W.E.B. DuBois

William Edward Burghardt DuBois (February 23, 1868 – August 27, 1963) was an African American civil rights activist, sociologist, historian, writer, editor, poet, freemason, and scholar. Although born in the United States, he became a naturalized citizen of Ghana in 1963.

Renunciation of U.S. citizenship

DuBois was invited to Ghana in 1961 by President Kwame Nkrumah to direct the Encyclopedia Africana, a government production, and a long-held dream of his. When in 1963 he was refused a new U.S. passport because of his communism, he and his wife, Shirley Graham DuBois, renounced their citizenship and became citizens of Ghana. DuBois' health had declined in 1962, and on August 27, 1963 he died in Accra, Ghana at the age of 95.

Related Topics:
Ghana - 1961 - Kwame Nkrumah - Encyclopedia Africana - 1963 - U.S. - Shirley Graham DuBois - 1962 - August 27 - Accra, Ghana

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In 1992, the United States honored W.E.B. DuBois with his portrait on a postage stamp. On October 5, 1994, the main library at UMass Amherst was named after him.

Related Topics:
1992 - United States - UMass Amherst

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