Home / Authors / W. E. B. Du Bois

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.

Filter quotes by topic

All Men World Black Humans Race Ifs People White Believe Soul America Social Justice Color Culture I Believe Justice Knows Years Black History Doe

Famous W. E. B. Du Bois Quotes

“I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls.”

Men Believe Soul I Believe Space Liberty Arms I Believe In

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

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

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity.”

World Looks Soul Self Eye Consciousness Pity Sensations Contempt Peculiar Tape Self Pity Amused Measuring Through The Eyes Scotch Tape

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois

“One ever feels his twoness - an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder.”

Feels Two Soul Body Dark Ideals Social Justice Strive Folks African American Torn Black History Black History Month Black History Month Inspirational Two Souls African American Love Black Consciousness

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois

“But art is not simply works of art; it is the spirit that knows Beauty, that has music in its soul and the color of sunsets in its headkerchiefs; that can dance on a flaming world and make the world dance, too.”

Knows World Art Soul Spirit Color Art Is Sunset Works Of Art

Book:Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept

Source: Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept

“Honest and earnest criticism from those whose interests are most nearly touched,- criticism of writers by readers, of government by those governed, of leaders by those led, - this is the soul of democracy and the safeguard of modern society”

Soul Government Interest Leader Democracy Modern Honest Reader Criticism Touched Earnest Modern Society

Book:The Souls of Black Folk: The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois

Source: The Souls of Black Folk: The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois

“But we do not merely protest; we make renewed demand for freedom in that vast kingdom of the human spirit where freedom has ever had the right to dwell:the expressing of thought to unstuffed ears; the dreaming of dreams by untwisted souls.”

Humans Soul Dream Spirit Demand Ears Kingdoms Protest Human Spirit

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois

“There is in this world no such force as the force of a person determined to rise. The human soul cannot be permanently chained.”

World Humans Persons Soul Success Force Peace Freedom This World Determination Determined African American Human Soul Chained Human Freedom Freedom And Peace Soul Force

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois

“I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls; the right to breathe and the right to vote, the freedom to choose their friends, enjoy the sunshine, and ride on the railroads, uncursed by color; thinking, dreaming, working as they will in a kingdom of beauty and love.”

Source: Darkwater: The Givens Collection

“It is the trained, living human soul, cultivated and strengthened by long study and thought, that breathes the real breath of life into boys and girls and makes them human, whether they be black or white, Greek, Russian or American.”

Humans Long Real Soul Girl Black White Boys Study Breaths Breathe Greek Human Soul Boy And Girl Black Or White

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

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

“Out of the temptation of Hate, and burned by the fire of Despair, triumphant over Doubt, and steeled by Sacrifice against Humiliation, . . . He bent to all the gibes and prejudices, to all hatred and discrimination with that rare courtesy which is the armor of pure souls. . . . he simply worked, inspiring the young, rebuking the old, helping the weak, guiding the strong.”

Source: The Souls of Black Folk: The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois

“I believe that all men, black and brown, and white, are brothers, varying, through Time and Opportunity, in form and gift and feature, but differing in no essential particular, and alike in soul and in the possibility of infinite development.”

Men Believe Soul Form Opportunity I Believe Black White Possibility Particular Brother Development Essentials Infinite Features Brown Rough Times

Book:Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil

Source: Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil

“We shall never secure emancipation from the tyranny of the white oppressor until we have achieved it in our own souls.”

Soul White Tyranny Oppression Secure Emancipation Oppressors

Author:W. E. B. Du Bois