THE CAU W. E. B. Du Bois Legacy Project | FOUNDED BY Dr. S. Evans
2012-2016 | cau - the house that du bois built
Project Overview
"There is no Dream but Deed. There is no Deed but Memory." ~W. E. B. Du Bois
The year 2013 marked the 50th anniversary of the passing of Dr. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. On his birthday in February, it was fitting that Clark Atlanta University (CAU) celebrate his life and scholarship: Dr. Du Bois wrote his most influential works in the 23 years he spent as a professor at Atlanta University.
Serving as faculty of the Departments of History and Economics, he taught at Atlanta University from 1897 to 1910, then returned from 1934 to 1944 as chair of the Department of Sociology. Dr. Du Bois also had impact in the area of social work and as a novelist, poet and short story writer.
In 2012, Clark Atlanta University hosted a year-long seminar on the major works of Du Bois. The CAU President, Provost, Dean of the School of Arts and Sciences, and AWH Department Chair engaged in a sustained consideration of Du Boisian texts in preparation for the 2013 Conference. Over 50 faculty from CAU, Atlanta University Center, Metro-Atlanta Universities and alumni from several institutions participated.
The 2013 W. E. B. Du Bois and the Wings of Atlanta 50th Anniversary Commemorative Conference served as a meeting at the crossroads of various paths of Du Bois’s work. Conference participants engaged in an interdisciplinary and international introspection of the life, scholarship and activism of one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th century.
We thank scholars of all levels for joining in our ongoing Sankofa sojourn. The CAU Du Bois Legacy Project brings recognition of the most profound, relevant and complex scholar of our generation home to the HBCU where he spent his academic career.
The Du Bois Legacy Project was initiated and organized by Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, chair of the Department of African American Studies, Africana Women's Studies and History (AWH), with the support of CAU President Carlton E. Brown and the participation of a broad-based coalition of Clark Atlanta University students, staff, administrators, and faculty. The legacy continues with the leadership and support of Dr. Obie Clayton, chair of the Sociology Department.
In November 2014, publication of the Phylon: Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and Culture marked the completion of the project. Like dedication of the Du Bois sculpture to the CAU campus, re-launching the Phylon journal signified a final, tangible cornerstone of the institutionalization of Du Bois' legacy at the university to which he had already given so much.
In May 2015, the Sonia Sanchez Peace Benches were dedicated to the CAU campus. That year, Dr. Evans hosted a panel celebrating the release of S. O. S. Calling All Black People: A Black Arts Movement Reader, featuring Professors Sonia Sanchez, John H. Bracey Jr. and James Smethurst.
To close the Du Bois project, Dr. Evans hosted a Black History Month program in February 2016 with the theme of Afrofuturism. Featured speakers included Ytasha Womak (author of Afrofuturism and CAU alumna) and the legendary artist John Jennings.
This page serves as an archive of the project from January 2012 to February 2016.
Project Components
- 2012 Year-Long Seminars
- 2013 Conference & Bust
- 2014 Phylon Journal
- 2015 Sonia Sanchez Peace Benches
- 2016 Afrofuturism Panel
FEATURED VIDEOS FROM year-long SEMINAR
Dr. Evans Opening Statement
President Carlton Brown Welcome
President Carlton Brown Welcome
January 20, 2012
President Carlton Brown Welcome
President Carlton Brown Welcome
President Carlton Brown Welcome
Arthur McFarlane, Du Bois's Grandson
Arthur McFarlane, Du Bois's Grandson
Arthur McFarlane, Du Bois's Grandson
January 26, 2012
Beverly Guy-Sheftall
Arthur McFarlane, Du Bois's Grandson
Arthur McFarlane, Du Bois's Grandson
February 24, 2012
2012 YEAR-LONG SEMINAR SERIES
Speaker Bios
2012 Du Bois Major Work Series
VIEW BIOS HERE
SPRING PANELS
Jan 20, 2012
SOUL OF DU BOIS: A CAU PERSPECTIVE
The Souls of Black Folk (1903); The Gift of Black Folk (1924)
- Series Introduction: Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans AAS, AWS, & History Chair
- CAU President Carlton Brown
- Provost Joseph Silver
- Dean Shirley Williams-Kirksey
- Mr. Arthur McFarlane, the Great-grandson of W.E.B. Du Bois
- Dr. Candy Tate, CAU History alumna
- Q & A, Discussion
February 24, 2012
RACE RESEARCH
The Study of the Negro Problems (1898); The Philadelphia Negro (1899); Bibliography of the Negro American (1905); Select Discussion of Race Problems (1916)
- Ms. Christy Garrison-Harrison, CAU History
- Dr. Terry Mills, Morehouse College Dean of Research
- Dr. Beverly Guy-Sheftall, Spelman College Women’s Research & Resource Center
- Dr. Akinyele Umoja, African American Studies, Georgia State University
- Dr. Kurt Young, CAU Alumni, Associate Professor Political Science & African American Studie, University of Central Florida
- Q & A, Discussion
March 23, 2012
CRIME & HEALTH
Some Notes on Negro Crime, Particularly in Georgia (1904); Health and Physique (1906)
- Nubiyn Mzekewe, JD, CAU History
- Dr. Ron Finnell, CAU Public Administration
- Dr. Sandra Taylor, CAU Sociology
- Dr. Margaret Counts-Spriggs, CAU Social Work
(videos forthcoming)
April 27, 2012
LITERATURE & ART
The Quest of the Silver Fleece (1911); Dark Princess: A Romance (1928); The Negro Artisan (1902 & 1912)
- Professor Phyllis Lawhorn, CAU English
- Dr. Susan Wright-McFatter, CAU English
- Dr. Daniel Black, CAU African American Studies
- Director Tina Dunkley, CAU Art Gallery
- Dr. Juliet Blackburn-Beamon, CAU Humanities
- Q & A, Discussion
- Prof. Christopher Hickey, CAU Art: Atlanta Big Print "Du Bois Art by Steamroller"
July 13, 2012
AUTOBIOGRAPHY
The Autobiographies: Darkwater: Voices From Within the Veil (1920), Dusk of Dawn: An Essay Toward an Autobiography of a Race Concept (1940), and The Autobiography of W. E. Burghardt Du Bois (International publishers,1968)
- Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, Introduction Part 1- Introduction Part 2
- Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, SWAG Diplomacy: Black Travel Narratives
- Andrea Jackson, Head of the Archives Research Center at the AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Dr. Deborah Johnson Simon, Study Center of African and African Diaspora Museums/Communities
- Dr. Viktor Osinubi, CAU Humanities
- Ms. Asha Warren, CAU English
- Q & A, Discussion
FALL PANELS
August 31, 2012
AFRICA
The World and Africa, an Inquiry into the Part Which Africa Has Played in World History (1946/ 1965); Africa, Its Geography, People and Products: Its Place in Modern History (1930)
- Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, Introduction
- Kathy Oluwajuyemi, MA, CAU History
- Dr. Thomas Scott, CAU Religion
- Dr. Azaria Mbughuni, Spelman History Department
- Dr. Henry Akwo Elonge, CAU Public Administration
- Dr. Samuel Livingston, Morehouse College History
- Q & A, Discussion
September 21, 2012
RECONSTRUCTION & RESISTANCE
John Brown: A Biography (1909); Black Reconstruction: An Essay towar
d a History of the Part Which Black Folk Played in the Attempt to Reconstruct Democracy in America, 1860-1880 (1935)
- Dr. Richard Hill, CAU History (no available video)
- Dr. Aubrey Underwood, CAU History (no available video)
- Dr. Natanya Duncan, Morgan State University (no available video)
- Dr. Jacqueline Rouse, Georgia State University
October 26, 2012
CHURCH, FAMILY & UPLIFT
Some Efforts of American Negroes for Their Own Social Betterment (1897 & 1909); Morals and Manners (1914); The Negro Church (1903); The Family (1908)
- Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, Introduction
- Dr. Charmayne Patterson, CAU History
- Dr. Shirley White, CAU History Department
- Dr. Phillip Dunston, CAU Religion
- Dr. Makungu Akinyela, Georgia State University
- November 30, 2012
BUSINESS & ECONOMICS
The Negro in Business (1899); Business and Business Education (1947, Joseph Pierce Ed.); Economic Cooperation (1907 & 1917) - Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, Introduction
- Dr. Charles Moses, Dean CAU School of Business
- Dr. Frederick Knight, Morehouse History Department Chair
- Extended Panel Discussion: Dean Moses on Global Economy
- Q & A, Discussion Part 1 and Q & A, Part 2
- Concluding Remarks
January 25, 2013
EDUCATION
College Bred Negro (1900 & 1910); The Common School (1901 & 1911)
- Dr. Stephanie Y. Evans, Introduction
- Dr. Sean Warner, Dean, CAU School of Education
- Dr. Isabella Jenkins, CAU Honors Program
- Dr. Josephine Bradley, CAU Africana Women’s Studies
- Dr. Miles Irving, Georgia State University
- Dr. David Wall Rice, Morehouse College
- Q & A, Part I
- Q & A, Part II
- Closing
Closing Panel
February 22, 2013
BLACK FOLK, THEN & NOW
The Negro (1915); Black Folk, Then and Now (1939)
- CAU President Carlton Brown
- Dr. Beverly Daniel Tatum, President of Spelman College
- Loretta Parham, Atlanta University Center Woodruff Library
- Alexsa Henderson, CAU History Faculty Emerita
2013 | CAU DU BOIS 50TH ANNIVERSARY COMMEMORATIVE CONFERENCE
Confirmed Plenary Panelists:
KEYNOTE | THE MOST DANGEROUS MAN IN AMERICA | AMIRI BARAKA
Dr. Anne Adams, Professor Emerita, Cornell University former Director Du Bois Memorial Centre for Pan-African Studies (Ghana)
Dr. Derrick Alridge, University of Virginia
Dr. Bernard Bell, Professor Emeriti, Pennsylvania State University
Professor John Bracey, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Dr. Scot Brown, University of California-Los Angeles
Dr. Sundiata Cha-Jua, University of Illinois & NCBS President
Dr. Sheila Flemming-Hunter, ASALH President Emerita
Dr. Evelyn Higginbotham, Harvard University
Dr. Gerald Horne, University of Houston
Dr. Joy James, Williams College
Dr. Shelby Lewis, CAU Professor Emerita, Former Fulbright Board Vice Chair, J. W. Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board Member
Dr. Layli Phillips Maparyan, Wellesley College
Mr. Louis Massiah, Filmmaker, Scribe Video Center
Dr. MaryNell Morgan, CAU Alumna Empire State College
Dr. Aldon Morris, Northwestern University
Dr. Reiland Rabaka, University of Colorado
Dr. Daryl Scott, Howard University & ASALH President
Dr. Bill Strickland, University of Massachusetts-Amherst
Dr. Janice Sumler-Edmond, Former CAU Faculty, Houston-Tillotson University
Dr. Nagueyalti Warren, Emory University
Dr. Earl Wright II, University of Cincinnati & ABS President
Dr. Tukufu Zuberi, University of Pennsylvania
2013 Du Bois | 4-Day Conference
On February 20-23, 2013 CAU convened national and international scholars for a four-day Du Boisian homage and birthday celebration. Here, in Atlanta, we resituated the Du Bois legacy in the South--at the Historically Black College and University (HBCU) which is seldom recognized as the sustaining crucible of his genius and consciousness. We invited scholars of all levels to join us as we engaged in an interdisciplinary and international introspection of the life, scholarship and activism of one of the most influential intellectuals of the 20th century.
The keynote address was delivered by Poet Amiri Baraka. On February 9, 2013 Mr. Baraka joined the Ancestors. We are grateful for his reading of his play on Du Bois and hope it will be published. Professor Sanchez was unable to attend but sent regards and joined campus events in 2015.
2013 PARTICIPATING CONFERENCE INSTITUTIONS
- AUC Robert W. Woodruff Library
- Augusta State University
- Bennett College
- Boston College
- Bowdoin College
- Canisius College
- Clark Atlanta University
- Clarion University
- Colby College
- College of Wooster
- Coppin State University
- Cornell University
- Delaware County Community College
- Emory University
- Empire State College
- Fairleigh Dickinson University
- George Washington University
- Guilford College
- Harvard University
- Horlivka State Pedagogical Institute of Foreign Languages (Ukraine)
- Howard University
- Johns Hopkins University
- Kennesaw State University
- Lehigh University
- Liberty Specialist Institute, Koforidua (Ghana)
- Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
- Memphis Theological Seminary
- Morgan State University
- Morehouse College
- Morehouse School of Medicine
- North Carolina State University
- Northwestern University
- Paine College
- Pennsylvania State University
- Plymouth University (UK)
- Spelman College
- State University of New York-Buffalo
- State University of New York-Empire State College
- State University of New York-Old Westbury
- State University of New York-Westchester Community College
- Temple University
- Texas A & M University
- Trident Technical College
- University of Akron- Ohio.
- University of California-Irvine
- University of California-Los Angeles
- University of Chicago
- University of Cincinnati
- University of Colorado
- University of Ibadan (Nigeria)
- University of Illinois-Champaign-Urbana
- University of Massachusetts-Amherst
- University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
- University of Pennsylvania
- University of San Diego
- University of San Francisco
- University of Southern California
- University of Texas-Permian Basin
- University of Virginia
- Valdosta State University
- Virginia Union University
- Wellesley College
- Winston-Salem State University
- Williams College
View Four-Day Schedule HERE
2013 du bois bust DEDICATION | art by ayokule odelye
2014 Phylon: The Clark Atlanta University Review of Race and
VOLUME 51 (1)
After remaining dormant for over a decade, the CAU Du Bois Legacy Project revivified the Phylon Journal. Dr. Obie Clayton serves as editor, Dr. Shelia Flemming serves as managing editor, and the first journal contained papers from the CAU Conference and a Graduate Seminar taught by Dr. Stephanie Evans.
Table of Contents
Editor’s Comments
iii
Obie Clayton, Editor, Chair, Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice
President’s Comments
iv
Carlton E. Brown, Clark Atlanta University President
Special Issue Editor’s Introduction:
vi
Stephanie Y. Evans, Guest Editor, Chair, Department of African American Studies, Africana Women’s Studies and History
Managing Editor’s Introduction:
viii
Sheila Flemming-Hunter, Managing Editor
DU BOISIAN IDEAS
Fractal Complexity of the Education of Black People: Ten Critiques, 1906-1960
Carley M. Shinault, Howard University
1
His Deep and Abiding Love: Du Bois, Gender Politics, and Black Studies
Nagueyalti Warren, Emory University
18
A Consideration of African American Christianity as a Manifestation of Du Bosnian Double Consciousness
Shirley Waters-White, Clark Atlanta University
30
Embracing Philosophy: On Du Bois' “The Individual and Social Conscience”
Robert W. Williams, Bennett College
42
Hypocrisy in the Life of W.E.B. Du Bois: Reconstructing Selective Memory
Bonnyeclaire Smith-Stewart, Clark Atlanta University
57
DU BOIS AND HISTORICAL FIGURES
The First Fissure: The Du Bois-Washington Relationship from 1898-1899
76
Thomas Aiello, Valdosta State University
The Transubstantiation of Andrew Johnson: White Epistemic Failure in Du Bois’ Black Reconstruction
88
Lisa J. McLeod, Guilford College
High Hope and Fixed Purpose: Frederick Douglass and the Talented Tenth on the American Plantation
La’Neice Littleton, Clark Atlanta University
102
GLOBAL DU BOIS
W.E.B. Du Bois’ Search for Democracy in China: The Double Consciousness of a Black Radical Democrat
Bernard Bell, Pennsylvania State University
115
Reading Du Bois on East Africa: Epistemological Implications of Apartheid Constructions of Knowledge
Jesse Benjamin, Kennesaw State University
128
W.E.B. Bu Bois’ Transnationalism: Building a Collective Identity among the American Negro and the Asian Indian
Andrea Slater, University of California-Irvine
145
Methodological Matters in the Study of Africa: An Appreciation of W.E.B. Du Bois’ Africanist Scholarship
Hashim Gibrill, Clark Atlanta University
158
2015 sonia sanchez peace benches & sos PANEL
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez
Clark Atlanta University students and faculty surround Dr. Sonia Sanchez during the peace bench dedication.
(Photo Credit: Christopher A. Daniel, Courtesy of The Burton Wire)
Peace Benches
Sonia Sanchez
Sonia Sanchez
Story from THE BURTON WIRE
Legendary poet and peace advocate Dr. Sonia Sanchez was honored by Clark Atlanta University (CAU), as part of their 2015 Founders Week Celebration. Dr. Sanchez was part of a three-day celebration, hosted by the Department of Africana Women’s Studies, African American Studies, and History (AWH) that included an authors panel, a master class, and a peace benches ceremony and dedication.
During the ceremony, remarks were offered by CAU President Dr. Carlton E. Brown, Dr. Stephanie Evans, Chair of the Department of Africana Women’s Studies, African American Studies, and History (AWH) at Clark Atlanta University, Dr. John H. Bracey, Chair of the W.E.B. Du Bois Department of Afro-American Studies at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and Dr. R. Candy Tate, Assistant Director of the Emory College Center for Creativity & Arts.
Peace is a Haiku Song
S.O.S: Calling All Black People | Panel
S.O.S: Calling All Black People | Panel
Du Bois...Sonia arrested
Let us lock up war
See who posts bail
~John H. Bracey, Jr.
Peace is a Haiku Song
S.O.S: Calling All Black People | Panel
S.O.S: Calling All Black People | Panel
S.O.S: Calling All Black People | Panel
S. O. S. Calling All Black People: A Black Arts Movement Reader," featuring Professors Sonia Sanchez, John H. Bracey Jr. and James Smethurst. May 2015
2016 ANCIENT & NEW STE(A)M: ROOTS AND FUTURES OF BLACK SPECULATIVE ARTS AND SCIENCE FICTIONS Clark Atlanta University | February 22, 2016
2016 AFROFUTURISM PROGRAM
Ytasha Womack
Ytasha Womack
Ytasha Womack
Ytasha Womack
Author, Afrofuturism: The World of Black Sci Fi and Fantasy
CAU Alumna ~ Keynote Panelist | 10:00 am
“Black [W]holes: Afrofuturist Consciousness, Creativity, & Cultural Production”
John Jennings
Ytasha Womack
Ytasha Womack
John Jennings
Associate Professor
University of Buffalo Department of Art
Keynote Panelist | 2:00 pm
“New Suns: A Celebration of Black Speculative Arts”