State Historical Society of Iowa

W.E.B. Du Bois: A Recorded Autobiography, 1961

    Embedded Resource

Courtesy of Library of Congress, Du Bois, W.E.B., "W.E.B. DuBois: A Recorded Autobiography, Interview with Moses Asch," 1961

Description

The pioneer civil rights leader, scholar and author W. E. B. Du Bois recorded an autobiographical interview for Folkways Records in 1961. In this excerpt, Du Bois related the experience that turned him into an activist, his criticism of Booker T. Washington and the beginning of his association with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), for which he was a founding member.

Transcript of W.E.B. De Bois: A Recorded Autobiography

Source-Dependent Questions

  • How did W.E.B. DuBois' approach to resisting racism and discrimination differ from that of Booker T. Washington's? Also, use evidence from this recording to characterize DuBois' approach.
  • How would Washington have responded to the criticism of DuBois?
  • If you were an African American at the turn of the 20th century, whose leadership, Washington's or DuBois', would you have found most appealing? Why?

Citation Information 

Du Bois, W.E.B., "W.E.B. Du Bois: A Recorded Autobiography, Interview with Moses Asch," 1961. Courtesy of Library of Congress