W. E. B. Du Bois: Civil Rights Activist

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William Edward Burghardt “W. E. B.” Du Bois (1868-1963) was a Civil Rights activist, an African-American sociologist, Pan-Africanist, author, historian and editor. He was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Du Bois went to Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate. Du Bois rose to national prominence as the leader of the Niagara Movement, a group of African-American activists who wanted equal rights for blacks and opposed Booker T. Washington’s Atlanta compromise. Du Bois insisted on full civil rights as well as an increase in political representation, brought about by the African-American intellectual elite. Du Bois held that African-Americans need the chance for

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