This month, we sit down with Chike Jeffers (Dalhousie University) to discuss the work of W.E.B. Du Bois. Click here to listen to our conversation.

It’s the end of the American civil war. 4 million slaves have just been freed. Now what do we all do? The question still wasn’t settled by the turn of the century, when an interesting debate between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois sprung up. Washington thought the best way forward for black Americans was to build up economic power and let political power come later. Du Bois, on the other hand, thought that becoming politically enfranchised (while concurrently building up economic power) was indispensable and a prerequisite for achieving full enfranchisement as citizens.

Join us as our distinguished guest walks us through the two sides of this debate, drawing some fascinating parallels to contemporary topics, including the imperative of racial integration and virtue ethics!

Matt Teichman