W.E.B. Du Bois Commemorative Stamp

On Jan. 31, 1992, a 29-cent stamp was released honoring educator, author, and civil right pioneer W.E.B. Du Bois. The stamp was the 15th in the Postal Service's annual Black Heritage Series. First day of issue ceremonies were held at Clark Atlanta University because Du Bois spent nearly a quarter century teaching at Atlanta University.

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born in Great Barrington, Mass. on Feb. 23, 1868. He earned a bachelors degree at Fisk University (1888) before entering Harvard where he earned a bachelors (1890), masters (1891), and doctorate (1895). Du Bois then studied in Berlin before teaching at Wilberforce College and then Atlanta University, where he served as a professor of economics and history (1897-1910).

In 1905, Du Bois helped organize the Niagara Movement, and four years later was co-founder of the NAACP. Between 1910 and 1934, Du Bois edited the NAACP's journal, The Crisis, and served as the organization's director of publicity and research. He also wrote such books as The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study (1899), Atlanta University Studies (1897), Souls of Black Folk (1903), and Black Reconstruction (1935). In 1934, Du Bois resigned from the NAACP and returned to Atlanta University where he served as head of the department of sociology until 1944.

Although Du Bois was a major leader in the early civil rights movement in America, ultimately he became disillusioned with prospects for equality of blacks. In his later years, he embraced socialism, and in 1961 joined the Community Party U.S.A. That same year, he and his wife moved to Ghana, where he became a citizen of that county. At age 95, Du Bois died in Ghana on Aug. 27, 1963.

For more on the life of W.E.B. Du Bois, click here.

(c) Carl Vinson Institute of Government, The University of Georgia

Go to Georgia on Stamps page

Go to GeorgiaInfo Home