Born in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, a racially tolerant and integrated community William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a Black American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, writer and editor. After completing graduate work at the University of Berlin he attended Harvard University, where he was the first Black American to earn a doctorate. He became a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University. Through his scholarly pursuit of higher education Du Bois advocated for the absolute equality and Civil Rights of all Black citizens. He fought tirelessly against institutional racism, lynching and discrimination in employment. He was a powerful proponent of “organization"--not "apology"--against white oppression. In 1905 Du Bois led a group of prominent social activists to organize for the promotion of Civil Rights in Fort Erie Ontario near Niagara Falls. Called the Niagara Movement, the group met again at Harper’s Ferry West Virginia on the Campus of Storer College in 1906. This organization would evolve under the leadership of Du Bois to become the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People ( The NAACP) in 1909.
https://www.nps.gov/places/massachusetts-web-du-bois-boyhood-homesite-great-barrington.htm
The Joy Trip Project celebrates Black History Month. The Unhidden Minute is part of the Unhidden Podcast Project supported through a National Geographic Explorer Grant from the National Geographic Society, with the cooperation of the National Park Service. This series elevates the untold stories of Black American history.
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W.E.B. DuBois