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Overview
Distinguished historian and social activist Manning Marable's book, W. E. B. Du Bois: Black Radical Democrat, brings out the interconnections, unity, and consistency of W. E. B. Du Bois's life and writings. Marable covers Du Bois's disputes with Booker T. Washington, his founding of the NAACP, his work as a social scientist, his life as a popular figure, and his involvement in politics, placing them into the context of Du Bois's views on black pride, equality, and cultural diversity. Marable stresses that, as a radical democrat, Du Bois viewed the problems of racism as intimately connected with capitalism. The publication of this updated edition follows more than one hundred celebrations recently marking the 100th anniversary of Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk. Marable broadens earlier biographies with a new introduction highlighting Du Bois's less-known advocacy of women's suffrage, socialism, and peace and he traces his legacy to today in an era of changing racial and social conditions.Synopsis
Too many scholars praise the scholarship of African American Du Bois (1868-1963) while dismissing his political views and predictions as an embarrassing diversion, says Marable (public affairs, political science, and history; Columbia U.). He traces the development of his political thought through his career, marking highlights such as his move from scholar to activist at Tuskegee and the Niagara Movement; the Crisis and the NAACP; pan-Africanism, socialism, and Garveyism; the Great Depression and world war; and the politics of peace. The first edition was published in 1986 by G. K. Hall. Annotation ©2004 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR
Library Journal
Marable's excellent study focuses on the social thought of a major black American thinker who exhibited a ``basic coherence and unity'' throughout a multifaceted career stressing cultural pluralism, opposition to social inequality, and black pride. Marable characterizes DuBoisa critic of Booker T. Washington and a founder of the NAACPas a social scientist drawn ``reluctantly'' to politics, which was ``inseparable in his mind from moral imperatives.'' A radical democrat who believed democracy inevitably led to socialism, DuBois linked racism to capitalism. Consequently, Marable views DuBois's controversial decision to join the Communist Party as consistent with his political development. A valuable and useful study recommended for academic and public libraries. John R. Sillito, Weber State Coll. Lib., Ogden, Utah