William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, America's greatest social scientist, Black or White, was born in Great Barrington, MA one hundred fifty years ago. Du Bois was a towering figure in the intellectual life of this country, and a seminal figure in the struggle for the full liberation of the descendants of America's slave population. One of my proudest boasts is that for the last sixteen years of my half century long teaching career, I served in a department that bears his name. I would like to think that I did not dishonor the name.
In 1935, Du Bois published Black Reconstruction in America, an extraordinary work whose central thesis was finally incorporated into the established White historiographical academic world half a century later. Du Bois was the first Black scholar to earn a doctorate at Harvard, and as part of his studies, he actually traveled to German to see Max Weber.
Du Bois played a central role in the founding of the NAACP, and late in his almost century long life was an important figure in the post-colonial liberation of African nations.
My UMass colleague, John H. Bracey, tells this story about Du Bois as an illustration of his importance in the Black community. Back in the day when trains were segregated and the staff of train porters was entirely Black, Du Bois was on a trip, staying in his compartment in the evening because he would have been banned from the dining car. There was a knock on the compartment door, and a porter appeared, carrying a tray. He laid out linens and silver and proceeded to serve Du Bois a full dinner. When Du Bois tried to pay him, the porter demurred, saying, "Never let it be said that Dr. Du Bois rode on my train and was not served dinner."
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It's the the benefit of Penn that they hired Du Bois, right at the end of the 19th Century, to do the work that became _The Philadelphia Negro_. It's to Penn's shame that they didn't give him a permanent position after that, and Du Bois left for Atlanta. The work is really pioneering - the type of work that would become standard in lots of sociology and that wasn't really done before he did it. Perhaps if he'd had the chance to stay at Penn, he'd be more widely recognized as one of the founders of modern sociology.
Did Du Bois influence contemporary works in urban sociology such as Code of the Streets, which was done by a Penn Sociologist
Few Americans, certainly white Americans, and I imagine many black Americans, know much about W.E.B. Dubois and his accomplishments, other than his name. I would think it is about time that a black movie producer and director made a movie about him to acquaint the American public w/ his formidable achievements. (My suggesting that it be a black movie producer/director is not patronizing; although there are certainly many white producers and directors who are somewhat familiar w/ his life, a movie by a black producer/director would insure that it was made w/ the passion and dedication that the story deserves, and would be more likely to find a receptive audience in the black community.) Movies about Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, Thurgood Marshall, Mohammed Ali, Hurricane Carter, Jackie Robinson and Billy Holiday have already been made. Surely, Dubois deserves the same recognition. And although his life was not as exciting as that of a boxer, singer, or baseball player, from what I have read, in addition to his academic achievements, he led a very interesting and inspiring life. He was also a fascinating individual on a personal level. He always demanded that he be addressed as Dr. Dubois, dressed nattily, and spoke critically about American churches. A scene recreating the exchange w/ the black porter would be very moving. While there is the risk that a Hollywood production would distort and oversimplify his life, a dedicated black producer/director is more likely to insure that this did not occur. Although it would not be a big blockbuster hit at the box office – it would not be likely to knock the next Spider Man or Transformer movie out of the No. 1 spot – I believe there would be an audience out there that would insure the movie made a profit. Particularly in this time of Trump, and being the sesquicentennial of his birth, is this not the appropriate time to pay tribute to him? (It is also about time that a movie was made rehabilitating Paul Robeson’s legacy.)
I think I may have reported here before that Great Barrington is going through a controversial attempt to erect a statue in DuBois’s honor. It is led by Danny Klein (of your 1960 tutorial) and his wife Freke. The opponents are Korean War veterans, who say they fought the Communists in Korea and DuBois was a commie. (He joined the party in his 90s.). So far the good guys seem to be winning. The library is considering it, and a private landowner downtown has volunteered to be backup.
I think I may have reported here before that Great Barrington is going through a controversial attempt to erect a statue in DuBois’s honor. It is led by Danny Klein (of your 1960 tutorial) and his wife Freke. The opponents are Korean War veterans, who say they fought the Communists in Korea and DuBois was a commie. (He joined the party in his 90s.). So far the good guys seem to be winning. The library is considering it, and a private landowner downtown has volunteered to be backup.
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