W.E.B. Du Bois 1868–1963
African American Writer and Activist
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (do BOYZ) grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. He studied and was encouraged by his teachers. He was the first African American to graduate from his high school.
In college, Du Bois saw African Americans treated unfairly for the first time. It deeply affected him. He spent his life fighting discrimination and promoting equality for African Americans. Du Bois wrote many books about the problems that African Americans faced. He helped start the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). The NAACP fought inequality through protests and legal action. Du Bois also edited “The Crisis”, a magazine about African American life.
Du Bois spent many years thinking and writing about African Americans in society. Eventually this led him to the struggles of Africans in other parts of the world. Du Bois supported independence for African countries that had been European colonies. Shortly before he died, Du Bois moved to Ghana, a newly free African nation.
Critical Thinking
Why is W.E.B. Du Bois an important civil rights figure in American history?