Jesse Ernest Wilkins Jr.: The Negro Genius

The essay that I am presenting today is “Strivings of the Negro People” by W.E.B Dubois. This essay was written in as an article in the Atlantic Monthly in 1987, but before I get to essay, I would like to give some background information about Mr. Dubois. Both scholar and activist, W.E.B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He studied at Harvard University and, in 1895, became the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. He wrote extensively and was the best known spokesperson for African American rights during the first half of the 20th century. Du Bois co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1909. He died in

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard University, and he focused on history, civil rights, and sociology. In 1909, Dubois was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The Soul of Black Folks was one of Dubois’ great works in 1903.

He worked there for 10 years. In 1955, he became manager of the Mathematics and Physics Departments, he later became manager of Research and Development. During this time, Wilkins was awarded a Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering from New York University in 1957, three years later he was awarded a Master’s in Mechanical Engineering. In the 60s he worked at the General Atomic Company in San Diego, in the 70s he was appointed to Howard University as a Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematical Physics. He established the first Ph.D. program at the University and it became the first University to have a program as such. From 1977 to 1984, Wilkins worked at EG&G Idaho becoming Vice President and Deputy General Manager for Science and Engineering. Then in 1984 he officially retired as a fellow at the Argonne National Laboratory of the U.S. Department of Energy in Argonne, Illinois. He remained a consultant at the Argonne National Laboratory after he retired in 1985. In 1990, he became Distinguished Professor of Applied Mathematics in Mathematical Physics at Clark Atlanta University. Wilkins published more than 100 papers on a variety of subjects throughout his years the subjects were: Differential Geometry, Linear Differential equations, Integrals, Nuclear Engineering, Gamma Radiation Shielding and Optics, garnering numerous professional and scientific awards along the way. In 1994,

Willie Hobbs, Moore was born in 1934, she was the very first African American woman to earn a PH.D in Physics from the University of Michigan in 1972, under the direction of Samuel Krimm. After she received her doctorate she continued research on specral proteins, while in Michigan Moore worked with Datamax Corp. Moore has also held positions in engineering in which she was responsible for theoretical

James Weldon Johnson author of The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man discusses the issue of race and identity in his short story. Writing in first person Johnson follows the unnamed protagonist from childhood up to adulthood, he demonstrates in different areas how this unnamed man handles his identity and his race as colored. The fact that he remains nameless throughout the story shows more of the connection between identity and race. During the course of the story Johnson’s protagonist makes the argument that identity is highly based upon the race of the individual. His journey from adolescence to adulthood as a colored man seems to play a keen role in the jobs he makes and the people he interacts with, ultimately defining his identity based on his race.

Branson was an AAAS Fellow from 1936 to 1939 and was also a member of Sigma Xi, the American Chemical Society, the American Physical Society, the Washington Academy of Science, the National Science Teachers Association, the Philosophical Society of Washington, the National Medical Fellowships, the National Research Council, and the Carver Research Foundation. At Howard University, he was named Director of the Experimental Science and Mathematics With Technology Program in Physics in 1942, Director of the Research Corporation Project from 1946 to 1950, and Director of the Office of Naval Research and Atomic Energy Commission Projects in Physics in 1947. He even directed the ASTRP courses in Physics at the same university and was a member of the National Research Council from 1972 until his death. Branson eventually retired in 1985.

In 1969, he earned his Ph.D... He earned his masters of science in mathematics from Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in 1967. While at the university, he lead an organization known to be the Black Uhuru Society. At the time, this society was the only functioning civil rights organization in the area. From 1969 to 1971, Williams served as a Research Associate in the Department of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University. He was chosen to be Assistant Professor of Mathematics a year later. During the time, he struggled to overcome racism and to obtain tenure. Overtime, things got easier for him.

Whether we know it or not, black inventors have impacted our lives drastically. From the time we wake up, until we go back to sleep at night, we use at least one thing that has been made by an African- American inventor. Whether it is something as big as a traffic light or as little as a hair brush, black inventors have made major contributions to our everyday lives. Many people know about the big inventions, but both small and big inventions have impacted America. (Lund 2008)

The Harlem Renaissance was a period that started in the early 1920’s in which the concept of “the Negro” was intended to be changed (History.com). This period witnessed the thrive of African American art. White stereotypes had influenced not only the way African Americans were perceived in society but also their relationship between themselves and others. Participants like Gwendolyn Bennett, Langston Hughes, Paul Lawrence Dunbar and W.E.B. Du Bois were some of many authors of creative pieces that reflected their points of views. Like George Hutchinson writes in his article, The Harlem Renaissance brought many African Americans from South to North which helped the rise of literacy and the creation of organizations dedicated to promoting African American civil rights that resulted in the uplift of the race and the availability of socioeconomic opportunities (1). The distinctive expression through things like poetry and music during the Harlem Renaissance reflected the reality and experiences black people were going through. This essay is going to focus on the relationship between poetry, politics and representation while relying on the poem “We Wear the Mark” by Paul Lawrence Dunbar. At the same time, this paper will be supported with works from Langston Hughes, Alain Locke and W.E.B. Dubois.

Born to poverty on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois was of French Huguenot, Dutch, and Afro-American ancestry. He graduated from high school in 1884 as a penniless orphan. However, upon the insistence of the principal of his school, who recognized Du Bois' intelligence and talent, he sought a college education. Through working part-time and with a scholarship donated by members of his church, Du Bois attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee (Reed, 1997 & Logan, 1971). During his time at Fisk, Du Bois was exposed to racism and lynchings, as well as the scientific ideas of truth by way of empirical investigation and statistical methods. These experiences spurred his interest in the use of science and scholarship in the struggle for social justice. Du Bois realized that scientific inquiry could be a powerful tool in the quest to transform society and obtain

Historically black colleges and universities, otherwise known as HBCUs, have played an integral role in advancing the education of underprivileged black teenagers since their inception after the American Civil War. They have had students extremely well known in their fields today, such as billionaire entertainer Oprah Winfrey, the first African American Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, and civil rights activist Martin Luther King, Jr. Though their graduation rates tend to be around 1 in 3, they have produced a majority of successful African American professionals. For the continued advancement of African Americans, HBCUs are necessary for offering educational opportunities that their students had been historically denied and presently out of financial reach, while promoting strong family values and equality that may be lacking at traditional schools and displaying positive African American role models in their alumni and staff.

The abolition of slavery in the United States presented southern African Americans with many new opportunities, including the option of relocation in search of better living conditions. The mass movement of black people from the rural areas of the South to the cities of the North, known as the Black Migration, came in the 1890s when black men and women left the south to settle in cities such as Philadelphia and New York, fleeing from the rise of Jim Crowe Laws and searching for work. This migration of blacks from the South has been an important factor in the formation of the Harlem Renaissance. The period referred to as the Harlem Renaissance, was a flourishing period of artistic and literary creation in African-American culture and

     Between 1910 and 1920, in a movement known as the Great Migration, hundreds of thousands of African Americans uprooted from their homes in the South and moved North to the big cities in search of jobs. They left the South because of racial violence and economic discrimination. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many migrants moved to Harlem, a neighborhood on the upper west side of Manhattan. In the 1920's, Harlem became the worlds largest black community; also home to a highly diverse mix of cultures. This unprecedented outburst of creative activity exposed their unique culture and encouraged

In the beginning Locke tells us about “the tide of Negro migration”. During this time in a movement known as the Great Migration, thousand of African Americans also known as Negros left their homes in the South and moved North toward the beach line of big cities in search of employment and a new beginning. They left the South because of racial violence such as the Ku Klux Klan and economic discrimination not able to obtain work. Their migration was an expression of their changing attitudes toward themselves as Locke said best From The New Negro, and has been described as "something like a spiritual emancipation." Many African Americans moved to Harlem, a neighborhood located in

He was appointed professor of profiled physics in the department of natural history at the Paris museum.