William Edward Burghardt Du Bois

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

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois is a famous world know African American writer. He published many writings of the life of a black boy and man living in a white society where they were constantly oppressed due to the color of their skin. Dubois was born in the 1860’s and lived through till 1963. Due to his honesty and his acceptance of his culture Dubois was able to influence many people through his work and being considered the founder of black studies in American life, making him one of the most influential African American . One thing that I found to be interesting was that he was way ahead of his time. Dubois spoke out against the racist system and fought for civil rights through his writings by attracting people's attention and making them listen to what he experienced and what many black men and women

William Edward Burghardt Dubois was the first African-American to earn a doctorate and lived Atlanta Georgia. He was civil rights activist and historian. In 1903 he wrote The Souls of Black Folk where he disagreed with Washington because he felt the color-line was performing a disservice to the black population. While Dubois acknowledges him as, “a compromiser between the South, the North, and the Negro” : he also said,” Mr. Washington is especially to be criticized.” Dubois believed the exact opposite of Washington, he said, “Such men feel in conscience bound to ask of this nation

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.

Dr. W. E. B. Du Bois earned a Ph.D. at Harvard, the first of his race to do so; demanded complete equality for blacks; helped to found the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in 1910.

DuBois focused on developing education for the African American race and philosophy to develop. This is the second chapter in his book The Negro Problem. He talks about that with an educated group of exceptional leaders, the rest of the African American community would also benefit from this education. DuBois and Washington are rivals during the time that this document was written and DuBois is trying to focus on industrial education, as like Washington did in his speech. DuBois claims “to attempt to establish any sort of a system of common and industrial school training, without first providing for the higher training of the very best teachers, is simply throwing your money to the winds (3).” Whereas Washington believed in an industrial education, DuBois believed that African Americans needed a classical education. He seeks to promote, “intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the world that was and is and of the relation of man to it” (33-4). DuBois, wants blacks to get a classical education so that they would be able to do something with their lives and reach their full potential. He believes they need to do this for their own self to be able to make a living. I feel like this is very important because I do not think the race of someone should affect the way they are treated in society. During this time, they were not always treated fairly, and most did not even get an education. DuBois just wanted what was best for

life in the US since before he had gained entry into Fisk University, his first attended college.

W.E.B. DuBois views the subject of race equality as something that needs to be handled at an intellectual and cannot be combatted through African-Americans just receiving technical training. He received his doctorate in history from Harvard and was a lifelong activist that wrote a multitude of material, including

W.E.B. DuBois, a black intellectual believed that Washington's strategy would only serve to perpetuate white oppression. DuBois initially advocated for Washington's strategy, however he grew to find it unacceptable as he became more outspoken about racial injustice. DuBois campaigned for a civil rights agenda and argued that educated blacks could accomplish social change. With the belief that African Americans should work together to battle inequality DuBois helped found the NAACP. DuBois was not content with attempting to gain an economic foothold; he wanted absolute equality in all aspects of life. DuBois believed that Washington "devalued the study of liberal arts, and ignored the economic exploitation of the black masses. He believed that "The Negro Race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. The problem of education then, among Negroes, must first of all deal with the ‘Talented Tenth.' [which] is the problem of developing the best of this race that they may guide the Mass away from the contamination and death of the worst." He believed that the economic and political issues facing African Americans could be solved if the most talented ten

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

Fisk was located in Tennessee, and it was here that DuBois first experienced segregation. He later wrote, "I was tossed boldly into the ‘Negro Problem’ . . . I suddenly came to a region where the world was split into white and black halves, and where the darker half was held back by race prejudice and legal bonds, as well as by deep ignorance and dire poverty" (DuBois 108). While he was at Fisk, DuBois was happy to be around so many educated African-Americans and liberal whites (McKissack 25). He went on to Harvard, where he’d always dreamed he’d go, on a scholarship (Sterne 33). At Harvard, however, DuBois chose not to socialize with many of the other Harvard students, choosing instead to spend his time with the African-Americans in Boston, encasing himself "in a completely colored world" (DuBois 136). While he was at Harvard, DuBois felt the purpose of his work was to "improve the condition of the race as a whole" (qtd. in McKissack, 30). DuBois went on to get his masters degree and doctorate from Harvard as well.

DuBois was born in Massachusetts in 1868 and was educated at prestigious institutions like Fisk and Harvard. DuBois was an intellectual black Northerner who had had many opportunities, but was far removed from the condition of blacks in the South. Yet his teaching positions at rural schools in Tennessee and Southern black colleges would have given him an understanding of black life in the South and would have inspired him to write The Souls of Black Folk. Through his experiences in the South, DuBois obtained a clearer picture of where blacks stood in society. DuBois was part of the older generation of prominent African Americans that became the inspiration for

At the turn of the century Dubois had been a supporter of black capitalism. Throughout his career he moved steadily to the political left. By 1905 he had been drawn to socialist ideas and remained sympathetic to Marxism throughout his life. Dubois acted in support of integration and equal rights for everyone regardless of race, but his thinking often exhibited a degree of black separatist-nationalist tendencies. In 1961 Dubois became completely disillusioned with the United States. He moved to Ghana, joined the Communist Party, and a year later renounced his American Citizenship. August 27, 1963, on the eve of the March On Washington, Dubois died in Accra, Ghana, shortly after becoming a Ghana citizen.

W.E.B. Du Bois was born on February 23rd, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was born into a freed family which owned land. He attended an integrated public school. He eventually attended Fisk University, with money which was contributed to him by his fellow church members. While at Fisk, Du Bois was subjected to the harsh racism of the South. After graduating from Fisk University, he continued his education at Harvard College and then Berlin University – before returning to Harvard for his Ph.D. He eventually went on to become a professor at the Atlanta University. Du Bois was a strong racial activist, and fought for the equal rights of blacks – but he also fought for the

As a young adult DuBois proved to be a gifted student graduating as a valedictorian as well as owning the title of being the first African American to graduate from Massachusetts’, Great Barrington High School. W.E.B DuBois began voicing his opinion regarding racial injustice by submitting several articles to local newspapers such as the Springfield Republican and the New York Globe. Recognizing DuBois’ intellectuality Frank Hosmer, principal at Great Barrington High School granted him a scholarship to liberal arts college, Fisk University in Nashville Tennessee. While attending Fisk University he contributed to the community by teaching widely African American schools in rural