The Measure of a Man: Double Consciousness and the Fashioning of W. E. B. Du Bois Lecture Dr. Jonathan Michael Square.
Born in 1868 and passing away in 1963, W. E. B. Du Bois experienced nearly a century of life, spanning from the era of Reconstruction to the dawn of the Civil Rights movement. Throughout this period, his self-presentation underwent a dynamic evolution, mirroring his shifting political ideologies. The focal point of the lecture lies in the initial decades of Du Bois’ life, during which Willie, as he was called as a financially disadvantaged black youth from rural Massachusetts, underwent a remarkable transformation into the esteemed Harvard-educated Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. Despite not being born into privilege, Du Bois transformed himself into one of the most influential black figures of the Gilded Age.