Chapter 17, Crises at The Crisis" Summary and Analysis

In 1913 Washington's influence is in decline compared to that of Du Bois. Jim Crow laws are infuriating people so that they won't accept his attitude, and many young adults have grown up reading The Crisis. Du Bois repeatedly says he does not want to lead the NAACP, but if whites try to dominate the organization he will fight. Villard, Florence Kelley and Joel Spingarn often face Du Bois's boardroom attacks. Lewis says this is a defensive strategy by Du Bois (attack first), but Du Bois has also come to expect more from whites.

He runs a self-supporting paper, The Crisis, for the benefit of a mostly white organization, and so when anyone questions his authority it makes him angry. Now, Villard asks Du Bois to publish lists of crimes by...