W.E.B.+Du+Bois

** by Lashe and Sydney, grade 4 **

W.E.B Du Bois was a man who was serious about changing the world. Du Bois said, “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the colorline-the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea”. Du Bois fought for equality and human rights in all of his adult life. He organized movements, he published magazines to inform people about the color line, he wrote books about human rights and he made a sociological study to figure out what was going on in Black neighborhoods. Du Bois changed the world by fighting for the rights of African Americans and people of color from everywhere around the world.

W.E.B Du Bois was born in 1868. He was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. His mother Mary was a hard working mother. She was a maid for a white couple that lived in Great Barrington also. She married a man named Alfred Du Bois. W.E.B.’s father Alfred Du Bois left him a year after he was born. His family was very poor, but they still seemed to work through it. W.E.B Du Bois had a grandfather. His grandfather Othello died in 1882. When he died Du Bois and his mother both moved to Railroad Street next to the station in Great Barrington. Great Barrington was a town of white people. There were a few Black people, but not so many.

W.E.B Du Bois was an A+ student. He studied hard and well. Du Bois started selling a weekly newspaper called the New York Age. He would do this because he would make money to buy supplies for school and also to help his mother. Du Bois’s principle Frank Hosmer became president of Oahu College. He knew that Du Bois was a very smart kid so he suggested that Du Bois take the college preparatory course. But Du Bois was concerned about having to buy the books so Frank Hosmer influenced Du Bois’s mother Ms.Mary into letting him go, but they didn’t have the money. So the wife of a mill owner offered some money. That’s how Du Bois was prepared for college. Then in 1884 the big day came: the Graduation. Du Bois was the only Black student to graduate out of a class of twelve.

W.E.B. Du Bois began college in 1885. Du Bois wanted to attend Harvard, but he was awarded a scholarship to Fisk University by Reverend Painter. Reverend Painter was the pastor of a church in Great Barrington. Du Bois accepted the scholarship and began college at Fisk University. Fisk was very far from Great Barrington; it was in Nashville, Tennessee. So Du Bois had to leave Great Barrington. Right before he left, his mother Mary died. Du Bois was alone for the rest of his college years. He was coming from an almost all-white community, but when he went to Fisk it was a whole new world for Du Bois, because the community was Black.

Du Bois graduated from Fisk in 1888. He then got a scholarship to go to Harvard. Harvard was in a mostly white community. Du Bois managed to work so he could support his loan which he needed to pay for Harvard. He taught Greek and Latin. When he graduated from Harvard in 1890 he received a PhD.

Du Bois wrote many books, but there were three very important ones. The first was “The Suppression of the Slave Trade”. It was the book he wrote when he got his PhD from Harvard. The second was “The Philadelphia Negro”. This book was about a neighborhood in Philadelphia. He said that education could be the salvation of African Americans. And last but not least, he wrote “The Souls of Black Folk”. This was one of the most popular books. There were fourteen essays on ”The spiritual world in which ten thousand thousand Americans live and strive”. It also talked about Du Bois’ disagreement with Booker T. Washington.

The disagreement all started when Booker T. approved segregation. He thought that if you worked hard, segregation would end. Du Bois thought that if you fight for your rights you will soon get them. This argument was a big part of Du Bois’ life. It led to the Niagara Movement. The Niagara Movement was also an important part of Du Bois’ life. It was a movement that stood up for Black rights. It was very strong, but it wasn’t violent. Du Bois was the leader and a strong supporter of the Niagara Movement. A lot of people followed him and they all met up at Niagara Falls and discussed the rights of Blacks. Later the NAACP was formed. The NAACP was the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Its purpose was to stop segregation. The members were fighting for Black rights. They wanted all Americans to be equal.

Du Bois was not only concerned with African Americans, but also about Africans. He felt that African nations should not be controlled by other countries. He thought that African nations should control Africa. He also felt that African Americans should know about their backgrounds and where their ancestors came from. He thought they should know about their own history. Du Bois organized Pan-African conferences to bring together people of color to fight against European countries controlling their ancestors’ countries.

In 1961, Du Bois moved to Ghana. He became a citizen of Ghana in 1963. That same year on August 27, W.E.B. Du Bois died. The next day was the March on Washington, which was a protest against segregation and inequality. The marchers were following Du Bois’ lead to change the world by protesting against the problems of the color line.

Image source: http://www.npl.org/Pages/ProgramsExhibits/BHM11/bhm11.html []