W. E. B. Dubois Conversations

W.E.B. Dubois The great African American intellectual W.E.B. Dubois was born in the post-Civil War era. Being born at this time encouraged him to fight for equal rights for blacks. At this time, blacks were still suppressed very greatly. Dubois, having had lived in an all black community, experienced racism first-hand in the North (Donalson, 558).

In 2010, the U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that African Americans received ten percent longer sentences than whites for committing the same crimes. W.E.B. Dubois, a heavy influencer in the NAACP, wrote many books describing the inequality felt by African Americans in everyday life. Thirty years later, when Harper Lee wrote To Kill a Mockingbird it showed that discrimination in the United States had stayed the same. W.E.B. Dubois’ union with the NAACP and his socialist views on government during the 1900's are relevant to the setting of To Kill a Mockingbird and the extended fight against racial discrimination leading up to the March on Washington in the 1960's.

The Crisis was a magazine that W.E.B DuBois created in 1910 and it was also the official magazine of the NAACP. DuBois was not only the founder of this magazine, but he was also the editor. The targeted audience of this magazine was the African American community. At this point in time a magazine that was ran by Black people and for Black people was unheard of. The purpose of this magazine was to shine light on who and what the Black community was, to create an outlet where Black scholars could share their work, and it was a source where Black people could get useful information (the information was tailored to the Black community’s needs) from trusted sources. The magazine became very influential, at its peak the magazine had 100,000 readers

The second quotes that stands out to me from W.E.B Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk (1903) from page 418 “Few know of these problems, few who know notice them; and yet there are awaiting student, artist, and seer, a field for somebody sometime to discover”. This quote is trying to say that they know the problem is going on and they don’t want to do nothing about because they are waiting for somebody to come and show them what to do, but some of them already figure out what to do. “In the Black World, the Preacher and Teacher embodied once the ideals of this people, the strife for another and a juster world, the vague dream of righteousness, the mystery of knowing; but today the danger is that these ideals, with their simple beauty and weir

In my own opinion Booker T. Washington gave the best advice. The emphasis of W.E.B. Dubois is on blacks gaining equality with whites. Dubois believed that blacks should be educated and be book smart, in their quest to gaining equality with the whites. On the Contrary, Washington’s philosophy is based on the belief that blacks should get education and develop capabilities so that they can be useful to the society. He believed that blacks will have better standing in the society (and not necessarily equality) if they will put their attention on developing themselves rather than fighting for equality. I see this position of Washington as a wise position that could foster peaceful co-existence among Americans. While I do not consider Dubois’

When it all comes down to it, one of the greatest intellectual battles U.S. history was the legendary disagreement between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. This intellectual debate sparked the interest of the Northerners as well as the racist whites that occupied the south. This debate was simply about how the blacks, who just gained freedom from slavery, should exist in America with the white majority. Even though Washington and DuBois stood on opposite sides of the fence they both agreed on one thing, that it was a time for a change in the treatment of African Americans. I chose his topic to write about because I strongly agree with both of the men’s ideas but there is some things about their views that I don’t agree with. Their

W.E.B Dubois is a better philosopher than Booker T about the advancement of rights for African Americans after the civil war. Dubois is the best because he started the NAACP, argued about social change with the “Talented Tenth”, and wanted equality for blacks did not accept segregation.

Women should not have the chance for an academic education. They should be trained to cook, clean, and take care of children. What better way would a woman help society? Would she help her neighbor more by teaching them mathematics they will never use or by helping their neighbor raise children? This is similar to what Booker T. Washington claimed about African Americans. He stated that the African Americans should attend vocational schools rather than receive an academic education so they could better further social change. W.E.B DuBois had a different approach to further social change by stating that some African Americans should go to academic schools, while others had trades, and some were considered fools who cannot learn.

William Edward Burkhardt DuBois, whom we all know as W.E.B. DuBois; was a novelist, public speaker, poet, editor, author, leader, teacher, scholar, and romantic. He graduated from high school at the age of 16, and was selected as the valedictorian, being that he was the only black in his graduating class of 12. He was orphaned shortly after his graduation and was forced to fund his own college education. He was a pioneer in black political thoughts and known by many as a main figure in the history of African-American politics. W.E.B. DuBois attended Fisk University, where he was awarded a scholarship after he graduated high school. Fisk University was located in Nashville, Tennessee. While attending this University, this is where he saw

African-American people have endured many struggled throughout US history. According to the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade Database, over ten million slaves were forcibly brought from Africa to the States. Even after slavery was abolished, black people were not treated as full Americans. They did not receive political or cultural equality, as white supremacist regimes continued to control society. Jim Crow laws in the south made it politically clear that blacks were to be treated as lesser than their white counterparts. Even though slavery was technically made illegal, many blacks continued to be exploited as sharecroppers. Between 1910-1920, large numbers of black southerners migrated to northern urban areas in The Great Migration in order to flee the oppressive institutionalized racism in the south. Many African Americans settled in

One of the late 19th century and early 20th century’s most prominent black empowerment leaders was W.E.B DuBois. In research it is clear that DuBois was not subtle to one job or career choice. His main goal was to improve the lives of African Americans. As a Civil Rights activist, sociologist, educator, historian, writer, editor, poet, and scholar, DuBois contributed to changing American society today.

WEB Du Bois provides a counter argument to the belief in the American dream, however. He argues that “when sticks and stones and beasts form the sole environment of a people, their attitude is largely one of determined opposition to and conquest of individuals” (541). Du Bois is arguing that men become oppressed because of an innate attitude that men possess, that in fact it is not their qualifications that determine whether or not they are successful, rather it is based on the preconceived

3.) According to DuBois, “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” Using several representative examples, consider how American writers (of any color) since the Civil War have addressed this problem.

African Americans during the 1900s lived lives full of uncertainty. They were no longer slaves, but still looked upon by many as inferior to the white race. However in this period of tension, there were men who sought to bring their race to new heights. One of these men was W.E.B Du Bois. Few have influenced the lives of African Americans in such a way as W.E.B Du Bois. The vision he had for African Americans was one that many found great hope in. He sought for the day that his race for finally have civil equality in every aspect of life.

The theme that I have selected to analyse is Racism. The texts that I will use to explore this theme are the films ‘Django’ directed by Quentin Tarantino, ‘Schwarzfahrer’ directed by Pepe Danquart, the poem ‘Racism is around me everywhere’ by Francis Duggan and the novel ‘To Kill A Mockingbird’ by Harper Lee. In this report I will research how racism affects individuals with dark skin, what the consequences of racism are, and how racism is the norm throughout different periods of history. Racism is an ongoing issue and in my report I aim to change the way you think of racism and what we can do to end this abominable behaviour.