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Rating: 
Summary: A book for all humanity!
Review: Definitely read these speeches and writings by W.E.B. DuBois! They're exciting, eye-opening and inspiring, a call to struggle for the best we can make of humanity. For much of the 20th century, W.E.B. DuBois was a leading figure in the fight against segregation, lynchings, race prejudice and oppression in the United States. He campaigned against the pervasive stereotypes of Afro-Americans, publicizing their accomplishments, abilities and stature as human beings. He challenged AFL unions and the Socialist party to reject the racist practices of the day and to united Black and white workers in a common struggle. He was outspoken opponent of colonial oppression and imperialist war and of the McCarthy witch hunt in the United States in the 1950s. There 36 articles and speeches cover a fascinating range of topics: from the Marcus Garvey movement in the 1920s to the debates on education and the role of Afro-Americans in the post-Civil War period, from the fight against lynching to the anti-colonial freedom struggles of the 1950s and 1960s. One of my favorites is his 1929 speech at the Chicago Forum where he debated a prominent racist, and white-supremecist, Lothrop Stoddard. DuBois fiercely attacks the myths of race supremacy, arguing that whether "Nordic, Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese or Negro... the proofs of essential human equality of gift are overwhelming." He exposes the economic interests behind race oppression and champions "the black and brown and yellow men [who] demand the right to be men." Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: A book for all humanity!
Review: Definitely read these speeches and writings by W.E.B. DuBois! They're exciting, eye-opening and inspiring, a call to struggle for the best we can make of humanity. For much of the 20th century, W.E.B. DuBois was a leading figure in the fight against segregation, lynchings, race prejudice and oppression in the United States. He campaigned against the pervasive stereotypes of Afro-Americans, publicizing their accomplishments, abilities and stature as human beings. He challenged AFL unions and the Socialist party to reject the racist practices of the day and to united Black and white workers in a common struggle. He was outspoken opponent of colonial oppression and imperialist war and of the McCarthy witch hunt in the United States in the 1950s. There 36 articles and speeches cover a fascinating range of topics: from the Marcus Garvey movement in the 1920s to the debates on education and the role of Afro-Americans in the post-Civil War period, from the fight against lynching to the anti-colonial freedom struggles of the 1950s and 1960s. One of my favorites is his 1929 speech at the Chicago Forum where he debated a prominent racist, and white-supremecist, Lothrop Stoddard. DuBois fiercely attacks the myths of race supremacy, arguing that whether "Nordic, Mediterranean, Indian, Chinese or Negro... the proofs of essential human equality of gift are overwhelming." He exposes the economic interests behind race oppression and champions "the black and brown and yellow men [who] demand the right to be men." Don't miss this one!
Rating:
Summary: Encyclopedia of Struggle
Review: Reader's Comment: DuBois Speaks, by W.E.B. DuBois Encyclopedia of Struggle
These articles and speeches constitute an encyclopedia of the U.S. Black liberation struggle, and to a lesser degree, the freedom struggle in Africa, especially when combined with his first volume covering 1890 - 1919.
Dubois was a leader of the Black struggle from the late 1800s through much of the 1900s. A founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and editor of its magazine from 1910 until 1934, he also organized the Pan African Conference in the 1920s. He was a fighter against U.S. government imperialist wars and during the cold war he was outspoken against McCarthyite witch-hunts.
Born in 1868, he witnessed and experienced the results of the defeat of Radical Reconstruction following the U.S. Civil War. He witnessed the rise of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and 60s and, having renounced his U.S. Citizenship, he died in Ghana in 1963.
Rating:
Summary: The sharpness of a great mind directed against racism
Review: What struck me with these articles and speeches--after mainly knowing Dubois from his larger works--is the rigorousness of his mind, and his great literary gifts. Some of the writing is thrilling just as writing. Also quite interesting are his analyses of Garvey and his attempt to look back at his debates with Booker T. Washington particularly on industrial versus academic education. Dubois was never a Marxist, although toward the end of his life he confused his own progressivist liberal politics with the similarly proliberal policies of the American Communist party and Maoist China. However, it is very clear that long before this confusion, Dubois understood that American racism was rooted in the world-wide pattern of imperialist domination of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Dubois' ideas and speeches are needed to complete understanding of racism and imperialism.
Rating:
Summary: The sharpness of a great mind directed against racism
Review: What struck me with these articles and speeches--after mainly knowing Dubois from his larger works--is the rigorousness of his mind, and his great literary gifts. Some of the writing is thrilling just as writing. Also quite interesting are his analyses of Garvey and his attempt to look back at his debates with Booker T. Washington particularly on industrial versus academic education. Dubois was never a Marxist, although toward the end of his life he confused his own progressivist liberal politics with the similarly proliberal policies of the American Communist party and Maoist China. However, it is very clear that long before this confusion, Dubois understood that American racism was rooted in the world-wide pattern of imperialist domination of Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Dubois' ideas and speeches are needed to complete understanding of racism and imperialism.
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