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W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois Quotes

Historian

W. E. B. Du Bois was an influential American historian, sociologist, civil rights activist, and writer. Born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois is renowned for his advocacy for the rights of African Americans. He co-founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and was a prominent figure in the civil rights movement. His seminal work, 'The Souls of Black Folk,' remains a foundational text in African American literature and thought.

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Famous W. E. B. Du Bois Quotes

“Most men today cannot conceive of a freedom that does not involve somebody's slavery.”

Men Doe Today Slavery

Book:Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil

Source: Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil

“To the real question, How does it feel to be a problem? I answer seldom a word.”

Feels Doe Real Problem Answers Social Justice Real Questions

Book:The Problem of the Color Line at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: The Essential Early Essays

Source: The Problem of the Color Line at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: The Essential Early Essays

“A man does not look behind the door unless he has stood there himself”

Men Looks Doe Behinds Marriage Doors Wedding Anniversary

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois

“The return from your work must be the satisfaction which that work brings you and the world's need of that work. With this, life is heaven, or as near heaven as you can get. Without this - with work which you despise, which bores you, and which the world does not need - this life is hell.”

World Life Needs Doe Life Is Heaven Work Hell Return Satisfaction This Life Despise Bores Bores You

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois

“One is astonished in the study of history at the recurrence of the idea that evil must be forgotten, distorted, skimmed over. We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was a slave owner . . . and simply remember the things we regard as creditable and inspiring. The difficulty, of course, with this philosophy is that history loses its value as an incentive and example; it paints perfect man and noble nations, but it does not tell the truth.”

“When in this world a man comes forward with a thought, a deed, a vision, we ask not how does he look, but what is his message?. . . The world still wants to ask that a woman primarily be pretty. . . .”

Men World Want Looks Doe Stills Asks Vision This World Messages Deeds

Book:W. E. B. Du Bois: Selections from His Writings

Source: W. E. B. Du Bois: Selections from His Writings

“Between me and the other world there is ever an unasked question: unasked by some through feelings of delicacy; by others through the difficulty of rightly framing it. All, nevertheless, flutter round it. How does it feel to be a problem?”

World Feels Children Doe Feelings Problem Body Difficulty Our Children Assuming Rounds Criminals Violent Your Children Nevertheless Other Worlds Delicacy Framing

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois