Major Problems in American History
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois is among the most recognized and celebrated African-American scholar of his time. Although he was a sociologist and historian, he was known for his productive and active role that he played i8n shaping the society. Besides his enormous contribution to the literary and scholarly works, Du Bois played a crucial role in the attainment of the freedoms that the Americans enjoyed through black civil rights advocacy. The content of his writings, politics and his entire life was an embodiment that sought to uplift and uplifted the black life by enriching the culture, history and society. In essence, he assumed the place of a leader and spoke for his people as a race. He established himself a rational and persistent voice that advocated for black justice and equality in American social and civic institutions where he championed for Negro rights.
Under his tenure as a professor of economics and history at Atlanta University started in 1897, he organized a socio-political movement. He undergirded his political as well as his social agitations with a concrete foundation of historical research and sociological writings. In his autobiography, Booker T. Washington underwent challenges to argue education under a discriminative society that was racial and managed to create a group of schools called the Tuskegee Institute that was situated in Alabama. The schools were meant to educate the black people, particularly African Americans, to learn basic and useful skills to enable them to survive. Black people yearned for education as eluded in the phrase, “Water, water sends us water” (W.E.B DuBois, 88). The attempt by Booker and his like-minded philanthropists was to create a perception for the whites who had sidelined the blacks that blacks were useful citizens when offered relevant skills. The black educationists volunteer to offer trade-centred education to the black people.
Therefore, the 95 years of W.E B. Du Bois that he lived was full of unflinching commitment to change the lives of the black people who were discriminated by the biased laws. The legislation during that time favoured the whites while discriminating the women and the black people. Hence his efforts were uplifted and supported by the agitation of women under women suffrage movement that had taken centre stage during the period. The role of women in society had been recognized as supporting men and boys who had languished in alcohol. Therefore, his advocacy in education and democracy influential during the period.
In calling for democracy and social justice, he demonstrated that all races were equal, and blacks did deserve to live under impoverished conditions just because they were immigrants. The period was characterized situation where the party bosses control party machines and the economic inequality with the spectrum of upper and middle class fighting for reforms. The Black, in particular, lived under tortured experience. Lawson women suffrage movement, ban of alcohol, the introduction of national income tax, the prohibition of child labour and antitrust legislations.
In conclusion, the central engagement of Du Bois’s life was based on advocacy for American democracy and the presence of racism which proved to a problem of the 20th century as he had prophesied. His abiding trust and determination to create a democratic society free from discrimination inspired many. He fought fiercely for the rights of the African American as well as other oppressed people. His advocacy was supported by like-minded groups such as women suffrage movements in the United States and volunteer educationists.
Work cited
W.E.B DuBois, “The souls of the Black Folk” (New York: Signet, 1969), 87-89