W.E.B. Du Bois
1868 – 1963 American sociologist, Pan-Africanist, civil rights leader
American scholar and civil rights leader who helped lead the Pan-African Congress movement and named the color line as the problem of the century.
- Affiliations
- NAACP, Pan-African Congress movement
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a pioneering sociologist, a founder of the NAACP, and the leading intellectual of the early Pan-African Congress movement. He argued that the problem of the twentieth century was the color line and pressed the case against colonialism and racism across decades. He clashed sharply with Marcus Garvey over strategy and style, and grew more radical and socialist late in life. He moved to newly independent Ghana at Nkrumah's invitation and died there in 1963.
Connections
- associate of George Padmore — Co-organisers of the Pan-African congress movement.
- associate of Kwame Nkrumah — Invited Du Bois to settle in Ghana.
- associate of Kwame Nkrumah — Moved to Ghana at Nkrumah's invitation.
- rival of Marcus Garvey — Long and public feud over the direction of Black politics.
In the timeline
- 1919 First Pan-African Congress meets during the Paris peace talks organiser
- 1935 The Pan-African circle: James, Makonnen, Nkrumah, Abrahams, Du Bois mentioned
- 1945 The Fifth Pan-African Congress at Manchester mentioned
- 1945 Joint secretary of the Fifth Pan-African Congress mentioned
- 1945 Fifth Pan-African Congress opens in Manchester presiding elder
- 1945 Du Bois presides over the Manchester congress presiding figure