In honor of Black History Month, we are celebrating W.E.B Du Bois’ birthday. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 into a world where slavery was abolished, yet the struggle for African Americans to gain equal rights still persisted. He was a Civil Rights activist, co-founder of the NAACP, and paved the way in higher education by becoming the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University.

Here at HSP we have several publications by Du Bois, including, The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study. This was the first case study of a black community, and it paints a picture of the difficulties faced by African Americans right here in our city toward the end of the 1800s. His publications can teach students what it was truly like to be black in America. In addition to The Philadelphia Negro, we also have various resources relating to his activism and his take on reconstruction post-Civil War.

In one of his lesser known endeavors, Du Bois published the first magazine for African American children called The Brownies’ Book. You can access this magazine on our digital library here. The first article is written by Du Bois’ daughter Yolande, and the second article is by Langston Hughes. This is an excellent source to show students Du Bois commitment to the community, as well as see a children’s magazine from the early 1900s. If you have any questions, or are interested in more of our W.E.B. Du Bois sources, please contact aparks@hsp.org.