W. E. B. Du Bois

Sociology American 1868 – 1963 98 quotes

A prominent sociologist, civil rights activist, and co-founder of the NAACP, known for his concept of 'double consciousness' and studies of race in America.

Quotes by W. E. B. Du Bois

The Talented Tenth rises and pulls all that are worth the saving up to their vantage ground.

Essay 1903

Lord of the rainbow, Lord of the sun, Lord of the sky and the sea, Born of eternity, guide Thou my way.

Poem 1928

There is but one American problem: the problem of the color line.

Book 1903

The power of the ballot we need in sheer self-defence.

Book 1903

I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not.

Essay 1920

The life of the Negro in America is a paradox.

Book 1903

The unexamined life is not worth living.

Letter

Peace is the fortunate result of a wise and just policy.

Speech 1919

The future of the Negro race depends upon the education of the Negro.

Book 1899

I am resolved to make my mark.

Autobiography 1883

The world must be made safe for democracy.

Speech 1917

Daily the Negro is coming more and more to look upon law and justice, not as protecting shields, but as sources of humiliation and subjection.

Essay 1901

We will not be satisfied to take one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights.

Speech 1909

The problem of education, then, among Negroes must first of all deal with the Talented Tenth.

Essay 1903

I believe in God who made of one blood all races that on earth do dwell.

Speech 1940

The discovery of personal whiteness among the world's colors feels like a new vesture of purity.

Book 1920

A system that seeks to make the Negro lose hope in the power of the ballot is as much a fortress of tyranny as any medieval castle.

Essay 1915

The soul of the twentieth century is the soul of the Negro.

Book 1903

We have striven for nearly half a century to come near to you.

Book 1903

The right to vote is the gateway to all other rights.

Speech 1918