[Photograph] W. E. B. Du Bois--the first African American to earn a Ph. D. from Harvard in 1895--was best known as a leader in early black civil rights movements.

In 1905, Du Bois helped found the Niagara Movement, which called for an immediate end to racial discrimination. Four years later, he helped establish the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and served as editor of its magazine, the Crisis, for 25 years.

The writer-photographer Carl Van Vechten--well known for his efforts to introduce white Americans to the work of African American artists and writers--took this photograph.

Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery

Photograph of William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963), 1946, by Carl Van Vechten (1880-1964), photogravure, 1983 print

(c) Estate of Carl Van Vechten

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