The Wisdom of W.E.B. DuBois

At the heart of the African American struggle for equality and identity in the United States, W.E.B. DuBois stands as an early and eloquent voice, articulating the essential challenges of his own age and illuminating the historical basis for the civil rights movement. In this selection of quotes and excerpts drawn from his prolific career’s many books, novels, articles, essays, poems, letters, and speeches, DuBois addresses not only the issues of slavery, African American equality, and democracy, but also the need for public education, women’s rights, and pacifism. Each subject includes a thorough introduction to DuBois’s role and his time. A founder of the NAACP and its magazine The Crisis, as well as an academic, political, and literary figure in the Harlem Renaissance, DuBois was groundbreaking and controversial, and left an impressive legacy.

W.E.B. DuBois (1868–1963) was an author, sociologist, historian, and civil rights leader. A brilliant writer and speaker, he was the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard. His lifelong efforts for racial equality resulted in the founding of the Niagara Movement and the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). DuBois published more than four thousand books, articles, and essays before his death in 1963 at the age of ninety-five.