WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS

WILLIAM EDWARD BURGHARDT DU BOIS

(1868 – 1963)

“It is, then, the strife of all honorable men and women… to see that in the future competition of the races the survival of the fittest shall mean the triumph of the good, the beautiful, and the true.”

William Edward Burghardt (W. E. B.) Du Bois became the first African American to earn a Ph.D. at Harvard University in 1895. A renowned Pan-Africanist and historian, Du Bois has also been acknowledged as a father of modern sociology. His social study “The Philadelphia Negro,” published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 1899, was the first empirical social study of a Negro community.

Du Bois was born in West Barrington Massachusetts to Haiti native Alfred Du Bois, and a free Black woman named Mary Burghardt. By 1903, he published the groundbreaking collection of essays, “The Souls of Black Folk.” It challenged the civil rights strategies of black leaders, while inspiring emerging activists and scholars to combat the structures of racial oppression.

In 1909, he co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and served as the editor of its magazine, “The Crisis.” In 1943, Du Bois became the first Negro member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. A mentor to generations of leaders across the African Diaspora, Du Bois died at the age of 95 in Accra, Ghana on August 27, 1963.

FRANÇAIS
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868 – 1963)
W.E.B. Du Bois est le premier Afro-Américain à obtenir un doctorat à l’Université de Harvard en 1895. Panafricaniste et historien de renom, Du Bois est également reconnu comme le père de la sociologie moderne. Son étude sociale “The Philadelphia Negro”, publiée par University of Pennsylvania Press en 1899, a été la première étude sociale empirique d’une communauté noire.

Du Bois est né à West Barrington, Massachusetts, d’Alfred Du Bois, originaire d’Haïti, et d’une femme noire libre nommée Mary Burghardt. En 1903, il a publié un recueil d’essais novateur, “The Souls of Black Folk”. Il remettait en question les stratégies des dirigeants noirs en matière de droits civils, tout en encourageant les nouveaux militants et universitaires à combattre les structures de l’oppression raciale. En 1909, il a cofondé la National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) et a été le rédacteur en chef du magazine de l’association, “The Crisis”. En 1943, Du Bois est devenu le premier membre noir de l’Institut national des arts et des lettres. Il fut un mentor pour des générations de dirigeants de la diaspora africaine. Du Bois est mort à l’âge de 95 ans à Accra, au Ghana, le 27 août 1963.

CREOLE
W.E.B. Du Bois te premye ameriken nwa ki te etidye jouk li rive gen yon doktora nan inivesite Harvard an 1895. Yo te konnen li kòm moun ki t ap lite pou solidarite pep afriken epi tou kòm istoryen. Yo konnen li tou tankou yon nan moun ki fè sosyoloji vini jan nou konnen li kounye a. Liv li ekri ki rele The Philadelphia Negro ki piblye nan University of Pennsylvania Press te premye etid social anpirik ki te fèt sou yon kominote moun nwa.

Du Bois te fèt nan West Barrington nan Eta Massachusetts. Li se pitit Alfred Du Bois ki te soti an Ayiti ak yon fanm nwa ki te gen libète li e ki te rele Mary Burghardt. Nan lane 1903 li te ekri plizyè liv nan on jan moun pa t janm wè e ki te rele The Souls of Black Folk. Li t ap pose ampil keksyon sou estrateji dirijan nwa yo nan zafè dwa sivil epi an menm tan li t ap ankouraje nouvo militan yo ak etidyan inivèsitè yo pou yo kombat sou tout fòm brimad yo t ap subi poutèt koulè yo. Nan lane 1909, avèk lòt moun ki te gen menm lide avèl li te kreye yon asosyasyon ki te rele National Associaciation for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) epi li te sèvi kòm redaktè an chef pou jounal asosyasyon an ki te pote non The Crisis. Nan lane 1943, Du Bois te vini premye manm nwa nan The National Institute of Arts and Letters. Li te tounen yon veritab gid (papa) pou anpil jenerasyon dirijan nan dyaspora afrikèn lan. Du Bois mouri a 95 lane nan vil Accra ki nan peyi Ghana jou ki te 27 daout 1963.