Harlem Civil Rights Virtual Tour

24. W.E.B Du Bois

New York, NY

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William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an African-American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, author, writer, and editor. He was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, and died on August 27, 1963, in Accra, Ghana. His parents were Alfred and Mary Silvina Du Bois; they were married on February 5, 1867, in Housatonic, a village in Great Barrington. Alfred left his family when William was two years old. Mary moved back to live with her parents until he was five. She worked and received help from her neighbors and her brother, raising her two sons until she passed away from the effects of a stroke in 1885. From an early age, William excelled in school and graduated from Searles High School as valedictorian. He attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee, and received his Bachelor of Arts in 1888, then graduated from Harvard with a Bachelor of Arts in 1890. Du Bois attended the University of Berlin from 1892 to 1894, studying history and economics. For two years he taught at Wilberforce University in Ohio. In 1891, he received the first of his two degrees, A Masters in Arts in 1891 and his Ph.D. in 1895. Du Bois traveled the world teaching, lecturing, writing, and studying social and economic issues affecting African-Americans. He participated in various protests throughout his life, and until he died, he fought against injustice in any form. Du Bois's first wife, Nina Gomer, was a student at Wilberforce College, where he was a teacher. They married in 1896 and had two children. Their son Burghardt died as an infant, and their daughter Yolande was born in 1900. Nina passed away in 1950, and Du Bois married Shirley Graham, a widower, in 1951. She had a son named David, who Du Bois gave his name to. They were married until Du Bois' death on August 27, 1963, in Accra, Ghana.