As a crowd of people gathered on the morning of Tuesday, October 16th, 2024, there was a slight chill on the campus of Morris Brown College. They were gathering for a very special occasion, the dedication of a historical marker for one of Atlanta University’s favorite sons. Renowned intellectual, author, professor, sociologist and Civil Rights activist Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (W.E.B. Du Bois) served as a professor at Atlanta University from 1897-1910 and 1934-1944.
On the 16th of October, the Georgia Historical Society (GHS), with the help of Dr. W. Todd Groce, president and CEO of GHS, and Ms. Juliet Asher of The Rich’s Foundation, unveiled a historical marker at the front of Fountain Hall at Morris Brown to celebrate its distinguished professor and lecturer. On hand to witness the event and to give brief remarks was Mr. Jeffery Alan Peck, Sr., great-grandson of Professor Du Bois.
The gathering was warmly greeted by Dr. Kevin James, current president of Morris Brown College, who gave a brief school history.
As the crowd gathered around the marker and counted down, the rope was pulled to reveal the historic marker. Reverend Skip Mason delivered the invocation, and Dr. Candy Tate and Mr. Irving Moses, Jr. (Cultural Centers International) were on hand. Dr. Tate also participated in reading the marker aloud.
The president of The Friends of Fountain Hall, Reverend Charles Barlow, gave the benediction.
This is the first historical marker to be placed for W.E.B. Du Bois in the South.
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
- William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868 in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.
- Received a Bachelor’s degree at Fisk University (HBCU) in Nashville, Tennessee.
- Completed graduate studies at the Friedrich Wilhelm University in Berlin.
- Earned a doctorate degree at Harvard University, first African-American to earn a doctorate at that institution.
- Leader of the Niagara Movement, a group of Black Civil Rights activists seeking equal rights.
- Supported Civil Rights, Pan-Africanism, increased political representation, equality and integration.
- One of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
- Professor at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University).
- Peace activist, protested against lynching, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in education and employment.
- Fight for the independence of African colonies from European powers.
- His 1940 autobiography, Dusk of Dawn, is one of the first scientific essays in the field of American sociology.
- While he was editor of the NAACP’s journal The Crisis, he published many influential articles.
- He died on August 27, 1963 in Accra, Ghana.
Last updated on October 17, 2024
