How Did W. E. B. Dubois Impact On Education

The Industrial Revolution did not only change the way western society manufactured goods, but helped spark a change in the way society thought. Millions of individuals left their small farms and simple way of life to journey to the newly emerging cities where they would be crammed into small living spaces and be forced to work for extreme lengths of time. Through this economic revolution also emerged a revolution of western thought. In 1848, Karl Marx, a German philosopher, looked at what was happening to these individuals and released his pamphlet The Communist Manifesto. His work aimed to address the problems that were associated with the Industrial Revolution by utilizing an uprising of those oppressed by the system to “seize the means of

E. B. Du Bois was a man of education. He made history by receiving the first PhD from Harvard University as an African American. Knowledge was something that Du Bois held high importance to and cherished dearly. As a result, the creation of opportunities for education for African Americans was chiefly important to Du Bois. In “Immortal Child” from his book Darkwater: Voices From Within the Veil, Du Bois speaks on the opportunities given to black individuals in America when it comes to education. Du Bois argued that African Americans are not given the same educational opportunities as white Americans; therefore, the minds of young African Americans are not allowed to blossom. He contrasts this with Samuel Coolrige-Taylor, a person of color who was given education opportunities in Europe and became a world famous musician because he was given opportunities in a place that did not have as rigid color boundaries. Du Bois then comes to the conclusion that the root of this education disparagement belongs to wealth inequality; the rich white boys go to college, while the poor black boys go to work (Du Bois, 1920). Economic inequality was the most prominent factor in preventing African Americans from going to college, although not the only factor, as the overwhelming majority of African Americans belonged to the lower economic classes. Centuries of slavery and economic oppression prevented African Americans from “climbing the ladder” and “achieving the American dream.” This

E. B. Du Bois stood at the front lines advocating for better treatment and expansion of opportunities for African Americans in the United States. Through his efforts towards black liberation, Du Bois became fascinated by socialism and communism. He was so motivated by said movements that he joined the Communist Party of the United States. Communism provided what Du Bois valued most in his journey towards freedom. Du Bois found that the core of communism relied on defeating racism and discrimination which had plagued the United States for centuries until that point and still plague the country today. He wanted to eliminate the color barrier and open up opportunities for people of color. Communism eliminated the wage gap between black and white which Du Bois saw as one of the main reasons that African Americans were more uneducated than white Americans. By educating the masses, Du Bois thought that African Americans could excel in the world of knowledge, an opportunity not granted to them thus far. The ideology of communism caught the interest of Du Bois mainly because it forced everyone to start at the same starting line. It did not matter whether one was a specific identifier or not, everyone has the same opportunities as everyone