by Bill V. Mullen
Pluto Press (UK)
10/15/2016, paperback
SKU: 9780745335056
Born just five years after the abolition of slavery, W. E. B. Du Bois died the night before Martin Luther King delivered his "I Have a Dream" speech. In the many decades between, Du Bois contributed as much to the political and social advancement of African Americans as any other figure.
This book offers an accessible brief introduction to the life and times of Du Bois. It takes in his many achievements, such as being the first black man to earn a PhD from Harvard and co-founding the NAACP, and sets them alongside the seismic political changes of the twentieth century--many of which Du Bois weighed in on, including anti-imperialist and anti-colonial struggles across Asia and Africa. Bill V. Mullen reveals a Du Bois who was focused not just on the immediate question of African American rights, but also took up the question of socialism, the rise of communism, and the complicated interrelationship of capitalism, poverty, and racism.
The picture that emerges here is of a powerfully original thinker, fiercely engaged with the political, economic, and social questions of his day never letting up in his struggle to change the world for the better.
Reviews:
"Mullen's illuminating biography is essential for understanding the political, personal, and intellectual challenges Du Bois faced in his lifetime search for a black revolutionary praxis.'' --Mary Helen Washington, University of Maryland
"With Du Bois's Marxist leanings in mind, Mullen's strategy is to reinterpret much of what is already known. As biography, the book is very well written, informative, and insightful."--Choice
About the Author:
Bill V. Mullen is professor of English and American studies at Purdue University and the author of Popular Fronts: Chicago and African American Cultural Politics and Afro-Orientalism.