African Americans W. E. B. Du Bois

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  • Created by: Alasdair
  • Created on: 07-05-17 13:10
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  • W. E. B. Du Bois (individual) 1868-1963
    • William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
    • More continuity than Washington
    • 'The Souls of Black Folk'
      • Pub. 1903
      • More impact than any of Washington's writings
    • Division between Du Bois' and Washington's followers
    • Du Bois's idea was there should be an elite - Talented Tenth - who would lead AAs to equality and social and political equality and integration
    • Appalled by lynchings - 1700 deaths between 1885 and 1894 - and spoke with passion and rhetoric of King much more than dry rationalism of Washington
    • 'Why did God make me a stranger and outcast in my house?'
    • The Niagra Movement
      • Founded 1905
      • Pressed for more radical change
      • Laid foundation for NAACP in 1909
    • Accepted alliance with white supporters and as director of research and publicity he was only AA to hold office in organisation, publishing influential journal The Crisis
    • Recognised there had been gains: by 1913, AAs owned:
      • 550,000 homes
      • 937,000 farms
      • 40,000 businesses
      • 70% literacy rate
      • 40,000 churches
      • 35,000 teachers
      • 1.7 million pupils in public (state funded) schools
    • However, Washington's vision was hardly fulfilled
      • Pres. Wilson introduced segregation in federal bureaus; lynchings and violence cont. unabated and movements of AAs northwards had produced  race riots in 1917
        • Worst  were in St Louis, and Du Bois organised protest march in NY, anticipating civil rights marches
      • Wave of racial violence  which swept USA in 1919 produced condemnation from The Crisis in so-called Red Summer but Du Bois's interest shifted to international affairs and pan-Africanism
    • The following should be factored in when considering impact of Du Bois's civil rights
      • Du Bois had shifted attention to need to publicise civil rights through press and to organise, but his radicalism led him along different paths.
      • His interest in pan-Africanism was shared by another radical figure of much different type, Marcus Garvey, and his belief in organising was shared by Asa Philip Randolph. These men show wide variation in individual leadership.

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