W. E. B. Du Bois

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a black civil rights activist, leader, Pan-Africanist, sociologist, educator, historian, writer, editor, poet, and scholar. He became a naturalized citizen of Ghana in 1963 at the age of 95. "The time has not yet come for a complete history of the Negro peoples. Archaeological research in Africa has just begun, and many sources of information in Arabian, Portuguese, and other tongues are not fully at our command;...

The distinguished American civil rights leader, W. E. B. Du Bois first published these fiery essays, sketches, and poems individually nearly 80 years ago in the Atlantic, the Journal of Race Development, and other periodicals. Reflecting the author's ideas as a politician, historian, and artist, this volume has long moved and inspired readers with its militant cry for social, political, and economic reforms for black Americans. Essential reading for...

A look at African Americans' contributions to the United States by the iconic leader whose life spanned from the Civil War to the civil rights movement. The first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard and a co-founder of the NAACP, W. E. B. Du Bois remains a towering figure in US history. In The Gift of Black Folk, he celebrates Black Americans' struggle for equality - a battle that would continue long after slavery was abolished and...

The Harlem Renaissance sociologist explores early-twentieth-century attitudes toward race in this tale of romance, politics, and justice. Matthew Towns is a hardworking medical student with dreams of becoming an obstetrician, but his race prevents him from completing his required courses at a white hospital. Frustrated with America, he exiles himself to Germany. In Berlin, he meets the daughter of a maharaja, Princess Kautilya, of Bwodpur, India....

The present volume is quite different from the other two autobiographies by Du Bois not only because of its additional two-decade span, and the significantly altered outlook of its author, but also because in it-unlike the others-he seeks, as he writes, "to review my life as frankly and fully as I can." Of course, with the directness and honesty which so decisively characterized him, he reminds the reader of this book of the intense subjectivity that...

“The Conservation of Races” is a collection of essays by W. E. B. Du Bois, was first published in 1897. The book discusses the relationship between race and culture and argues that the preservation of cultural diversity is important for the survival of humanity. Du Bois contends that racism is not only a moral issue but also a scientific one and that the scientific study of race can lead to a better understanding of human nature. The book also...

“The Negro in the South” is a work by W. E. B. Du Bois explores the history and current state of African Americans in the southern United States. The book is divided into several chapters, each focusing on a different aspect of African American life, such as the economic system, social and political institutions, religion, and education. Du Bois provides a detailed analysis of the ways in which African Americans have been marginalized and oppressed...

In Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil, early twentieth-century statesman of Black-American discourse W.E.B. Du Bois weaves autofiction with poetry, social essay, science fiction, and Afrofuturist storytelling that presages Butler, Due, Adjei-Brenyah, Shawl, and Jemisin. Three wise men gather as a Christ child of color is born in a Georgia shanty; a reflection on World War I reframes its bloody legacy against the wages of Western imperialism; a...

This essential collection comprises a trio of the most influential African-American writings of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Exploring such themes as slavery and its abolition, the struggle for equality, and the impassioned rise from bondage to international recognition, each landmark book is a founding work in the civil rights literature of America. Included here are Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery, W. E. B. Du Bois's The Souls...

The Comet (1920) is a science fiction story by W. E. B. Du Bois. Written while the author was using his role at The Crisis, the official magazine of the NAACP, to publish emerging black artists of the Harlem Renaissance, The Comet is a pioneering work of speculative fiction which imagines a catastrophic event not only decimating New York City, but bringing an abrupt end to white supremacy. "How silent the street was! Not a soul was stirring, and yet...