W. E. B. Du Bois at the center: from science, civil rights movement, to Black Lives Matter

Abstract

In this essay I make three arguments. First, W.E.B. Du Bois and his Atlanta School of Sociology pioneered scientific sociology in the United States. Second, Du Bois pioneered a public sociology that creatively combined sociology and activism. Finally, Du Bois pioneered a politically engaged social science relevant for contemporary political struggles including the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement.

Pedagogy and Activism – Do the Two Mix? A Dialogue on Social Justice and Its Place in The Classroom

“…He was one of the founders of the Niagara Movement and later was a member of the founding group for NAACP. Collaboration with community leaders on research projects bringing racial inequality to light was another way in which DuBois linked sociology/science with activism (Morris, 2017). For DuBois, as Aldon Morris writes, "the very purpose of science was to produce valid knowledge useful to liberation struggles" (Morris, 2017).…”

“…Collaboration with community leaders on research projects bringing racial inequality to light was another way in which DuBois linked sociology/science with activism (Morris, 2017). For DuBois, as Aldon Morris writes, "the very purpose of science was to produce valid knowledge useful to liberation struggles" (Morris, 2017). Other sociologists during that time who also believed in merging scholarship with activism, or the use of sociological evidence to effect social change, were those like aforementioned Harriet Martineau, Ida B. Wells-Barnett, Jane Addams.…”

When they go low, we go high: Scholars of color, activism, and educational research in a post-truth era

“…The current post-truth era will require scholars, regardless of race, to use their pens and voice that will highlight truth within a vacuum of lies, falsehoods, racism, bigotry, classism, sexism, patriarchy, and white supremacy. This type of action, in conjunction with promoting and citing scholars of color, should not be seen as a hindrance to rigorous and reputable research, but instead offers a way for the research community to become politically engaged, advance scholarship that focuses on critiquing systems and structures of inequality, promote research that addresses current societal issues, and moves the educational research field to be more reflective regarding its biases absorbed from a world still practicing racism and human exportation (Morris, 2017). Scholars of color should serve as an example to others in the education research community on how to advance, critique, and research in today's post-truth era.…”

Academic apartheid and the poverty of theory: the impact of scholarly segregation on the development of sociology in the United States

“…In this essay, I propose to utilize the contrast gestured at in these quotes to contribute to the project at the heart of Aldon Morris's presentation at the 2016 British Journal of Sociology Annual Lecture : reintegrating W.E.B. Du Bois’ scholarship into the core sociological discourse, and therefore to carry forward Du Bois’ lifelong commitment to ‘unleashing social truths that empower change agents struggling to liberate humanity’ (Morris ).…”