Du Bois, W.e.b.

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W.e.b. Du Bois

Born February 23, 1868

Great Barrington, Massachusetts

Died August 27, 1963

Accra, Ghana

Sociologist, civil rights activist, writer, and editor

"The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line."

(W. E. B. Du Bois as quoted in W. E. B. Du Bois by Mark Stafford)

W.E.B. Du Bois is considered the greatest African American intellectual and civil rights activist of the twentieth century. He was among the first to call for full and unconditional equal rights for people of color. A social scientist by education and training, Du Bois carefully documented the historical and social truths of black people's lives as well as the realities of the harsh conditions they endured. But he did not limit himself to social science, for he was also notable as a writer (of nonfiction, fiction, and poetry), an editor, and the organizer of several Pan-African Congresses that highlighted the common interests of all people of African descent. Du Bois played an important role in the Harlem Renaissance by providing guidance, inspiration, and real opportunities for talented young blacks: he opened the pages of the Crisis, the influential magazine he edited, to the work of the period's most promising young authors and artists.

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