invisible to the individual. This then alters how one can truly interpret their conscious. This concept is one that has been explored in various themes of literature,

Double consciousness is the presence of two unconnected streams of consciousness in one individual. This concept was coined by Du Bois during the 19th century and is first explored in his publication, “The Souls of Black Folks.” Du Bois writes in his publication, “Only those who have watched and guided the faltering feet, the misty minds, the dull understands, of the dark pupils of these schools know how faithfully, how piteously, this people strove to learn" (12). By writing this African Americans do