10 Interesting Facts about W.E.B Dubois

You should have known one of these following facts about W.E.B Dubois, since he was very famous among American people. He indeed had an important role on civil rights. He was an American sociologist, historian, civil right activist, Pan-Africanist, author and editor. He was born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts and grew up in a relatively tolerant and integrated community. He was also the first African-American to earn a doctorate. To get to know more about him, here are other facts about W.E.B Dubois you may interested in.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 1: First PhD

Dubois was the first African-American to graduate from Harvard with a PhD. At the same time, he also became a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 2: Sorrow Song

Dubois believed that music was a big part of black culture so he started each chapter with a line from a “Sorrow Song,” as he called them. We know them now as Negro Spirituals.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 3: Working Time

Dubois biographer David Lewis found that Du Bois worked from 7:15am until 5pm every day. He also planned out his schedules and goals on large sheets of graph paper.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 4: The Souls of Black Folk

While many contemporary scholars will argue that the Civil War was fought for a variety of reasons, Dubois disagrees with them all in The Souls of Black Folk and argues that slavery was the main reason for the Civil War.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 5: Exposure to Racism

Dubois actually did not have much interaction with black people or exposure to racism growing up although he was curious about his race. The Du Bois Learning Center notes that his interactions with blacks and racism came when he attended Fisk University.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 6: Payment Fee

Dubois taught at Wilberforce University in Ohio for $800.00 a year.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 7: Dubois’ Death

Dubois died the day before the March on Washington, where Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. gave his famous “I have a Dream” speech.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 8: Inauguration

Exactly 34 years after Dubois published The Souls of Black Folk, FDR was the first president to be inaugurated on January 20th.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 9: The National Negro Network

Fifty-one years after Du Bois published The Souls of Black Folk (1954), the National Negro Network (a network of radio stations) was formed.

Facts about W.E.B Dubois 10: 50th Anniversary of Brown V Board of Education

When asked what Du Bois might think about the 50th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, David Lewis (Du Bois biographer) notes that Du Bois thought from the start that the court’s ruling would be a disappointment.

Those following facts about W.E.B Dubois should have expanded your thoughts about who Dubois and how important his role was. Great journey of life of Dubois should have led us to a better future, about how he thought when he was alive. Hope you would find those W.E.B. Dubois facts< interesting and useful.