At first glance, I questioned the reasoning of the article. I definitely understand Dubois’ movement and ideologies, however, I wondered why he took it upon himself to administer a call to action piece during this time period. I was mainly interested in why he thought the matter of African Americans joining the war effort was so significant for continued unity in the country. What stood out to me the most was how the article was published, it seemed it was utilized to draw out emotion and touch on shared experiences rather than standard paragraphs of information that we see in journals or articles today. The part that stood out to me the most about this source was that some pieces were written by W.E.B. Dubois himself which makes it a first hand account of the time period and proves a good model for understanding the ins and outs of societal structure at the time.
The source analyzed was The Crisis, Vol. 3, which is an editorial written by W.E.B. Dubois that consists of various articles to touch on key points. Dubois created this editorial in July of 1918, after the US declared war. Dubois and the NAACP mostly worked out of New York at this time, where the editorial was published. The intended audience for Dubois’ editorial would be African Americans and his goal was to encourage Blacks to join the war effort in order to promote democracy throughout the country. https://transcription.si.edu/view/22594/NMAAHC-2012_84_3_002
The content of the ad mainly consists of Dubois recruiting members to the NAACP (The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and encouraging African Americans to fight for democracy in America. Dubois wrote that African Americans should bear arms with white citizens in order to ensure democracy. Dubois continued to note the fact that through such efforts there is a possibility of stronger unity coming to fruition. In fact, he was encouraging equal representation under a democratic government. Dubois utilizes the heaviness of war times to draw out compassion from the intended audience. Dubois believed in researching and investigating to find solutions for social problems and emphasized the importance of political action (Module 13: Resistance to Jim Crow in the Early Twentieth Century). W.E.B. Dubois was an important figure in the fight for equality in a prejudice society. https://maryklann.wixsite.com/hist110/post/module-13-resistance-to-jim-crow-in-the-early-twentieth-century
This source is important for understanding American history because you cannot understand a country’s history without being able to understand the various people, cultures, and races involved in American history. It is the history of America and significance should be placed on all those involved. I believe it was illustrative of how war efforts brought forth a purposeful and unified goal that all Americans were striving for at all costs. This helped to humanize W.E.B. Dubois because he is often described as a highly esteemed scholar, which is correct. However, being able to read through Dubois’ thought processes was very enlightening. He addresses a group of people at a large level for an important goal, which in this case is winning the war. This source was saved for people to examine in order to commemorate and celebrate African American history and culture.
Discussion Question:
What is the best way to advocate for the rights of marginalized people today?
I really like the way you framed your question and the analysis of Du Bois' ad. Understanding his ultimate goal, which was, as you write, to ensure democracy, gets into the complexities of what he was asking people to do. It must have been difficult and personal to come out and ask Black Americans to potentially sacrifice for a nation that hadn't shown them any equality--especially if you were Du Bois, whose job it was to point this out! I think it gets to what @Ahmed Abdirahman wrote in his comment above, trying to find the best way for others to recognize and respect your humanity.