W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet

Politics and Culture in Modern America

by Edward J. Blum

Pioneering historian, sociologist, editor, novelist, poet, and organizer, W. E. B. Du Bois was one of the foremost African American intellectuals of the twentieth century. While Du Bois is remembered for his monumental contributions to scholarship and civil rights activism, the spiritual aspects of his work have been misunderstood, even negated. W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet , the first religious biography of this leader, illuminates the spirituality that is essential to understanding his efforts and achievements in the political and intellectual world. Often labeled an atheist, Du Bois was in fact deeply and creatively involved with religion. Historian Edward J. Blum reveals how spirituality was central to Du Bois's approach to Marxism, pan-Africanism, and nuclear disarmament, his support for black churches, and his reckoning of the spiritual wage of white supremacy. His writings, teachings, and prayers served as articles of faith for fellow activists of his day, from student book club members to Langston Hughes. A blend of history, sociology, literary criticism, and religious reflection in the model of Du Bois's best work, W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet recasts the life of this great visionary and intellectual for a new generation of scholars and activists. Honorable Mention, 2007 Gustavus Myers Center Outstanding Book Awards

Genres: Biography, History, Religion, American History, African American

288 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2007

About the author

Ed Blum teaches history of race and religion in the United States at San Diego State University. He is the author (with Paul Harvey) of [Book:The Color of Christ: The Son of God and the Saga of Race in America] (2012), [Book: W. E. B. Du Bois, American Prophet] (2007), and [Book: Reforging the White Republic: Race, Religion, and American Nationalism, 1865-1898] (2005). He is also the co-editor (with Paul Harvey) of [Book: The Columbia Guide to Religion in American History] (2012), (with Jason R. Young) [Book: The Souls of W. E. B. Du Bois: New Essays and Reflections] (2009), and (with W. Scott Poole) [Book: Vale of Tears: New Essays on Religion and Reconstruction] (2005).

Reviews

[Daniel Kleven · Rating 5 out of 5]

"No scholar has considered in depth the soul of the man who first gained national recognition for a book on souls."

Excellent. Blum is properly a historian, and consistent with his other work (see Reforging the White Republic: Race, Religion, and American Nationalism, 1865-1898, he brings to his work a keen awareness of, well, race and religion in the American context.

Blum is attempting a significant historiographical correction on Du Bois scholarship: "Even the most thoughtful and articulate of Du Bois's biographers have downplayed religion in their narratives" (9). "Du Bois's alleged irreligiosity has become so common place that scholars rarely feel the need to prove it. But so many facets of Du Bois's life and times are obscured by this scholarly depiction That he founded the study of African American churches, that he taught Sunday school classes, that he had favorite hymns and spirituals, that he repeatedly invoked images of the divine, that he cried out for the "Prince of Peace' to vanquish the warmongers, and that many of his contemporaries viewed him as a prophet: all of this makes little sense if we exclude religion from narratives of Du Bois's life and times. By dismissing religion in his life, scholars cheat American history of one of its brightest religious stars. Du Bois was not antireligious; he was against faith used for fraud, belief used to bully, and Christianity when used to control" (10).

I say "attempted" but in my estimation, I would say Blum succeeds marvelously. Other scholars have pointed out Du Bois's religious sensibilities (Aptheker edited Prayers for Dark People; Zuckerman edited Du Bois on Religion, both excellent source material), but Blum is the first to make such a thorough and systematic exploration.

The book basically walks through nearly the entirely of Du Bois's massive corpus from a religious angle, and there are several high points. Chapter 2 is a fantastic exploration of The Souls of Black Folk from a religious angle. In the chapter Blum situates the book in context (pulling from his work in Reforging), a context where some white supremacist authors were actually still arguing (in the 1900s) that Black people actually didn't have souls, weren't human beings. It's an insane conspiracy theory rabbit hole, but I guess a lesson that hatred often weaves conspiracies around it to justify itself.

Chapter 4 was fun for me, in which Blum includes an analysis of Du Bois's novels, and I also just finished reading The Quest of the Silver Fleece. In the final chapter, Blum offers a historically situated and sympathetic but critical exploration of Du Bois's relationship to international communism and the communist party.

Along the way, Blum also makes a strong case for Du Bois as one of the primary fathers of Black Liberation Theology which would flower in the 1960s, articulating decades before a vision of a Black Christ, and a sharp critique of White Christianity.

Bottom line: if you are interested in Du Bois; if you are interested in the Black Church and black theology; if you are just interested in "race, religion, and American Nationalism"; and of course, if you are interested in history, this book is a must read.

[Jean · Rating 5 out of 5]

February is National Black History Month and I usually try to read a book by an African-American or a biography. I usually obtain my idea on who to read about from the United States post office stamp choice for Black History Month. I was perusing the review of stamps and decided to read about W.E. B. du Bois. I looked on Audible and found this book Edward J. Blum published in 2012. Unlike other biographies of du Bois, Blum explores his work and writings in depth and only touches on the man. Edward Blum explores a crucial but neglected aspect of the life and times of de Bois; the intersection of race and religion. The author illuminates the entire range of du Bois writings showing him to be a prophetic thinker and a visionary who anticipated trends in black theology and civil rights. Du Bois also was a big advocate for women’s right to vote and equal rights for women. Du Bois was the first African-American to graduate from Harvard University with a Ph.D. in history. Du Bois took advantage of Harvard’s foreign study program and studied at the University of Berlin. He studied under Europe’s most prominent social scientist. Du Bois taught and did research at Wilberforce University in Ohio, University of Pennsylvania and Atlanta University. The author states that du Bois was one of the foremost African-American intellectual of the 20th century. He was a pioneering historian, sociologist, editor, novelist, poet and a civil right advocate. He was a co-founder of the NAACP. He was a leading civil rights agitator in the 1902-1906 race riots. Blum goes into the investigation of de Bois by the FBI tying to prove he was a communist subversive. The author goes into detail about the disagreement between du Bois and Brooker T. Washington. Apparently du Bois felt that Washington was not doing enough to advocate education of the blacks. Blum indicates that du Bois was a big advocate for education of blacks and felt that until blacks and whites were educated together the black would receive an inferior education. Du Bois died the day before Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech. I learned a great deal about African-American theology and history from reading this book. I read this as an audio-book. Andrew L Barnes did a good job narrating this book.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 5 out of 5]

W.E.B. Du Bois was an important figure in the history of the American struggle for civil rights. Ed Blum offers us an important look at his life and work. My review of the book appeared in the Christian Century in 2008.

Check the links:
http://www.bobcornwall.com/2008/03/we...

[Yveva]

also to read: http://www.iupress.indiana.edu/catalo...

[Rod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent! Read it!!

[Aaron · Rating 1 out of 5]

not a good book. the author's only concern was proving that du bois was not an atheist. who cares. didn't learn anything substantial about du bois.

[David Withun · Rating 4 out of 5]

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[Grete Howland · Rating 3 out of 5]

I learned so much from this book. The writing was dryer than I had hoped--even though it is an academic text--and I found myself skimming paragraphs now and then. It's also a bit repetitive at times (again, not surprising in an academic text) but even still it covered information I'd not learned before. I'm glad to have read it.