Literary Landmark: W.E.B. DuBois - Robert W. Woodruff Library, Clark Atlanta University
Atlanta, Ga
Dedicated: 1991
The Robert W. Woodruff Library and Atlanta University Center was designated a Literary Landmark in 1991 in honor of W.E.B. DuBois. DuBois served on the faculty of Atlanta University from 1897 to 1910 and from 1932 to 1944.
W.E.B. DuBois was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. After graduating from high school, he was accepted to Fisk College in Tennessee. This time spent in the south gave DuBois a wider understanding of racial discrimination. DuBois went on to receive a bachelor’s degree from Harvard, however, he was so deeply affected by the things he witnessed in the south that he dedicated his life to studying social behaviors and encouraging social reform. He is considered by many to be the father of social science.
During his time at Atlanta University, DuBois helped found the NAACP and wrote two of his most famous books: Black Reconstruction and Dusk of Dawn.
DuBois died on August 27th, 1963 in Africa on the eve of the March on Washington.
Resources:
Atlanta University Center, Robert W. Woodruff Library (website)
