W. E. B. Du Bois
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on the 23rd of February 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. His mother Mary Silvina Burghardt came from a small free black population that had owned land in the state for generations. Her family included Dutch, African, and English ancestors. One ancestor named Tom Burghardt was a slave born in West Africa around 1730 who served in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. This service may have secured his freedom in the late 18th century. Du Bois grew up in a community where most residents were European American yet treated him well. He attended an integrated public school and played with white classmates. Teachers recognized his intellectual gifts early and encouraged his studies. The congregation of the First Congregational Church raised money to pay his college tuition after he graduated from high school with honors in 1884.
Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 as a collection of fourteen essays. The introduction famously declared that the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line. Each chapter began with two epigraphs: one from a white poet and another from a black spiritual. This structure demonstrated intellectual parity between black and white cultures. A central theme explored double consciousness, describing how African Americans felt both American and black simultaneously. Du Bois asked readers directly how it feels to be a problem on the first page. James Weldon Johnson later compared the book's impact on African Americans to that of Uncle Tom's Cabin. The work popularized the term talented tenth to describe the elite class within society who could drive cultural progress. It remains a seminal text in African American literature today.
In May 1909 Du Bois attended the National Negro Conference in New York City. This meeting led to the creation of the National Negro Committee chaired by Oswald Garrison Villard. The following spring in 1910 attendees formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP. Du Bois suggested using the word colored instead of black to include dark-skinned people everywhere. Dozens of civil rights supporters participated in the founding though most executive officers were white. Mary White Ovington Charles Edward Russell William English Walling and Moorfield Storey served as early leaders. Du Bois accepted the position of Director of Publicity and Research in the summer of 1910. He moved to New York after resigning from Atlanta University to take this role. His primary duty involved editing the NAACP's monthly magazine which he named The Crisis.
The first issue of The Crisis appeared in November 1910 with circulation reaching 100,000 copies by 1920. Du Bois used the journal to publish polemics against dishonesty within black churches and discuss Afrocentric origins of Egyptian civilization. A 1911 editorial helped initiate a nationwide push to outlaw lynching. The April 1916 edition covered the group lynching of six African Americans in Lee County Georgia. Later that June the publication featured an article titled Waco Horror about the lynching of Jesse Washington. This piece broke new ground by utilizing undercover reporting to expose local conduct in Texas. Du Bois included photographs of the event in the article. The magazine also carried editorials supporting unionized labor while denouncing racist leaders who barred blacks from membership. During 1915 through 1916 some NAACP leaders attempted to oust him due to financial losses but Du Bois prevailed.
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Common questions
When and where was W. E. B. Du Bois born?
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on the 23rd of February 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
What major book did W. E. B. Du Bois publish in 1903?
W. E. B. Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 as a collection of fourteen essays that popularized the term talented tenth.
Which organization did W. E. B. Du Bois help found in 1910?
Attendees formed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People or NAACP in the spring of 1910 after the National Negro Conference met in May 1909.
What role did W. E. B. Du Bois hold at the NAACP starting in 1910?
Du Bois accepted the position of Director of Publicity and Research in the summer of 1910 to edit the monthly magazine named The Crisis.
How many copies of The Crisis were circulated by 1920?
The first issue of The Crisis appeared in November 1910 with circulation reaching 100,000 copies by 1920.