William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois (1868-1963), born in a predominately white town of Great Barrington, Massachusetts, spent most of his ninety-five years fighting racism and poverty as an academic and an organizer..
As the first black man to graduate from Harvard with a Ph.D (Sociology), Du Bois had an uncommon gift of being able see the larger picture of American race-relations and society.
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His counterpart, Booker T. Washington, advocated industrial training for African-Americans as a pathway to becoming respected citizens (by whites) and financially self-sufficient. In his view, African-Americans would achieve social and political equality only by proving their ability to stand on their own.
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Du Bois disagreed. For him, the 'negro' (the common term for blacks for much of his day) could not hope to achieve any semblance of equality without first winning an undisputed right to vote (blacks were still being denied well into the 20th century despite passage of the 15th Amendment in 1870) and the ability to participate equally at all levels of society - from getting served in a 'white' restaurant in the South to being considered for positions in government service. Both men had the same goal of equality in mind. However, Washington believed that a stage of 'separate but equal', as blacks found their economic footing, was necessary prior to full integration. Du Bois, on the other hand, rejected anything short of full integration and emphasized political action over vocational training.
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A review of Du Bois' most influential book, The Souls of Black Folk (1903), sadly reveals how little has changed for African-Americans and all Americans in most respects over the last century. Three passages in his book, which convey his views on education and economy, seem particularly relevant to 2010.
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'And the final product of our training must be neither a psychologist nor a brickmason, but a man. And to make men, we must have ideals, broad, pure and inspiring ends of living - not sordid money-getting, not apples of gold.'
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'For every social ill the panacea of Wealth has been urged - wealth to overthrow the remains of slave feudalism; wealth to raise the 'cracker' Third Estate; wealth to employ the black serfs, and the prospect of wealth to keep them working; wealth as the aim of politics, and as the legal tender for Law and Order; and, finally, instead of Truth, Beauty and Goodness, wealth as the ideal of the Public School.'
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'To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships'
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Although he died in 1963, W.E.B. Du Bois' ideas are very much alive. How much longer will the United States and other nations around the world allow markets to create their people? In childhood, when asked 'What do you want to be when you grow up?', a common answer consists of an occupation. A typical response might be 'I want to be an engineer' or 'I'd like to be a teacher'.
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Until our children begin answering that question 'I want to be a good person' or 'I want to be leading citizen', there will be no true equality or daily peace for anyone.
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America needs to consider the merits of a Du Bois-based economy.
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(Picture - W.E.B. Du Bois; pronounced 'Doo-Boys')
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J Roquen