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W.E.B Du Bois Facts & Worksheets

W.E.B. Du Bois was an African-American author, educator, sociologist, and activist whose work radically altered how Black people were perceived in American culture.

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William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, often known as W.E.B. Du Bois, was an African-American author, educator, sociologist, and activist whose work radically altered how Black people were perceived in American culture. Du Bois was regarded as ahead of his time and a pioneer in using statistics to address social issues affecting Black people. His writings, notably the ground-breaking “The Souls of Black Folk”, became essential reading for courses in African-American studies.

See the fact file below for more information about W.E.B Du Bois, or download the comprehensive worksheet pack, which contains over 22 worksheets and can be used in the classroom or homeschooling environment.

Key Facts & Information

Early Life

  • Du Bois’ birth certificate reads “William E. Duboise”, and he was born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
  • Du Bois’ father, Alfred, split from his mother, Mary Silvina Burghardt, two years after his birth.
  • Young William was raised in a neighborhood of European-Americans. Despite receiving his education from white professors, he regarded himself as a mulatto.
  • Initially, Du Bois attended the Black-only Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. Numerous churches in Great Barrington financed his tuition. 
  • Du Bois started working as an editor for the student publication, the Herald.
  • Du Bois continued his education at Harvard University after he graduated, beginning in 1888, and eventually earned postgraduate degrees in history.
  •  At the University of Berlin in 1892, Du Bois pursued a Ph.D. until his money was exhausted.
  • He left the country without a Ph.D., but when he was a classics professor at Wilberforce University in Ohio, he eventually earned one from Harvard. 
  • In 1896, he was wedded to Nina Gomer, one of his pupils.
  • His Ph.D. dissertation, “The Suppression of the African Slave Trade to the United States of America, 1638-1870,” was later published as his first book and is now required reading for all American students studying slavery.
  • In 1896, Du Bois accepted a job at the University of Pennsylvania, where he worked on a study of the Seventh Ward of the city that was later released as The Philadelphia Negro.
  • The research, which involved significant fieldwork and hundreds of door-to-door interviews performed by Du Bois, is regarded as one of the earliest instances of statistical work being utilized for sociological objectives.
  • Du Bois concluded that poverty, violence, a lack of education, and mistrust of outsiders were the Black community’s biggest problems after painstakingly mapping out the Seventh Ward and recording family and workplace systems.

W.E.B. Du Bois’ Sociological Studies 

  • In 1897, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics granted Du Bois a position, which sparked a series of innovative research on Black Southern homes in Farmville, Virginia, revealing how slavery was still present in African-Americans’ daily lives. Du Bois would conduct two additional studies in Alabama and two more in Georgia for the agency.
  • When sociology was still primarily theoretical, these works were viewed as radical. Du Bois had a key role in emphasizing the importance of research and data analysis in sociological study.
  • The seminal article “The Strivings of the Negro People,” which Du Bois published for the Atlantic Monthly around this time, described to white readers what it’s like to experience racism. It is regarded as Du Bois’s introduction to the broader audience.

‘The Souls of Black Folk’

  • Du Bois and his family relocated to Atlanta University, where he worked on his extra Bureau of Labor Statistics investigations while still teaching sociology.
  • The Souls of Black Folk, a pile of sociological articles that looks at the Black experience in America, was one of the books published at this time. It was inspired in part by his Atlantic piece and used elements of Du Bois’ personal background in his arguments.
  • The book also developed the concept of “double consciousness,” according to which African-Americans must consider their own perception of themselves and the opinion that the rest of the world, especially white people, have of them at all times. It also made a clear distinction between Du Bois and other Black voices that were more conservative, such as Booker T. Washington.
  • Du Bois spent the night searching for one of three Black doctors in Atlanta in 1899 after his son Burghardt caught diphtheria and passed away because no white physician would treat the infant. The Souls of Black Folk published the resulting piece, “The Passing of the First Born.”

Du Bois’ Beliefs and Activism

  • Du Bois worked as a summer instructor at Booker T. Washington’s Tuskegee University in 1903; nevertheless, tensions between the two men caused Du Bois to join Washington’s adversaries in the Niagara Movement, which fought for the rights and equality of African-Americans.
  • Both Washington and DuBois recognized the critical need for African-Americans to be technologically educated. However, whereas Washington called for a hands-on exterior approach, DuBois advocated for a paternalistic approach to Black race improvement.
  • In 1905, DuBois met with a group of 30 men at Niagara Falls, Canada. They created a list of demands that effectively demanded an end to all types of discrimination right away. Most white people at the time criticized the Niagara Movement as extreme. However, educated African-Americans backed the resolutions.
  • Washington’s hostility to the club contributed to its demise, although while it was in operation, Du Bois produced The Moon Illustrated Weekly, the first weekly magazine for African-Americans, churning out 34 issues until it disbanded in 1906. He quickly continued with the journal Horizon.
  • Du Bois took the position of director of the newly established NAACP in 1910. He relocated to New York City and took on the role of editor of The Crisis, the group’s monthly journal.
  • With Du Bois’ direct manner, the journal covered racial relations and black culture to great popularity and influence. The publication is distinguished for its ongoing support and attention to women’s suffrage. Du Bois released his first book, The Quest of the Silver Fleece, while working for the NAACP for 24 years.
  • After a brief return to Atlanta University, Du Bois rejoined the NAACP as head of special studies in 1944 and represented the group at the United Nations‘ inaugural conference.
  • Du Bois became increasingly interested in communism and international concerns and openly supported progressive and left-wing organizations, which caused friction with NAACP leadership. In 1948, he departed the group once more.

W.E.B. Du Bois and Communism

  • Even after he failed to win the Progressive Party’s nomination for the Senate in 1950, Du Bois’ radicalism remained prominent in the public eye. He and other group members were suspected of being agents of a foreign principle due to the Peace Information Center’s Soviet leanings; nevertheless, following a 1951 trial, they were declared not guilty.
  • After his wife passed away in 1950, Du Bois married Shirley Graham the following year. Graham’s enthusiasm for communism led him to continue researching the doctrine, and as a consequence, Du Bois gained notoriety for his sympathetic view of Joseph Stalin.
  • Du Bois formally joined the American Communist Party in 1961 before relocating to Ghana at the president’s request and obtaining citizenship there.
  • Du Bois initially dreamed of the Encyclopedia Africana in 1908 as a collection of history and achievements of people of African ancestry aimed to convey a feeling of togetherness to the African diaspora. Du Bois was unable to acquire the required funding and had to put the project on hold until 1935, when work was resumed but was derailed by professional disputes.
  • Du Bois released some of the projected encyclopedia’s articles and even several volumes of research materials, but it wasn’t until 1962 that a new commitment to finish the encyclopedia was made.

Death and Lasting Legacy

  • Du Bois promised to ultimately publish a book after being asked to relocate to Ghana, but it was never done before he passed away. On August 27, 1963, Du Bois passed away in Ghana and had a state funeral.
  • Du Bois was already well-known as one of the most influential Black thinkers. Du Bois, the first Black American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard, wrote significantly The Crisis in 1910 before becoming the NAACP’s head of publicity and research and launching the organization’s official journal.
  • He supported Pan-Africanism and helped organize multiple Pan-African Congresses to struggle for African colonies’ independence from European powers.
  • The USSR presented Du Bois with the International Lenin Peace Prize in 1959.
  • The University of Massachusetts Amherst’s main library was given Du Bois’ name in 1994. His academic executor, historian Herbert Aptheker, transferred his materials to the university on his behalf.
  • The Hutchins Center for African & African-American Research at Harvard started giving out the W in 2000. Harvard’s top accolade in the area of African and African-American studies is the W. E. B. Du Bois Medal.
  • Du Bois was included in the 2002 list of the 100 Greatest African-Americans compiled by scholar Molefi Kete Asante.
  • Du Bois was given a medallion in 2005 as part of The Extra Mile, Washington, DC’s tribute honoring significant American volunteers.
  • The W.E.B. Du Bois Career of Distinguished Scholarship Award, the highest career honor granted by the American Sociological Association, was renamed in Du Bois’ honor in 2006.

W.E.B Du Bois Worksheets

This is a double bundle addition which includes over 20 ready-to-use W.E.B Du Bois worksheets that are perfect for students to learn about W.E.B. Du Bois, who was an African-American author, educator, sociologist, and activist whose work radically altered how Black people were perceived in American culture.

Worksheet Collection 1:

  • W.E.B Du Bois Facts
  • Biography: A Scholar’s Life
  • The Missing Link
  • Person Puzzles
  • Du Bois v. Washington
  • Years of Du Bois
  • Towards Pan-Africanism
  • The Souls of Black Folk
  • Quotable Lines
  • Visual Diary
  • Write Like Du Bois

Worksheet Collection 2:

  • W.E.B. Du Bois Facts
  • W.E.B. Of Facts
  • Make It Right
  • Word Search
  • Niagara Members
  • Event Research
  • Book Description
  • Clash Of Two Minds
  • Magazine Match
  • Passage Interpretation
  • My Encyclopedia

Frequently Asked Questions

What was WEB Dubois most known for?

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, often known as W.E.B. Du Bois, was an African American author, educator, sociologist, and activist whose works radically altered how Black people were perceived in American culture. Du Bois was regarded as being ahead of his time and a pioneer in using statistics to address social issues affecting Black people. His writings, notably the ground-breaking “The Souls of Black Folk”, became essential reading for courses in African American studies.

What did WEB Dubois fight for?

He supported Pan-Africanism and helped organize multiple Pan-African Congresses to struggle for African colonies’ independence from European powers.

Who was WEB Du Bois and what did he stand for?

Du Bois was already well-known as one of the most influential Black thinkers. Du Bois, the first Black American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard, wrote significantly The Crisis in 1910 before becoming the NAACP’s head of publicity and research and launching the organization’s official journal.

How did DuBois fight for equality?

In 1905, DuBois met with a group of 30 men at Niagara Falls, Canada. They created a list of demands that effectively demanded an end to all types of discrimination right away. Most white people at the time criticized the Niagara Movement as extreme. However, educated African Americans backed the resolutions.

How are Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois different?

Both Washington and DuBois recognized the critical need for African Americans to be technologically educated. However, whereas Washington called for a hands-on exterior approach, DuBois advocated for a paternalistic approach to Black race improvement.

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