Dubois firmly felt that racism and prejudice were institutionalized features of his society. This was validated by the structures in society that sought to discriminate against Negroes and keep them in a mode of perpetual poverty that incorporated an inability to advance or contribute effectively to society. Poverty referred to illiteracy, the inability to provide substantially for children, lack of money, lack of opportunities, and the lack of chances for upward mobility. Dubois realized quite early in his study that complete study of the Negro involved a study of the setting in which he was placed. In studying the Negro’s environment, Dubois found that whites were taught that they were the superior race. This thinking led to a perpetual cycle of racism passed on from generations to generations.
Additionally, the eight million Negroes who lived in the United States at that time were not as developed as the whites. Slavery had caused an underdevelopment of the Negroes in literacy (nearly half of the Negroes were illiterate while the minority of the other half went through common school training. The remaining Negroes -a minute amount-, were liberally educated; and in social development (originating from a slavery background), many of these Negroes were unable to adjust to these sudden changes, such as Emancipation and then freedom.
Dubois’ sociology had much to do with the study of the social problems of the Negro in understanding the underlying causes for the persistent poverty among Negroes. He saw the problem of the Negro emanating from slavery, which grew and developed over time. Dubois recognized that :
“the development of the Negro problem was not one problem, but “rather a plexus of social problems, some new, some old, some simple, some complex; and these problems have their one bond of unity in the fact that they group themselves about those Africans whom two centuries of slave-trading brought into the land”.
I believe that that W.E.B. Dubois should be considered a founding father of sociology. The reasons for this belief are powered by the explanations and evidence that I will now provide. Firstly, as proposed by Comte and performed by Durkheim, Dubois applied a positivist approach to sociology when he applied scientific methods in his analysis of the racial problem in America. According to Dr. Anthony Monteiro, “The Philadelphia Negro is the first major work of American empirical sociology and remains unsurpassed in its methodology, research design, conceptualization, scope and rigour”. According to Dubois “The phenomena of society are worth the most careful and systematic study….”
In his scientific study of the Negro community, Dubois recognized that racism was a social fact produced by specific historical and social circumstances. He attempted to identify its beginning and its social basis. From his point of view, racism was an epidemic that could be cured by social science methodology. In his study The Philadelphia Negro, he found evidence to support his theoretical notions. As his work developed, Dubois found that racism was a structural phenomenon held in place by the social institutions of the day. Dubois contended that there were systematic biases against people of African descent. Not only were Negro cultural patterns stereotyped and criminalized but also general criminal behaviour displayed by all ethnic groups was treated differently when found among Blacks. He concluded therefore that the police force was designed to keep the blacks in control and to protect “white Americans from them”.
Like many sociologists, from the functionalists to the conflict theorists, Dubois sought to answer the fundamental question of sociology: How is society possible? He endeavoured to answer this question by borrowing concepts from functionalism and Marxism, which originated from more recognized scholars such as Emile Durkheim and Karl Marx. Dubois believed that society was not possible without the freedom of the black man, the Negro. There had to be social change where Negroes would be included in the development of society. Dubois recognized that racial inequality was rooted in social and economic inequalities. The solution to the racial problem lay in the economic franchisement of the black community.
This economic franchisement would include blacks within the society allowing them, like their white counterparts, the right to vote, the right to join any bank, the right to live peaceably in the world, without facing the hurdles of segregation and racial discrimination. The Negro, the black man, had to be seen as equal to the white man for society to be possible. Dubois was interested in the advancement of his people and quested after the answers that would make equality between the races, particularly between blacks and whites, a reality.
Consequently, in comparison to one of the founding fathers of sociology, Durkheim and renowned sociologist Talcott Parsons, (dubbed as functionalists), Dubois was a bit of a functionalist himself when he posited that society functions as a whole in which each person had his or her own part to play. The dominant view at that time was that Negroes were naturally different and had their specific place in society. In the late 1800’s and early 1900’s, it was a general consensus that blacks were not really people.
As a result, it was felt that there was no need to study the sociology of a “nonexistent, nonrelevant” people. It was the opinion of some, that blacks were inferior to whites by their very nature and genetics. Dubois challenged these beliefs and insisted that science be used to prove these “assumptions”, as he did not believe that blacks had a lesser function or contributed less to society that the whites. Dubois rejected explanations based on biological differences or inherent inferiority, emphasizing the critical importance of historical and environmental factors relevant to the social success of a group.
The fact that Blacks were seen as second class Americans was a major reason for persistent poverty among them as a race. Dubois had many questions about why the Negro people could not seem effectively to become a part of the American fabric. They seemed to be alienated and totally apart from America and what it was supposed to stand for. Prejudice was rampant, opportunities to get ahead few. Discrimination and segregation were daily issues and the notions of black and white boundaries (colour lines) were prevalent. Blacks and whites were separate and were almost completely self-sustaining, not having contact with each other, except when necessary. Dubois felt that the blacks in the community deserved a chance to be American and enjoy all of the amenities that were associated with being American.
Dubois subscribed to some of sociologist Karl Marx’s philosophy. He used Marxist ideology in understanding the social divide in society at that time. Marx studied society in terms of the conflicts between the different social groups with different interests. The classes are in conflict (or share a dialectical relationship with each other) with each other because one class (the proletariat) must be exploited in order to benefit another class (the bourgeoisie). Marx then believed that this conflict would only end when capitalism ceases to support itself thus resulting in the destruction of the system. Social change would then occur when the oppressed overthrew the oppressors or when there is natural ruination of both.
The work of Marx and Hegel was enough to convince Dubois that racial oppression must be understood as part of the parcel of the world system and economic relations. Through scientific, study, Dubois sought to do for the issue of racial oppression, what Marx had achieved for the class exploitation. Like Marx, Dubois’ sociology was for the minority and the disadvantaged. Similar to Marx, Dubois recognized that there was a material basis for the social structure and patterns in American society; and also that a transformation of social relations would only occur with a transformation of ownership of means of production. At the time, Dubois saw the whites as the owners of the means of production and the blacks as the labourers. This is similar to Marx’s two-class model with the division between the oppressed and the oppressor was based on ownership or non-ownership of property. The bourgeoisie were the owners of the means of production while the proletariats were the labourers.
Dubois contended then that racism and colonialism were central organizing mechanisms of the modern world. They stood along side each other and were in dialectical relation to the system of capitalist exploitation. The world could not be understood or changed without grasping this central dynamic. He argued further that bourgeois impressive talk about democracy and the so-called common interests of workers and capitalists was a camouflage to win labour to the so-called nation interest as defined by imperialism. He said, “it is the nation, a new democratic nation composed of united capital and labour,” where “the white working man has been asked to share the spoils of exploiting ‘chinks and niggers’”. Racism and colonial oppression then, were key factors to the development of capitalism and were also central to the fight for democracy and revolution.
In conclusion, Dubois deserves to be seen as a founding father of sociology. His work, The Philadelphia Negro is the first major work of American empirical sociology. By applying empirical data to the study of social generalizations, Dubois was able to provide systematic analyses of race and race relations which served to contravene the speculation that the rest of society had about blacks as inferior, worthless, criminally oriented and less than human. The Philadelphia Negro is a trailblazer in its methods, research design, conceptualization, scope and rigour – a preeminent model in urban sociology.
Dubois’ work created opportunities for social scientists (like himself) and others to conduct more scientific studies on particular social problems; rather than making broad generalizations about the way in which society exists and operates without actually entering the field and doing the actual work. He also provided the base upon which further race and race related research was built. Dubois produced an interventionist social science, a very powerful and significant tool for the black struggle even today.
Given all of the above, Dubois’ was not well recognized for his work and the invaluable contribution that he made to the sociology and the social sciences. Outside of the fact that Dubois was black (and that in itself had its own problems), Dubois was also a radical and a political activist. He organized the Niagara Movement (1905 – 1910) in opposition to Booker T. Washington who was the forerunner of the National Association for the Advancement of Coloured People (NAACP), in which he was a founding member.
Dubois had ideological confrontations with both Booker T. Washington and Marcus Garvey and his non-recognition could be due to the conflicts he had with these men. He Dubois had different views on the ascendancy of the black race. While Washington advocated industrial education for Negroes rather than higher academic studies, Dubois felt that even though industrial education was good it must not be solely sought out at the expense of other forms of education. This would only be to the detriment of the Negro. Dubois felt strongly that Washington stressed this because it was consistent with the beliefs of the whites and enhanced segregation – something; they (the whites) intended to keep for as long as possible.
Dubois disagreement with Washington made him unpopular among the whites, while Booker T. Washington, “The Great Accommodator”, was a very popular and influential man in his day. Washington was very popular among the whites because he supported segregation just as they did. Because he subscribed to the ideology of the times, that of the white elites, Washington was held in high esteem and his opinion and recommendation was sought before most Negroes were appointed to influential posts.
Washington achieved this high position because of his willingness to accommodate the aspirations of Negroes to the reemergence of racism. Washington proposed that rather than fight for the right to vote and other civil rights, the obligation of Blacks was to serve whites and subordinate themselves to the white ruling class and that eventually whites would reward our service by granting us rights. Washington’s deal was seen as an agreement with the Devil.
Dubois on the other hand did not agree with Washington, so he was not given the recognition for the works that he did. Although his work, The Philadelphia Negro, is now a basis for sociological research in conducting research on blacks, he is still not recognized as a founding father of sociology. Many are of the opinion that this was due to the colour prejudice that was blatant during the period in which he lived.
While that can be true, I believe that if Dubois, like Washington had conformed to the beliefs and practices of the reigning white ideology at the time, he would be named a founding father. If Washington had been a sociologist, the possibility exists that he would have been named a founding father of sociology. Dubois’ predecessor, Talcott Parsons, a middle-class white man was given acclamation as a founding father. Apart from being white, his writings emerged during the Second World War, and were not in opposition to the general views of society held at the time.
Garvey established the Universal Negro Improvement Association (UNIA) for the purposes of uniting Africa and her descendants. Garvey’s methodology was refreshing and inspiring but it was in direct contrast to Dubois’ intellectual style. For example, Garvey was the one that coined the phrase “Up you mighty people. You can accomplish what you will!”. Dubois tried to explain way the Garvey movement and ignore it but it had too much mass appeal for him to do so. When Garvey began to collect money for his steamship line, Dubois characterized him as “a hard working idealist, but his methods are bombastic, wasteful, illogical and almost illegal”. Marcus Garvey ignored Dubois and continued with his work. He was eventually charged for fraud and imprisoned. Upon his release he was exiled from the United States and died in 1941.
The works of W.E.B. Dubois are still being analyzed to study and understand society today. Dubois contributed greatly to the advancement of sociology in this hemisphere. He was the first person in this part of the world to conduct a sociological research, using Comte’s positivism. His sociology has enabled other blacks, like myself, to understand the causes for the perpetual poverty among blacks at the times. The Negro problem was as a result of established systems in society perpetuated by the whites. Their problem occurred because of the creation of poverty and racism by the white majority, rather than by ignorance, inferiority and criminal dispositions they were suspected of.
Dubois, emphatically and enthusiastically performed his dual role of social scientist and social reformer. He clearly showed (through the use of rigorous scientific study) the social problems arising from white oppression and discrimination and at the same time described the richness and diversity of black life and the inventiveness, which blacks displayed in creating institutions, and lifestyles that enabled them to cope and survive. For this reason and for the reasons and evidence stated throughout this essay, there is no doubt in my mind that Dubois should be considered a founding father of sociology.
Disillusioned with society and with the fact that in his own country, for nearly a century, he has been nothing but a “nigger”, Dubois migrated to Accra, Ghana where he died on August 27, 1963. Dubois is still celebrated posthumously for the extent of his work in the social sciences and for the incomparable contribution he made to the area of race and race-related research.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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