W.E.B. Du Bois argued that democracy could not be perfect if limited by color, race, or poverty, and that through the shared knowledge and experience of many people it could reach decisions more fundamental and far-reaching than any other system. He said those participating in democracy must be alive and well, must know the world they interpret, and must know themselves. He also insisted that the problem with human rights was not the lack of noble statements but the need to apply them and to act when rights were denied despite law and declarations. In words composed near the end of his life, he expressed faith that what he had done well would endure, that unfinished work could be carried on by others, and that people must keep believing in life, progress, and a greater, broader, fuller human future.

Photo: Cosmos Mariner

Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Mass. Amherst

Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Mass. Amherst

Photo: by Jean-Jacques Levy, courtesy Associated Press

Photo: W.E.B. Du Bois Papers, Special Collections & University Archives, University of Mass. Amherst

Photo: by Carl Van Vechten, Yale Collection American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book & Manuscript Library

Photo: Cosmos Mariner