The Gift of Black Folk

A look at African Americans' contributions to the United States by the iconic leader whose life spanned from the Civil War to the civil rights movement. The first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard and a cofounder of the NAACP, W. E. B. Du Bois remains a towering figure in US history. In The Gift of Black Folk, he celebrates Black Americans' struggle for equality-a battle that would continue long after slavery was abolished-and in the ongoing pursuit of a more perfect union. As explorers, laborers, soldiers, artists, slaves, freedmen, and citizens, these individuals played an essential part in the unique conglomerate that is the United States, and their remarkable, often unsung history is conveyed in this classic work.

W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an American sociologist, civil rights activist, and author. A strong advocate of Pan-Africanism, he was the first black man to earn a doctorate from Harvard University and cofounded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). His best-known book, The Souls of Black Folk, is widely considered to be one of the most important works in African American literature.