The Purpose of African American Education according to W.E.B. Du Bois

Even though Du Bois is calm in portraying his opinions to the reader, his opinions carry no less clout than the strong willed assertive Martin Luther King. Similar to King, Du Bois was a highly educated man, receiving a B.A. from Fisk University, and a second B.A., and an M.A. and Ph.D. from Harvard. Du Bois' high level of education adds legitimacy to his thoughts as many respect them, and show why he is such an ardent supporter of education. Du Bois dedicates a whole chapter of his book to "the wings of Atalanta" (63). He defines the wings of Atalanta as "the coming universities of the south" (71). Even further, Du Bois makes it known what he believes should be the primary function of the university. He writes, "the function of the university is... above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment which forms the secret of civilization." (70) According to this statement, Du Bois believes black people are not yet civilized. They need to be taught what to do, how to act. They need to mold themselves into civilized beings, and Du Bois thinks that the university is the right tool to aid them in this transition. Later on, as Du Bois speaks of training the black man, he further elaborates on the purpose of higher training schools. He writes that the aim of these institutions is to "furnish the black world with adequate standards of human culture and lofty ideals of life" (81). Du Bois posed a difficult task of high education. Today, the expectations from higher education differ drastically to what occured during the time when the slaves were emancipated.