CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page i Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N W.E.B. Du Bois Scholar and Activist CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page ii Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N Muhammad Ali Frederick Douglass W.E.B. Du Bois Marcus Garvey Alex Haley Langston Hughes Jesse Jackson Coretta Scott King Martin Luther King, Jr. Malcolm X Thurgood Marshall Jesse Owens Rosa Parks Colin Powell Sojourner Truth Harriet Tubman Nat Turner Booker T. Washington CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page iii Black Americans of Achievement L E G A C Y E D I T I O N W.E.B. Du Bois Scholar and Activist Mark Stafford With additional text written by John Davenport Consulting Editor, Revised Edition Heather Lehr Wagner Senior Consulting Editor, First Edition Nathan Irvin Huggins Director, W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for Afro-American Research Harvard University CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page iv COVER: Black American writer and racial advocate W.E.B.Du Bois in a 1918 portrait. CHELSEA HOUSE PUBLISHERS VP,NEWPRODUCTDEVELOPMENT Sally Cheney DIRECTOROFPRODUCTION Kim Shinners CREATIVEMANAGER Takeshi Takahashi MANUFACTURINGMANAGER Diann Grasse Staff for W.E.B. DU BOIS EXECUTIVEEDITOR Lee Marcott ASSISTANTEDITOR Alexis Browsh PRODUCTIONEDITOR Noelle Nardone PHOTOEDITOR Sarah Bloom SERIESANDCOVERDESIGNER Keith Trego LAYOUT 21st Century Publishing and Communications,Inc. ©2005 by Chelsea House Publishers, a subsidiary ofHaights Cross Communications. All rights reserved.Printed and bound in the United States ofAmerica. www.chelseahouse.com First Printing 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 Library ofCongress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Stafford,Mark. W.E.B.Du Bois :scholar and activist / by Mark Stafford with additional text by John Davenport.—Rev.ed. p.cm. Includes bibliographical references (p.) and index. ISBN 0-7910-8158-3—ISBN 0-7910-8332-2 (pbk.) 1.Du Bois,W.E.B.(William Edward Burghardt),1868-1963—Juvenile literature.2.African Americans—Biography—Juvenile literature.3.Civil rights workers—United States— Biography—Juvenile literature.4.African American scholars—Biography—Juvenile literature. 5.African American political activists—Biography—Juvenile literature.6.National Association for the Advancement ofColored People—Juvenile literature.I.Title:W.E.B.DuBois. II.Davenport,John,1960- III.Title. E185.97.D73S68 2004 305.896'073'0092—dc22 2004008449 All links and web addresses were checked and verified to be correct at the time ofpublication. Because ofthe dynamic nature ofthe web,some addresses and links may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page v Contents Introduction vi 1 “To Be a Leader of My People” 1 2 “A Boy’s Paradise” 8 3 The Making of a Scholar 19 4 Behind the Veil 34 5 “A Critical Time” 54 6 A Bitter Harvest 74 7 The Struggle for Peace 84 8 The Father of Africa 94 Appendix 103 Chronology 105 Further Reading 107 Index 108 About the Contributors 118 CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page vi Introduction Nearly 20 years ago Chelsea House Publishers began to publish the first volumes in the series called BLACK AMERICANS OF ACHIEVEMENT.This series eventually numbered over a hundred books and profiled outstanding African Americans from many walks oflife.Today,ifyou ask school teachers and school librarians what comes to mind when you mention Chelsea House,many will say—“Black Americans of Achievement.” The mix of individuals whose lives we covered was eclectic, to say the least. Some were well known—Muhammad Ali and Dr.Martin Luther King,Jr,for example.But others,such as Harriet Tubman and Sojourner Truth, were lesser-known figures who were introduced to modern readers through these books. The individuals profiled were chosen for their actions, their deeds,and ultimately their influence on the lives ofothers and their impact on our nation as a whole. By sharing these stories of unique Americans, we hoped to illustrate how ordinary individuals can be transformed by extraordinary circumstances to become people of greatness. We also hoped that these special stories would encourage young-adult readers to make their own contribution to a better world.Judging from the many wonderful letters we have received about the BLACK AMERICANS OF ACHIEVEMENT biographies over the years from students,librarians,and teachers,they have certainly fulfilled the goal of inspiring others! Now, some 20 years later, we are publishing 18 volumes of the original BLACKAMERICANSOFACHIEVEMENTseries in revised editions to bring the books into the twenty-first century and vi CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page vii INTRODUCTION vii make them available to a new generation ofyoung-adult readers.The selection was based on the importance of these figures to American life and the popularity of the original books with our readers.These revised editions have a new full-color design and,wherever possible, we have added color photographs. The books have new features, including quotes from the writings and speeches of leaders and interesting and unusual facts about their lives. The concluding section of each book gives new emphasis to the legacy of these men and women for the current generation of readers. The lives of these African-American leaders are unique and remarkable.By transcending the barriers that racism placed in their paths, they are examples of the power and resiliency of the human spirit and are an inspiration to readers. We present these wonderful books to our audience for their reading pleasure. Lee M.Marcott Chelsea House Publishers August 2004 CH.BAA.WEB.aFM.Final.q 7/21/04 1:04 PM Page viii CH.BAA.WEB.C01.Final.q 7/21/04 1:08 PM Page 1 1 “To Be a Leader of My People” W.E.B. Du Bois was eager to return home. After spending the past two years overseas, studying on a fellowship at Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin, Germany, he was ready to go back to the United States and put his education to work. In Berlin, where he had mixed freely with whites and had been treated as their equal, the black scholar had written in his diary that his chief aim was “to make a name for myself in science and literature and to be a leader of my people.” Now, at the age of 26, the time to realize his goals had arrived. Du Bois stepped onto the main deck of the SS Chester just as it began to veer into New York harbor. He was fairly bored after nine monotonous days at sea and decided to study the passengers who shared his steerage accommoda- tions.Russians,Greeks,Austrians,Germans,Poles—they were an impressive sight. 1