ipl-logo

How Did Du Dubois Impact On The Philadelphia Negro

1549 Words7 Pages

Du Bois was born in 1868 and died at the age of 95 in 1963, and throughout his life, he wrote thousands of essays and published over twenty books, including The Philadelphia Negro in 1899, and The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 (Du Bois and Zuckerman (ed.), 2004). This essay will focus on The Philadelphia Negro, where Du Bois shares his findings on how black people in Philadelphia were living at the time. Bobo, an American sociologist, wrote the introduction for the 2007 edition of The Philadelphia Negro, and he states that Du Bois focused on several factors which affected the lives of black people, including their history of enslavement, racial discrimination, such as in education, and their economic circumstances, which he claims that Du Bois …show more content…

Du Bois (2007) found that in the Seventh Ward in Philadelphia, only 2% of black men over 21 were in learned professions, such as teaching, while 45% were servants, and for women over 21, 37% were domestic servants and 27% were housewives and day labourers. In addition, black people were far more likely to lose their jobs through no fault of their own, and they would generally be paid lower wages (Du Bois, 2007). Black people also struggled with finding work as they often had few skills due to their history of enslavement, as well as the fact that there was more competition from an increasing number of immigrants (Du Bois, 2007). The problems that black Philadelphians faced with employment then caused serious poverty, with crime and pauperism of black people seeming to exceed that of white people, which was expected due to most black people being from a lower social class (Du Bois, 2007). This shows how the fact that most black Philadelphians could not find well paid, skilled work caused poverty which then led to further issues in their lives, including poor housing and poor health, illustrating how economic factors did have a significant impact on the lives of black

Show More
Related
1591 Words | 7 Pages

African-American historian W.E.B Dubois illustrated how the Civil War brought the problems of African-American experiences into the spotlight. As a socialist, he argued against the traditional Dunning interpretations and voiced opinions about the failures and benefits of the Civil War era, which he branded as a ‘splendid failure’. The impacts of Civil War era enabled African-Americans to “form their own fraternal organizations, worship in their own churches and embrace the notion of an activist government that promoted and safeguarded the welfare of its citizens.”

Read More
944 Words | 4 Pages

In the analysis of the abundance of wonderful leaders who made a difference in the African American community since emancipation, W.E.B Du Bois made a special impact to advance the world. From founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to his influential book The Souls of Black Folk, he always found an accurate yet abstract way of verbalizing the strives of African Americans as well as making platforms for them to be known. Although he had less power than most of the bigger named African American leaders of his time, W.E.B Dubois’ overweighing strengths verses weaknesses, accurate and creative analogies, leadership style, and the successful foundations he stood for demonstrates his ability to be both realistic and accurate in his assessment since emancipation. Though Du Bois did have a beneficial impact

Read More
807 Words | 4 Pages

Dr. W.E.B Du Bois uses this essay to sway the audience of the insufficiency of the statements that Mr. Booker T. Washington has made about African Americans being submissive of rights and the creation of wealth. Mr. Washington believes that the black race should give up and give into what the society norms were at that time sequentially just to have a certain right. Dr. Du Bois refused to believe that the black race should give up one right to get another right. Especially, when the white South had all rights without expecting to give up anything to have those rights.

Read More
871 Words | 4 Pages

DuBois’s first post-dissertation book, The Philadelphia Negro, released in 1899, determined that housing and employment discrimination were the principal barriers to racial equality and black prosperity in the urban North. (blackpast.org/aah/dubois-william-edward-burghardt-1868-1963) In his written book, The Souls of Black Folks, released in 1903, he argued for "manly" and "ceaseless agitation and insistent demand for equality” which demanded a education of equality for blacks that’s not inferior to whites. (W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP, Virginia Historical Society) Du Bois promoted the idea of self improvement, without giving up full citizenship rights, which impacted the general well being of African American and visualized the idea of having an exclusive group of all black, educated leaders called “The

Read More
608 Words | 3 Pages

DuBois was a scholar, author and historian and although he preferred a traditional approach academic education over vocational education and training, he was an important figure in the field of education and vocational and technical education. DuBois devoted his career to education and the plight of African Americans and worked to make changes in how African Americans were educated. One of his early pieces of work was the Philadelphia Negro: A Case Study, which was published in 1899; this was one of the first case studies of that time of a black community. DuBois had other pieces of work which included: The Negro Problem (New York, 1903), The Negro (1915), The Souls of Black Folk (1930), and Black Reconstruction in America (1935).

Read More
491 Words | 2 Pages

He became an author by, Du Bois published his landmark study the first case study of an African-American community. The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899), marking the beginning of his expansive writing

Read More
1681 Words | 7 Pages

The works that both sociologists have contributed are necessary to fully understand all spectrums of the field because they both relate to the same thing, how society functions and with that we can compare the writings of each, showing that although there may be some similarities, there will also have their differences, but that is what makes each have their own form of significance. When looking at the works of Du Bois, we see that one of the main points he likes to bring to light is the troublesome feeling African American’s felt, emphasizing the fact that Anglos only saw Negros as a problem and nothing more. “No matter how well trained a Negro may be, or how fitted for work of any kind, he cannot in the ordinary course of competition hope to be much

Read More
280 Words | 2 Pages

W.E.B. Du Bois, also known as William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born February 23rd, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He referred to himself as a mulatto because he grew up in mostly European American Town. William attended school with whites and he teachers supported his academic studied. After school he attended Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee and that’s when he first analyzed racism within Americans. Once he received his first degree he went on to Harvard University to get his Master Degree and was selected to study abroad program at University of Berlin.

Read More
838 Words | 4 Pages

Du Bois described them as hopeless, voiceless, humiliated, disrespected, and ridicule and how society was too focused on politics and wealth. “Would America go poor if white people acknowledge black folk are human beings like any other?”

Read More
683 Words | 3 Pages

The novel, The Souls of Black Folk, written by W.E.B. Du Bois, illustrates the racial discrimination that was present amongst the whites and the African Americans following the Civil War. The readers follow Du Bois and the African Americans through their daily hardships of being people of color. Being a man of color himself, Du Bois, struggles existing amongst the two worlds; the world of white superiority and the world of cohesion as African Americans. Du Bois’ availability to these two worlds is known as “double-consciousness”, where he sees two sides of an idea. This ability can be both a blessing and a curse, and according to Du Bois he agrees, “He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face” (Du Bois 3).

Read More
1311 Words | 6 Pages

On top of this, he argues that the white middle class are unrelenting with their methods of depriving black advancement in American society. Knowledge of this incites many blacks to occupy dead-end jobs, or to settle for mediocrity in the face of adversity. A large number of black males in America find themselves forced to take jobs that offer no security, or socioeconomic growth. He also contends that many blacks are not very literate and therefore left behind in cultural revolutions like the information age. For twelve months between 1962 and 1963, Liebow and a group of researchers studied the behavior of a group of young black men who lived near and frequently hung around a street corner in a poor black neighborhood in downtown Washington, D.C. Liebow’s participant observation revealed the numerous obstacles facing black men on a day-to-day basis, including the structural and individual levels of racial discrimination propagated by whites in society.

Read More
1236 Words | 5 Pages

More job opportunities began to open up therefore, there was an increased need for skilled workers. Companies thought it was a great idea to hire African Americans who would be more than willing to work, grant them a smaller pay and have their business continue to thrive in the prosperous decade. The white leaders of the industry often took advantage of policies to ensure that African Americans would be confined to the least desirable jobs with the lowest wages (Phillips 33). Within the jobs, workers would also be faced with discrimination. The African Americans would receive death threats in their place of work almost daily and were made to feel as if they were only there to benefit the economy (Phillips 39) For many years in American History, African Americans only received training to be skilled workers, as it didn 't seem necessary for them to receive any further education (Blanton 1).

Read More
654 Words | 3 Pages

The book exposed the material causes of racism at that time and explained the effects that racism has on black identity. He wanted to show his readers the ‘strange meaning of being black’. He believed, at the dawn of the twentieth century, that the laws and the society that had prevented blacks from achieving equality in a post-slavery era would continue to pose a problem for black identity. He argued that, as a result of this, blacks and whites in the United States were separated by a ‘color line’. Du Bois’ book pioneered a related concept.

Read More
1377 Words | 6 Pages

Instead, most black adults that live in Philadelphia moved there from other places, the majority of them from the South. However, 83% of kids who lived in Philadelphia were born there. The purpose of this document is to show that blacks are moving into major cities, like Philly, to start their families in an effort to build a better life for themselves, disproving the misconception that blacks have lived in Philadelphia for a long time and were not moving throughout the US. White farmers who moved West also had a significant impact on the US due to numerous economic issues and policies.

Read More
926 Words | 4 Pages

He commented that there are several interrelated factors from which this Underclass emerged. Firstly, discrimination and white fear of blacks concentrated this group within the cities. Secondly, within these cities there was a change from manufacturing to service provision. This meant that especially for young men, who often did not have many skills, only lower paid jobs were available (Anderson and Taylor, 2008), but it meant for educated black people they had more opportunities. Lastly, after the Civil Rights Movement, many Working and Middle-class blacks moved to the suburbs in the hope of finding jobs, therefore leaving the poorer blacks concentrated in the cities.

Read More

More about How Did Du Dubois Impact On The Philadelphia Negro

Related Topics

Open Document