Sociological Perspective of W.E.B. Du Bois: Conflict Thesis

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Sociological Perspective of W.E.B. Du Bois: Conflict Theory

William Edward Burghardt "W E.B." Du Bois (February 23, 1868 -- August 27, 1963) was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, author and editor. Born in western Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a tolerant community and experienced little racism as a child. Unlike Booker T. Washington, who believed that unskilled blacks should focus on economic self-betterment, and Marcus Garvey, who advocated a "back to Africa" movement, Du Bois demanded that African-Americans should achieve not only economic parity with whites in the United States but full and immediate civil and political equality as well. Also, he introduced the concept of the "talented tenth," a black elite whose duty it was to better the lives of less fortunate African-Americans (Zuberi, 2004). Hence, his sociological view derived from Karl Marx's Conflict Theory.

The life and work of W.E.B. Du Bois

The life and work of W.E.B. Du Bois are commemorated in two places on earth. One is in Accra, Ghana, where his life ended and where the Republic of Ghana has built an impressive burial site and research centre, and the other is in the town of his birth, Great Barrington, Massachusetts, where a group of citizens has purchased his childhood home in order to create a local memorial park (Paynter & Glassberg, 2010). Given his accomplishments, it is not surprising that land has been set aside to commemorate Du Bois's life. In 1895, he was the first African-American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard.

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From 1897 to 1910, Du Bois taught economics and history at Atlanta Univ. In 1910, he co-founded the National Advancement for Colored People (NAACP) and became editor of the influential NAACP magazine, Crisis, a position he held until 1934. That year, he resigned over the question of voluntary segregation, which he had come to favor over integration, and returned to Atlanta Univ. (1934 -- 44). His concern for the liberation of blacks throughout the world led him to organize the first (Paris, 1919) of several Pan-African Congresses (Zuberi, 2004). In 1945, at the Fifth Congress in Manchester, England, he met with the African leaders Kwame Nkrumah and Jomo Kenyatta. In the last two years of his life Du Bois lived in Ghana. His books include The Souls of Black Folks (1903), The Negro (1915), Black Reconstruction in America (1935), Color and Democracy (1945), The World and Africa (1947), and In Battle for Peace: The Story of My 83rd Birthday (1952) (Kivisto, 2004).

Sociological Perspective: Conflict Theory

Du Bois encountered much opposition because of his political beliefs and communism viewpoints. The conflict perspective focuses on the negative, conflicted, and ever-changing nature of society. Unlike functionalists who defend the status quo, avoid social change, and believe people cooperate to effect social order, conflict theorists challenge the status quo, encourage social change (even when this means social revolution), and believe rich and powerful people force social order on the poor and the weak. Today, conflict theorists find.....

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