Du Bois, W.E.B.

1868-1963 · Contribution: 1899-1963

Essays, history, sociology, and fiction; author of 'The Souls of Black Folk' (1903), 'Black Reconstruction in America' (1935), and 'The Philadelphia Negro' (1899); long-time editor of the NAACP magazine 'The Crisis'

Literature & Writing — collage image
Literature & Writing

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Impact on the world

'The Souls of Black Folk' is a seminal work of African American literature that introduced the concepts of 'double consciousness' and 'the color line'; first African American to earn a PhD from Harvard and a co-founder of the NAACP (1909).

Life & background

African-American writer, sociologist, historian, and Pan-Africanist born Feb 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, MA. Professor at Atlanta University; editor of 'The Crisis' (1910-1934). Spent his final years in Ghana, where he died Aug 27, 1963.

Sources

  1. Encyclopædia Britannica; Yale (Avalon Project); UNC DocSouth