6. Use selections from The Souls of Black Folk to show how W. E. B. Du Bois criticized Booker T. Washington.
? Why did Du Bois believe that the substitute of "man training for materialism fostering intelligence and knowledge of the world" is progressive for African Americans?
? What was Du Bois's role in founding the NAACP?

W.E.B. DuBois was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts in 1868.  He was raised mostly by his mother, Mary, after his father left the family when he was very young.  He was the first black person to graduate from his high school. After high school, he went on to study at Fisk University in Tennessee on a full academic scholarship. After graduating with honors in 1888, he then went on to Harvard to pursue a second undergraduate degree.  He received a second B.A. from Harvard in 1890, and went on to get his Master’s there as well in 1891.  He became the first Black to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard in 1895.
DuBois then began teaching at Atlanta University in 1897, staying there until 1910.  In 1905, DuBois helped found the Niagara Movement.  This led to his work with the NAACP, where he served as editor for The Crisis from 1910-1934.   He then became involved with the Pan-African movement, organizing the first four Pan-African Congresses.   He continued to write, penning several important works. In 1961, DuBois joined the Communist Party.  He expatriated to Ghana in 1964, where he died the same year.
 

The 1920’s were a period of struggle for African-Americans. Slavery was abolished, but blacks were still oppressed and were in no way equal to whites.  However, at this time blacks were starting to make some progress toward racial equality.  The Harlem renaissance started the first real sense of African-American culture through art, jazz, dance, and literature. There was also at this time the beginning of strong African-American movements to further the black race.
A prominent movement was led by W.E.B Dubois that focused on educating blacks to create equality.  On the other end of the political field was a man named Marcus Garvey, who led the movement for blacks to unite as a race against oppression.  Marcus Garvey’s background had a strong impact on his beliefs, which acted as a catalyst for his life’s work. Garvey’s involvement, like W.E.B. DuBois, had a strong influence on the black population and the African-American civil rights movement of the 1920’s.