W.E.B. Du bois

My 10-year-old daughter has been researching Black American History at school, and worked with her classmate to study the life and contributions of W.E.B. Du Bois. Her exploration is timely, since I am launching Museum Cat for the first time in honor of Black History Month.

She thought it would be great to add a little history about Du Bois here to bring awareness to his impact on Black History. I wholeheartedly agree, because Du Bois championed Black art as essential to culture, arguing that art was central to Black life and liberation, not decorative or secondary.

Du Bois believed:

• Black artists should tell their own stories

• Art could challenge racist stereotypes

• Beauty, creativity, and excellence were forms of resistance

Here’s what my daughter and her classmate wrote about Du Bois:

“W.E.B Du Bois was an early Civil Rights Leader in the U.S.A. His goal was to win equal rights for African Americans. W.E.B. stands for William Edward Burghardt.

W.E.B. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1863, and he died on August 27, 1963. He lived to be 100 years old.

W.E.B. Du Bois wrote a book called “The Souls of Black Folk.” Du Bois believed that White people would think more highly of Black people if they learned more about them.”

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