Du Bois on Education

A collection of all of Du Bois’s major writings on education. Together these selections demonstrate Du Bois’s commitment to racial educational equality and his contributions to educational thought. Raised in poverty himself, Du Bois combined his public education with determination to become the first African-American to receive a PhD from Harvard. Yet he saw that education could be used to keep down as well as raise up. Arguing against Booker T. Washington and his accommodating Hampton model of education, Du Bois called for a more radical vision where a Talented Tenth of college-educated blacks would lead African Americans to their highest possibilities. Eugene F. Provenzo Jr gives the volume an introduction, briefly tracing Du Bois’s life as a student and teacher, and his fights for educational equality throughout his life. He has also given each of the 22 selections short introductions placing the pieces in their historical and critical contexts.