Kelsie+-+pro+-+SP12

=__W.E.B. Dubois__=


 * Backround-** W.E. B. Du Bois was born February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, MA. He was an American sociologist, the most important black protest leader in the United States during the first half of the 20th century. He Helped the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909 and edited "The Crisis" its magazine, from 1910 to 1934. Du Bois graduated from Fisk University, a black institution at Nashville, Tennessee, in 1888. He received a Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1895. He was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. in the subject of history from Harvard University. For more than a decade he devoted himself to sociological investigations of blacks in America, producing 16 research monographs published between 1897 and 1914 at Atlanta (Georgia) University, where he was a professor, as well as //The Philadelphia Negro; A Social Study//(1899), the first case study of a black community in the United States. Du Bois originally believed that social science could provide the knowledge to solve the race problem, he gradually came to the conclusion that in a climate of virulent racism, Jim Crow segregation laws, and race riots, social change could be accomplished only through agitation and protest. In 1903, in his famous book //The Souls of Black Folk//, Du Bois charged that Washington's strategy, rather than freeing the black man from oppression, would serve only to perpetuate it. In 1905, Du Bois founded the Niagara Movement, which was dedicated chiefly to attacking the platform of Booker T. Washington. In both the Niagara Movement and in the NAACP, Du Bois acted mainly as an integrationist, but his thinking always exhibited, to varying degrees, separatist-nationalist tendencies. Du Bois was a leader of the first Pan-African Conference in London in 1900 and the architect of four Pan-African Congresses held between 1919 and 1927.


 * Problem-**Dubois wanted blacks educated and nurtured to become leaders, not solely vocational training. He wanted to fight segregation through political action. Du Bois's black nationalism took several forms, the most influential being his pioneering advocacy of Pan-Africanism (the belief that all people of African descent had common interests and should work together in the struggle for their freedom). He articulated a cultural nationalism. As the editor of //The Crisis//, he encouraged the development of black literature and art and urged his readers to see “Beauty in Black.” Du Bois's black nationalism is seen in his belief that blacks should develop a separate “group economy” of producers' and consumers' cooperatives as a weapon for fighting economic discrimination and black poverty. He attacked Woodrow Wilson when the president allowed his cabinet members to segregate the federal government. He continued to fight against the demand by many whites that black education be primarily industrial and that black students in the South learn to accept white supremacy. Du Bois emphasized the necessity for higher education in order to develop the leadership capacity among the most able 10 percent of black Americans, whom he dubbed "The Talented Tenth."


 * Solution-**Du Bois explained his role in both the African and the African American struggles for freedom, viewing his career as an ideological case study illuminating the complexity of the black-white conflict. He protested for what he believed and wanted all blacks to be treated equal like any other black person wanted. He had been an advocate of black capitalism and black support of black business, but by about 1905 he had been drawn toward socialist doctrines. Although he joined the Socialist Party only briefly in 1912, he remained sympathetic with Marxist ideas throughout the rest of his life.He fought for black power and equality. He protested for his rights along with thousands of other blacks who wanted the same thing. He was a power man, and people looked up to him. Mostly for his book The Souls of Black Folk. That inspired people. He was a strict believe in education among the African American race.


 * Bibliography-**

"The Rise and Fall of Jim Crow . Jim Crow Stories . People . W.E.B. Du Bois | PBS." //PBS: Public Broadcasting Service//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .

" W.E.B. Du Bois Biography - Facts, Birthday, Life Story - Biography.com ." //Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com//. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2012. .