American Masters

W.E.B. Du Bois' childhood, family and education

Season 40 Episode 4 | 3m 43s

Born in 1868 in Massachusetts, the same year the 14th Amendment guaranteed citizenship and equal protection, W.E.B. Du Bois grew up in a predominantly white community where he experienced freedoms denied to most Black Americans of his time. Raised by his mother after his father abandoned the family, Du Bois was supported by a close-knit community that nurtured his intellectual gifts.

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