The long and remarkable life of Dr. William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B) Du Bois (1868-1963) offers unique insights into an eventful century in African American history. Born three years after the end of the Civil War, Du Bois witnessed the imposition of Jim Crow, its defeat by the Civil Rights Movement and the triumph of African independence struggles. Du Bois was the consummate scholar-activist whose path-breaking works remain among the most significant and articulate ever produced on the subject of race. This film biography uses archival footage, photo animation, and interviews with four writers (Toni Cade Bambara, Amiri Baraka, Wesley Brown and Thulani Davis) to explain the life of one of the major strategists for the empowerment of African-Americans.
