Du Bois

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was a pioneer of sociology and a forerunner to civil rights activists later in the 20th century. DuBois used sociology as a tool or lens for viewing structural problems in the society, especially racism and racial inequality. W.E.B. DuBois earned his degree from Harvard University and after that established one of the first sociological research centers in the United States, called the Atlanta Sociological laboratory.

One of the issues that DeBois explored was the phenomenon of "double consciousness." Double consciousness refers to the fact that whites assume they are the normative person, and so have a singular consciousness as an American. Black people, on the other hand, refer to themselves (and are referred to) as African-Americans. The difference is powerful when viewed from a sociological perspective, and can explain a lot about the identity that black people develop in opposition to white dominant...
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