1st Edition

W. E. B. Du Bois Black Radical Democrat

By Manning Marable Copyright 2005
    332 Pages
    by Routledge

    324 Pages
    by Routledge

    'Marable's biography of Du Bois is the best so far available.' Dr. Herbert Aptheker, Editor, The Correspondence of W.E.B. Du Bois 'Marable's excellent study focuses on the social thought of a major black American thinker who exhibited a 'basic coherence and unity' throughout a multifaceted career stressing cultural pluralism, opposition to social inequality, and black pride.' Library Journal Distinguished historian and social activist Manning Marable's book, W. E. B. Du Bois: Black Radical Democrat, brings out the interconnections, unity, and consistency of W. E. B. Du Bois's life and writings. Marable covers Du Bois's disputes with Booker T. Washington, his founding of the NAACP, his work as a social scientist, his life as a popular figure, and his involvement in politics, placing them into the context of Du Bois's views on black pride, equality, and cultural diversity. Marable stresses that, as a radical democrat, Du Bois viewed the problems of racism as intimately connected with capitalism. The publication of this updated edition follows more than one hundred celebrations recently marking the 100th anniversary of Du Bois's The Souls of Black Folk. Marable broadens earlier biographies with a new introduction highlighting Du Bois's less-known advocacy of women's suffrage, socialism, and peace and he traces his legacy to today in an era of changing racial and social conditions.

    Introduction; 1 A Great Ambition; 2 The Ivory Tower of Race; 3 Tuskegee and the Niagara Movement: From Scholar to Activist; 4 The Crisis and the NAACP: Social Reform in the Progressive Era; 5 Pan-Africanism, Socialism, and Garveyism; 6 The New Negro; 7 The Great Depression and World War; 8 The Politics of Peace; 9 Stern Prophet, Flaming Angel; Chronology; Notes and References; Selected Bibliography; Index; About the Author.

    Biography

    Manning Marable

    PRAISE FOR THE FIRST EDITION

    Marable's excellent study focuses on the social thought of a major black American thinker who exhibited a "basic coherence and unity" throughout a multifaceted career stressing cultural pluralism, opposition to social inequality, and black pride. Marable characterizes DuBois -- a critic of Booker T. Washington and a founder of the NAACP -- as a social scientist drawn "reluctantly" to politics, which was "inseparable in his mind from moral imperatives." A valuable and useful study recommended for academic and public libraries.
    Library Journal

    Marable's biography of Du Bois is the best so far available. It covers, succinctly, Du Bois's extraordinary life; in doing so, the volume makes a significant contribution to the history of modern civilization.
    Dr. Herber Aptheker, Editor, The Correspondence of W. E. B. Du Bois

    A provocative and insightful introduction to Du Bois
    Dr. Mary Frances Berry, Professor of History and Law, Howard University