W.E.B. Du Bois

Civil rights pioneer who redefined racial equality through scholarly activism

W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) shattered academic norms as the first African American to earn a Harvard Ph.D., authoring groundbreaking works like The Souls of Black Folk (1903). His concept of 'double consciousness' became foundational in sociology, challenging white supremacist ideologies through empirical research in The Philadelphia Negro (1899).

As NAACP co-founder and editor of The Crisis magazine, Du Bois launched the Niagara Movement demanding full civil rights. His 1900 Paris Exposition data visualizations exposed global racism using innovative infographics - a radical act decades before data science emerged.

Du Bois' Pan-African Congresses (1919-1945) laid groundwork for decolonization movements. Even in his 90s, he relocated to Ghana to work on the Encyclopedia Africana, embodying lifelong commitment to racial justice until his death in 1963.