The first Black American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, Du Bois was a sociologist, historian, novelist and editor. He helped found the NAACP, edited its magazine The Crisis for decades, organized Pan-African congresses and studied Black life with scientific rigor. Late in life he embraced socialism, moved to Ghana and died there on the eve of the March on Washington.
Core ideas
Black Americans live with a double consciousness, seeing themselves through others' eyes
Racism is a system that needs to be studied, named and fought
People of African descent around the world share a common cause
The tradition: Pan-Africanist
Pan-Africanism is the idea that peoples of African descent share a history and a future and should unite against colonialism and racism. Du Bois is one of its founders and its greatest scholar.
