W. E. B. Du Bois’ Unexamined Struggle

In his new book, The Wounded World, historian Chad Williams presents a poignant biography of W. E. B. Du Bois in the second half of his life, and provides fresh understanding of arguably the most significant scholar-activist in African American history. Williams tells of a long-gestating but never-completed book project that W. E. B. Du Bois wrestled with for much of his life. As the U.S. entered the First World War, Du Bois called on Black Americans to support the country's war efforts, believing in the possibility of full citizenship and democratic change. But over two decades, as he worked to write the definitive history of the African American experience in WWI, Du Bois’ perspective radically changed. The Center for Brooklyn History joined Williams as he described this story of hope, betrayal, disillusionment, and transformation, in a conversation with historian Leah Wright Rigueur.
Recorded April 25, 2023.