From an outsider’s perspective, the inclusion of W.E.B. Du Bois in this list of Philadelphia specific unsung heroes may seem unusual. Du Bois is undoubtedly a well-known figure, even notorious for most history teachers and enthusiasts. While Du Bois remains celebrated to this day as a decorated civil rights activist, outspoken sociologist and educator, and founder of the NAACP—it is his time in Philadelphia that is often overlooked. After graduating as the first African American to receive his doctorate from Harvard, Du Bois struggled to get a teaching job in mainstream academia. Du Bois finally got his foot in the door when he accepted a position at Wilberforce University in Ohio. It was while he was at Wilberforce that he fielded another offer that he thought could be his gateway to bigger and better opportunities.

The University of Pennsylvania had invited Du Bois to conduct a sociological study on the black population in Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, the highest populated black community in the city. Du Bois credited Wharton School Professor Samuel McCune Lindsay for being the person to bring him to Philadelphia. It apparently did not take much to get him to leave Ohio, though, as Du Bois said as much in his autobiography, adding “that he probably would have accepted the terms, whatever they were—anything to escape Wilberforce!”[1] At the time of Du Bois’s tenure “in the late 1890’s, Philadelphia held the largest black community in the North.”[2] “Philadelphia, like other cities across the United States, became a key destination for black migrants following Emancipation and through the Great Migration.”[3] The Seventh Ward in specific “emerged as a neighborhood with one of the largest concentrations of blacks during the Great Migration.”[4] A center of black churches, social institutions, and eventually racial tension that led to riots—“‘this long and narrow ward, extending from South Seventh street to the Schuylkill river and from Spruce to South Street’ contained ‘a fifth of all Negroes’ in Philadelphia.”[5]

Du Bois historian David Levering Lewis offers multiple motivations for Penn having brought Du Bois to Philadelphia for the study: one hidden and one communicated. Lewis suggests that Du Bois was suspicious of “the city’s reforming elites hatched the scheme of documenting the alarming moral and social conditions among them in order to mount a more effective campaign to recapture city hall” to appease Philadelphia’s black elite.[6] It is more often acknowledged that it was Quaker Susan P. Wharton, in a meeting with Penn’s provost Dr. Charles Harrison, who “urged a comprehensive study of the Negro population to be undertaken by the university in collaboration with the Philadelphia branch of the College Settlement Association of America,” which focused on educational and social services and programming in impoverished urban areas.[7] Regardless, it was widely communicated by the university and publications a like that Du Bois was being brought in to investigate the “negro problem,” hence code for Du Bois being “expected to take responsibility for diagnosing the exact nature of the virus among Philadelphia’s African Americans.”[8] Du Bois never felt completely welcomed or valued by the University, feeling more as though “university authorities had initially seen him as an expendable black person brought there to do a predictable job.”[9] The University of Pennsylvania consistently refused to recognize Du Bois as a professor or even a formal staff member. Even in their own press release via the New York Times, the publication described Du Bois merely as a “fellow,” and specifically stated that he “will not be considered a member of the Faculty, and will not lecture at college.”[10]

Du Bois and his recently married wife packed up and moved to Philadelphia, having lived there from August 1896 though December 1897. Du Bois and his wife moved into the Seventh Ward themselves, having lived at 617 Carver Street (now Rodman), where a historical marker stands today. Du Bois conducted his study by canvassing—knocking door to door, interviewing and gathering data on each individual in each household. The Philadelphia Negro was split into different sections, namely history of the Seventh Ward, methods and approach for the study, his findings within various categories (education, health, family, occupation, etc.), and his conclusion.

At first glance, much of Du Bois’s finished product could be perceived as an passive, sugarcoated analysis filled with “one-sided, unthreatening interpretations.”[11] Over time, though, The Philadelphia Negro has been given credit for “its radical subtext” that exposed systemic “discrimination,” and “the causal linkage of race and class to economics.”[12] Du Bois gathered and presented information and analysis relating to family, gender, employment, economic status, property, and more. Despite all of his findings, his overarching conclusion was: “The most difficult social problem is the peculiar attitude of the nation towards the well-being of the race.”[13] Du Bois seemed genuinely perplexed: “There have been few other cases in the history of civilized peoples where human suffering has been viewed with such peculiar indifference.”[14] Du Bois completed his comprehensive study of the Seventh Ward, and read between the lines; the color line, that is. Despite all of the challenges that the black community of the Seventh Ward faced, the common denominator was the systemic discrimination the black community experienced, and frank refusal of the white community to acknowledge the burden these racial limitations could place on the figurative shoulders of said citizens. It is “this feeling,” Du Bois concludes, “widespread and deep-seated,” that is “in America, the vastest of the Negro problems.”[15] Du Bois’s Philadelphia Negro may not have put him on the map as he was hoping, but it truly aged like a fine wine—revealing harsh truths from 1890s Philadelphia that still remain today. Du Bois’s nearly two years in Philadelphia and his still-historically-relevant sociological study deserve to be taught in history classrooms.

[1] David Levering Lewis, W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography (1868-1963) (New York, NY: Holt Paperbacks, 2009), 128.

[2] Ibid., 129.

[3] Hunter, 9.

[4] Ibid., 9.

[5] Ibid., 10.

[6] Lewis, 129-130.

[7] Ibid., 133.

[8] Ibid., 133.

[9] Ibid., 129.

[10] “First Colored ‘Fellow’ Appointed,” New York Times, September 30, 1896.

[11] Lewis, 148.

[12] Ibid., 151.

[13] W.E.B. Du Bois, The Philadelphia Negro (Pantianos Classics, 1899).

[14] Ibid..

[15] Ibid..

Lesson 1: EQ: Who was W.E.B. Du Bois? How did he want to be perceived? What did he believe?

1. Do Now: There are two civil rights leaders. One demands full equality, right now. The other encourages people to stick to themselves and work hard, slowly but surely proving themselves worthy of being equal. Whose side would you be on?
2. Part I: Video Introduction
   1. Who was W.E.B. Du Bois? What did he accomplish?
   2. Please capture at least 4 facts about W.E.B Du Bois from the video.
      1. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hpPkQ9rTBo4&t=4s
   3. Part II: How did he portray himself? What is he trying to express?
      1. Analyze the 1899 Paris Exposition standing portrait and 1903 Clark Atlanta desk portraits.
         1. PARTS: What do you see? List as many things as possible.
         2. CONCLUSION: What conclusion can you make about this person based on the things you see in the image?
            1. Extension question: Is this on purpose? Are these portraits staged? Why?
         3. Part III: “Talented Tenth” Theory analysis and reflection (https://glc.yale.edu/talented-tenth-excerpts)
            1. Analysis Questions:
               1. What was the “Talented Tenth?” What was their purpose?
               2. What does Du Bois believe is the problem with making “money” the goal of training?

• What does Du Bois believe is the problrem with making “technical skill” the goal of education?

1. Du Bois believes “manhood” should be the goal of schools. What does he mean by that?
2. What do you think is the difference between “the means of living” and “the object of life?”

Lesson 2: EQ: Who brought Du Bois in for this study? Why him?

1. Do Now: Sociology is the study of development, structure, and functioning of human society. How can we describe sociology in our own words?
2. Part I: When he came to Philly, he lived in the Seventh Ward. What is a “ward?”
   1. Show dictionary definition: -an administrative division of a city or borough that typically elects and is represented by a councilor or councilors?
   2. Question + Response: Based upon this definition, why would it help Philly to split the city into different wards?
3. Part II: Why did he move to Philadelphia? Primary Source Analysis: PAARTY
   1. Place/time, Author, Audience, Reason, The main idea, Y?
   2. First, annotate. Circle any time the university uses negative language or distances themselves from Du Bois.
   3. Then, PAARTY. Break down the reason and main idea of the excerpt. With this in mind, why did Penn publish this? If they are going to distance themselves from Du Bois, or use negativity, why would they even advertise his study in the first place?
4. Part III: What types of questions did he think was important to ask the population of the Seventh Ward? What types of questions might someone ask present day to do a similar study?
   1. PRIMARY SOURCE ANALYSIS: Du Bois’s Schedule (Interview) Card
      1. Go through the schedule card with your class as if you are trying to crack the code. Guide them where you see fit, and have them develop possible answers for unsolved acronyms. For reference, here are the known symbols:
         1. 3: MF = Male/Female
         2. 5: SMWD = Single/Married/Widowed/Divorced
         3. 6: Where they are from (P=Philly, PA, J=Jersey, D=Delaware, M=Maryland, V=Virginia)
         4. 7: Length or residence in Philly, 8: Length of residence in this house specifically
         5. 9: RW = Reading and Writing
         6. 11: Months out of year in school
         7. 12: Occupation, 14: place of work, 15: income
         8. Then, explain that this is information Du Bois thought was important to learn about a neighborhood in 1896. What information might be gathered now? What types of questions would we ask?
      2. INDEPENDENT:
         1. Have students create their own “schedule” card with information they believe is relevant in present day to conduct a neighborhood study.
      3. HOMEWORK:
         1. Then have them complete that “schedule” card with someone at home to bring back for a homework grade.

Lesson 3: EQ: What was the purpose of the study? How did he conduct the study? What were Du Bois’s conclusions?

1. Do Now: If you had a dream job, and the boss at the dream job wanted you to do something at a beginner level for not much money…would you accept? It’s not a guarantee, but it’s a foot in the door.
   1. Remind students of Du Bois’s qualifications and struggle to get the status of job/position he wanted.
2. Guided Primary Source Analysis of “General Aim”
   1. Display the intro section, AKA “General Aim,” of Philadelphia Negro
   2. Answer
      1. Based on this intro paragraph (General Aim), what do you think is the goal of Du Bois’s study?
      2. How long did he live in Philadelphia to complete this study?

• How did Du Bois actually collect/gather the information?

1. What were the six different types/sets of questions that Du Bois would ask the 9,000+ African Americans in the Seventh Ward?
   1. Students record Du Bois’s six different types of “schedules” in a graphic organizer, and then summarize the category in their own words.
      1. Family, Individual, Home, Street, Institution, House-Servant
   2. Independent/Collaborative Gallery Walk of Du Bois’s Findings
      1. Students will rotate the rooms synthesizing/breaking down Du Bois’s findings, observations, and key takeaways.
         1. How does Du Bois break down the classes of African Americans in Philadelphia?
            1. Grades 1, 2 , 3, 4. Describe in their own words. Compare each “grade” to a group of people today.
         2. What were Du Bois’s key observations?
            1. Various social issues will be posted around the room. Students are to identify main idea and/or extract key takeway from each issue.
               1. Marriage, Population, Education, Church, Family, Houses and Rent, Employment/Jobs, Social Prejudice/Racism,
            2. Independent/Collaborative Reflection/Ticket-Out-The-Door: Du Bois’s Conclusion. Students are drawing conclusions and making claims based on the information they gathered and synthesized.
               1. Look at Du Bois’s conclusion. Would you say that his outlook was POSITIVE or NEGATIVE? Why?
               2. At the time of his study over 30% of Philadelphia’s black population lived in the Seventh Ward. Today, only about 7% do. Does this surprise you? What does this tell you about the way the city’s population is spread out today?

Lesson 4: EQ: What was life like in the Seventh Ward? How is Du Bois’s Philadelphia Negro remembered in Philadelphia?

1. Do Now: Du Bois Concluding Quote Analysis
   1. Have quote projected on board:
      1. “…With the Negroes of Africa we come to a full stop, and in its heart the civilized world with one accord denies that these come within the pale of nineteenth-century humanity. This feeling, widespread and deep-seated, is, in America, the vastest of the Negro problems.”
   2. Prompt for Do Now: In your own words, what did Du Bois believe to be the biggest problem for African Americans?
2. Guided Practice: Seventh Ward Photo #1 Analysis
   1. PARTS: What do you see? List as many things as possible.
   2. CONCLUSION: What conclusion can you make about this picture based on the things you see in the image?
      1. Extension question: What is the relationship between these people? Is this photo staged? Why or why not?
      2. EXTENSION ACTIVITY: Another Seventh Ward photograph included for further/independent practice.
   3. Independent practice + report out (with timer): Seventh Ward Photo #2 Analysis
      1. PARTS: What do you see? List as many things as possible. (2 mins; share out)
      2. CONCLUSION: What conclusion can you make about this picture based on the things you see in the image? (3 mins; share out)
   4. Collaborative: South Street Seventh Ward Mural Analysis
      1. PARTS (on worksheet): What do you see? List as many things as possible.
      2. CONCLUSION (on worksheet): What message is this mural trying to send? How does this mural want the Seventh Ward’s legacy to be remembered?
         1. Extension question: Notice that Du Bois is included twice. Why would the artist have done this? What is missing from the mural? If you could add something, what would it be?
      3. CREATE and PRESENT (on flipchart paper): Now that you have analyzed the Seventh Ward mural, what is another way the city can honor W.E.B. Du Bois, the Philadelphia Negro, and the Seventh Ward?
         1. What is the idea? Where would it take place?
         2. What supplies/resources would be needed?

• Who would be someone you could reach out to in order to bring the idea to life?

5. Share out, then Ticket Out the Door
   1. Students vote on which idea they’d like to support as a class and bring to life.

Primary Sources + Discussion Questions

1899. Du Bois, W.E.B.. The Philadelphia Negro. Pantianos Classics, 1899.
      1. CONTEXT: The Philadelphia Negro is a dense work. Feel free to use any section you see fit, but a collection of specific quotes or excerpts are recommended.
      2. Discussion Questions: (Focus: Du Bois’s Introduction)
         • Based on this intro paragraph (General Aim), what do you think the goal of Du Bois’s study is?
         • How long did he live in Philadelphia to complete the study? Is this enough time to study and analyze an entire neighborhood?
         • How did Du Bois actually collect/gather the information? Do you find this efficient? What could be challenges in this approach?
         • What were the six different types/sets of questions that Du Bois would ask the 9,000 African Americans in the Seventh Ward? Summarize each one in a sentence each.

1896. Susan P. Wharton, announcement of the study of “colored information” by the University of Pennsylvania, 1896.
      1. Discussion Questions:

• Susan Wharton was a member of the College Settlements Association. After researching what this organization’s purpose was, why would such a group want to initiate this study along with Penn?
• Wharton mentions an “endeavor” regarding “employment.” What is she suggesting is a potential goal of this study?
• How does this announcement attempt to use religion to convince people of the value of this study?

1896. “To Help the Negroes” announcement of study, College Settlements Association, 1896.
      1. Discussion Questions:
         • How does this announcement compare to Susan Wharton’s announcement in conjunction with the University of Pennsylvania?
         • This announcement claims that the Wharton School of Finance and Economy will oversee the study “of the negroes of this city.” Connect what the announcement suggests the goal of the study is with what that specific school at Penn specializes in. (For example, how does the “welfare and advancement of the negroes” in Philadelphia relate to finance and economy?)

1896. “First Colored ‘Fellow’ Appointed” announcement of W.E.B. Du Bois’s participation, New York Times,
      1. Discussion Questions:
      2. SUGGESTED ACTIVITY: PAARTY Primary Source Analysis
         • Read through this excerpt from the New York Times and circle everything that could possibly be interpreted as NEGATIVE toward Du Bois.
           • They specify that it is merely a “fellowship,” and not a full time position. They clarify that he is the “first one of his race to hold such a position.” They again mention that he will be an “assistant,” and that he “will not be considered a member of the faculty,” and that he “will not lecture.” They also emphasize that his work will be exclusively with the “colored population of Philadelphia,” and that upon conclusion of his study he will transfer the results to “university authorities.”
         • With this negative and avoidant undertone in mind, what is the purpose of announcing Du Bois’s study in the first place? What does Penn want to get out of it?

1897. Charles Harrison, Letter to W.E.B. Du Bois regarding his remaining pay, 1897.
      1. Discussion Questions:
         • What do you make of this letter from Penn’s provost, Charles Harrison? Is it personal or businesslike? Is it positive or negative?
         • How would you feel if you were Du Bois receiving this letter from your boss?

1897. “Schedule Card” used by Du Bois to collect information from citizens while canvassing the Seventh Ward, 1896-1897.
      1. Discussion Questions:
      2. SUGGESTED ACTIVITY:
         • Go through the schedule card with your class as if you are trying to crack the code. Guide them where you see fit, and have them develop possible answers for unsolved acronyms. For reference, here are the known symbols:
           1. 3: MF = Male/Female
           2. 5: SMWD = Single/Married/Widowed/Divorced
           3. 6: Where they are from (P=Philly, PA, J=Jersey, D=Delaware, M=Maryland, V=Virginia)
           4. 7: Length or residence in Philly, 8: Length of residence in this house specifically
           5. 9: RW = Reading and Writing
           6. 11: Months out of year in school
           7. 12: Occupation, 14: place of work, 15: income
           8. Then, explain that this is information Du Bois thought was important to learn about a neighborhood in 1896. What information might be gathered now? What types of questions would we ask?
           9. Have students create their own “schedule” card with information they believe is relevant in present day to conduct a neighborhood study. Then have them complete that “schedule” card with someone at home to bring back for a homework grade.

1. Images
   1. “W.E.B. Du Bois at Paris International Exposition, 1900” (https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-i0396)
      1. Discussion Questions:
         1. PARTS: What do you see? List as many things as you can.
         2. CONCLUSION: What conclusion can you make about this person based on the things you see in the image?
         3. Could this photograph have been staged? Why could he have done that?
         4. Based on this image, how did Du Bois wish to portray himself? What is he trying to express?

1. “W.E.B. Du Bois, Atlanta University, 1909” (https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-i0393)
   1. Discussion Questions:
      1. PARTS: What do you see? List as many things as you can.
      2. CONCLUSION: What conclusion can you make about this person based on the things you see in the image?
      3. Could this photograph have been staged? Why could he have done that?
      4. Based on this image, how did Du Bois wish to portray himself? What is he trying to express?

2008. E.B. Du Bois and the Seventh Ward Mural at 6^th and South Streets, titled: “Mapping Courage: Honoring W.E.B. Du Bois and Engine #11,” 2008. (https://archiving-inner-city.org/seventh-ward-philadelphia/ + https://almanac.upenn.edu/archive/volumes/v57/n31/murals.html)
      1. Discussion Questions:
         1. PARTS: What do you see? List as many things as you can.
         2. CONCLUSION: What conclusion can you make about this mural based on the things you see in the image? What is the message it is trying to send?
         3. Notice the different colors of the individuals to the right of the mural. Why are they depicted this way? (HINT: Look at the map to their right.)
         4. Notice that Du Bois is depicted twice in this mural, in two different positions. Why might the artist have decided to do that?

LESSON FOUR SEVENTH WARD PHOTOGRAPH #1

(Courtesy of Temple University Library, Urban Archives)

LESSON FOUR SEVENTH WARD PHOTOGRAPH #2

(Courtesy of Temple University Library, Urban Archives)

Secondary Sources

Du Bois, W.E.B.. The Philadelphia Negro. Pantianos Classics, 1899.

Hunter, Marcus Anthony. Black Citymakers: How the Philadelphia Negro Changed Urban America. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2013.

Lewis, David Levering. W.E.B. Du Bois: A Biography (1868-1963). New York, NY: Holt Paperbacks, 2009.

Teacher Resources

1. Worksheets for Lessons 1, 2, 3, 4: Pre-made. Please see attached documents.
2. Extra Time or Substitute Activity:

• In 1938 Du Bois was interviewed about his favorite things (hobbies/foods/etc.). Please use Du Bois’s categories as a guide, and make your own list of favorites. Do you think you and Du Bois would have gotten along? Why or why not? Use your similarities or differences to support your response.

“List of W.E.B. Du Bois’s favorite things, ca. June 2, 1938 (https://credo.library.umass.edu/view/full/mums312-b085-i449)

8.5.9-10.D: Determine the meaning of words and phrases as they are used in a text, including vocabulary describing political, social, or economic aspects of history/social science.

8.4.12.D: Evaluate how conflict and cooperation among groups and organizations have impacted the development of the world today, including its effects on Pennsylvania.

8.4.12.A: Evaluate the role groups and individuals played in the social, political, cultural, and economic development throughout world history.