W.E.B. Du Bois: Philosopher and Advocate for Educational Equality - Essay Example

Introduction

Du Bois is an American historian and sociologist who was brought up in an integrated society. He has written many books and has risen to national prominence. He has developed various foundations, and through his writing, he has inspired many people in his life. Du Bois has led multiple movements such as the Niagara movement and the group of black people fighting for their rights. He has also opposed certain agreements such as the Atlanta Compromise and worked on aspects of political rule. He has provided people with educational and economic opportunities. Du Bois, in his many activities, has advocated for full civil rights and enhanced the aspect of political representation that has brought about the black people's intellectual elite. Du Bois valued education and believed that the African-American people needed training and advance their leadership traits. The paper evaluates the philosophical analysis of Du Bois and his emulation in the field of education.

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Background and Cultural Context

Du Bois was born in 1868 and died in 1963. He was an American a civil-rights activist and an editor. He was born in Massachusetts and graduated from the University of Berlin. He was the first American to receive a doctorate and was a professor of history and valued the aspect of education.

He became a founder of the NAACP in 1909, and before he had risen to national prominence and fought for the rights of black people (Alridge, 2018). He offered various considerable contributions to multiple fields of study, and his support provided a lot of help to many people. In Du Bois polemic’s, many aims were to end racism, and he fought this by ensuring that he protested against the lynching and discrimination of black people in the aspects of education.

In his philosophical analysis and life, he was focused on the aspect of color and the Africans and Asians. He assisted in fighting the independence of the African colonies from the European powers. He was brought up in a community that African-American people suffered and ought to have made changes. His grandfather was a slave who was taken by the Dutch colonists. He lived in places where there were slaves, and most of them included women and children.

Du Bois, however, found effective treatment in European society, and he attended the local integrated schools. He started writing about racism in the periods where he felt fatherless and regarded a minority in the community (Morris, 2019). While he was undertaking his studies, teachers realized that he had an ability, and they encouraged his intellectual pursuits.

Through the experiences he gained in his learning, it helped him develop knowledge that could empower black Americans. He joined the university and relied on help for his tuition fee through donations. He attended Harvard and got a sociology certificate and ventured into various jobs after receiving his Ph.D. He got a teaching task that created an effect of social change in his career.

He ventured into a research sector where they would identify aspects of crime, mortality, and poverty. He wrote a book that undermined the stereotypes through his empirical approach. Du Bois was organized and disciplined in his entire life and used to focus more on social interaction. He created close associations with his associates, and he has high levels of confidence and dignity.

He had two children with his wife, Nina Gomer, and always attended the congregational church (Alridge, 2018). He felt about religion as an abandoned religion and thought of himself as a freethinker. He was more concerned about his spirituality, and he often refused to lead in public prayers.

He stated that American churches enhanced discrimination, and he disparaged the African-American churches for the lack of support of race equality. Even though he was not very religious, his writings were based on religious symbology.

Philosophy Of Education

Through learning and gaining sufficient knowledge, Du Bois managed to get enough information that facilitated his writings. He valued the aspect of education and evaluated the need for African Americans to get an education. He played an influential role in the NAACP, which opposed racism and drew much support from the NAACP.

Du Bois was an influential thinker and activist who had a significant impact on education. His purpose was the influence in schools and was unwilling to accept the social situation that black Americans used to face. He was racially integrated through his schooling experience, and unlike most people, he was educated.

He became a leading African-American scholar and managed to fulfill various accomplishments. Du Bois ventured into teaching, and he became an admired instructor. He founded the NAACP and remained to be an influential group that advocated for the rights of black people (Bright, 2018). He published various works and led multiple firms in continuously fighting for their civil rights.

Du Bois was mostly recognized for opposing various leaders and went against the segregation of schools for both the white and the black people's inequality. Through his grandfather being a slave and undergoing different challenges, he felt motivated to create a social change.

He challenged the teachings of Booker Washington, the souls of the black folks, by stating that his teachings created a way for the white people to oppress the blacks, and they would not do a lot to earn their respect. He worked with Marcus Garvey despite disputing and having disagreements with his teaching. The purpose of working with him was to create strength that could liberate the hands of the European countries.

Du Bois was rejected and looked down upon by the white people and through his writings. It motivated him to work harder and enhance the need for education. Through his book, the black reconstruction in America, he believed that African Americans would be the central figures during the periods of the Civil War and the Reconstruction time. Through his Marxist teaching, he began to lack support for communism.

He changed the thinking of African Americans, and his purpose was to end segregation by creating equal opportunities for blacks (Bright, 2018). Through his teachings, he stated that black people needed a lot of education and that it would merely teach them the works that they were supposed to be informed.

In his teachings, he believed that black people needed equal opportunities in education. He stated that knowledge was a fundamental right for every individual and should not be related to any other purpose. He had the opposition on the Washington approach, which valued the aspect of essential need of mechanical skills. Du Bois believed that schools would create a liberal art of education develop black American leadership and ensure that they change the world. Education was evaluated to uplift the people, and it provide intelligence, and it is meant to teach life.

Du Bois critiqued various writers' teachings by campaigning the desegregation of schools. He established the need for a non-violent integration of the black people into the public schools. In the nature of the learner, he stated that people needed it in their lives, and education was an essential ingredient in learning. He advocated for universal education and non-violence among people by saying that people were equal before the sight of God. Du Boi's impact on education has a significant effect on the integrated public school system.

The philosophical label that applies to Du Bois is social reconstructionism. Du Bois was concerned with addressing social issues and developing a better community by emphasizing the need for education and stopping the aspect of inequality and racism among African-American individuals. (Morris, 2019) He focused on the school system to highlight social reforms as the main purpose of education.

His contributions to the philosophical understating of issues of racism contributed to the revising reviews of the proper scope and philosophical inquiries. Du Bois stated that the social phenomenon contributed to the aspect of racism, and he subjectively linked the issue to a lack of adequate knowledge.

Theory to Practice

The contributions of Du Bois’s teachings and works have had an enormous impact on sciences such as history and sociology. The race theories he presented have been applied to various aspects of philosophy. Du Bois, through his experience, realized that black people were being mistreated and abused because of a lack of resources and knowledge. It was beyond their skin color, but the skills they portrayed and their lack of knowledge enhanced racism. As he started learning and doing research, he understood that black Americans needed education and were supposed to be integrated into the school system.

Through his implications and writings, black people began to acquire knowledge, and most of them were not taken as slaves but became independent. They began to realize the importance of education (Bright, 2018). He knew that learners would come to know the truth when they experienced the aspects of racism and viewed it differently from a learned perspective. Learning occurs due to the pain that people feel and the need for change. When people learn, they can solve various issues that affect them within their surroundings.

After emancipation, people continued to battle in the communities. Education was evaluated as an aspect of ending slavery and creating a pathway for freedom. Many schools have been established for aspects of ending slavery among the African-American people. Du Bois evaluated that racism was a significant destroyer of the democratic opportunity that provided reconstruction. He needed the uplift of American slavery.

Du Bois developed associations such as the NAACP, and through most of his writings, he influenced a lot of people. His initiatives had a significant impact during the colonial period. Through his measures, he advocated for aspects of equality and freedom (Morris, 2019). The decisions and support he initiated helped him gain support for democracy and justify his claims by explaining de-segregation. He encouraged people to find access to education in ending the aspect racism and improving knowledge.

Du Bois's hope was to end the anti-war between black and white people. His efforts were prevalent in the world war, and he gave out an address stating, ‘The dark world is on the move, and it wants freedom and autonomy’ (Morris, 2019). Through his speech, he advocated for the end of the war and enhancing peace. He traveled to various parts of the world in peace activism, and he found more warmth and respect in other states than in the US. Through this, he became concerned with ending racism and inequality.

Perspectives on Diversity

Du Bois evaluated how African-American people were being discriminated against and lacked opportunities for equality. His analysis of race is based on sociological principles. His ideas revolve around the need for diversity by identifying appropriate solutions to the problems of racism.

His readings changed the development of black literature and art and supported the readers in the reviews of race. Despite the integration of public schools, it became the most diverse aspect in the history of the US as it provided students with an opportunity to interact with other black American children.

The Agency and activism of the black community were recognized as aspects of change. Du Bois spoke about the need for equal rights, and beyond his scholarship, he ideologically opposed views of biological white superiority.