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'''William Edward Burghardt Du Bois''' (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was a prominent American civil rights activist, sociologist, historian and militant activist. He joined the [[Communist Party of the United States of America|Communist party]] and moved to Africa, where he was largely forgotten. DuBois was awarded the [[Stalin Peace Prize]] in 1959.

'''William Edward Burghardt Du Bois''' (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was a prominent American civil rights activist, sociologist, historian and militant activist. He joined the [[Communist Party of the United States of America|Communist party]] and moved to Africa, where he was largely forgotten. DuBois was awarded the [[Stalin Peace Prize]] in 1959.

In 1909, Du Bois was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which, according to Du Bois, "had a strong socialist element in its leadership in persons like Mary Ovington, William English Walling and Charles Edward Russell."<ref>[http://socalcpusa.blogspot.com/2009/02/web-du-bois-joins-communist-party.html W.E.B. Du Bois Joins the Communist Party], Southern California Communist Party USA, Saturday, February 28, 2009</ref> In 1911 he joined the Socialist Party, but in the following year's Presidential election endorsed Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who would repay his support by sending Du Bois to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Du Bois, however, remained a committed socialist, contributing regularly to the socialist press. Du Bois wrote that he "hailed the Russian Revolution of 1917."<ref>[http://socalcpusa.blogspot.com/2009/02/web-du-bois-joins-communist-party.html W.E.B. Du Bois Joins the Communist Party], Southern California Communist Party USA, Saturday, February 28, 2009</ref>

In 1909, Du Bois was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which, according to Du Bois, "had a strong socialist element in its leadership in persons like Mary Ovington, [[William English Walling]] and Charles Edward Russell."<ref>[http://socalcpusa.blogspot.com/2009/02/web-du-bois-joins-communist-party.html W.E.B. Du Bois Joins the Communist Party], Southern California Communist Party USA, Saturday, February 28, 2009</ref> In 1911 he joined the Socialist Party, but in the following year's Presidential election endorsed Democrat Woodrow Wilson, who would repay his support by sending Du Bois to the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. Du Bois, however, remained a committed socialist, contributing regularly to the socialist press. Du Bois wrote that he "hailed the Russian Revolution of 1917."<ref>[http://socalcpusa.blogspot.com/2009/02/web-du-bois-joins-communist-party.html W.E.B. Du Bois Joins the Communist Party], Southern California Communist Party USA, Saturday, February 28, 2009</ref>  In 1917, he joined the [[Intercollegiate Socialist Society]].<ref>[http://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b010-i143 Intercollegiate Socialist Society membership card, April 1917], University of Massachusetts Amherst</ref>

In 1927 Du Bois first visited the Soviet Union. He called the Soviet system "the most hopeful vehicle for the world." He spent the next 12 years as a Communist propagandist, trying (and failing) to convert the NAACP into a [[Communist]] front. In 1935 he published the book ''Black Reconstruction'', a Marxist interpretation of the Reconstruction Era. The following year, Du Bois traveled to Nazi Germany, gushing that Hitler “showed Germany a way out when most Germans saw nothing but impenetrable mist,” explaining, “They have domestic peace after a generation of wars; they have a nation at work, after a nightmare of unemployment.” The same year, on a speaking tour (sponsored by Imperial Japan) of Manchukou (the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria) and Japan, Du Bois urged China to welcome the Japanese invaders as liberators.

In 1927 Du Bois first visited the Soviet Union. He called the Soviet system "the most hopeful vehicle for the world." He spent the next 12 years as a Communist propagandist, trying (and failing) to convert the NAACP into a [[Communist]] front. In 1935 he published the book ''Black Reconstruction'', a Marxist interpretation of the Reconstruction Era. The following year, Du Bois traveled to Nazi Germany, gushing that Hitler “showed Germany a way out when most Germans saw nothing but impenetrable mist,” explaining, “They have domestic peace after a generation of wars; they have a nation at work, after a nightmare of unemployment.” The same year, on a speaking tour (sponsored by Imperial Japan) of Manchukou (the Japanese puppet state in Manchuria) and Japan, Du Bois urged China to welcome the Japanese invaders as liberators.