1910s: The Founding Years

W.E.B. Du Bois’s writings from The Crisis during the 1910s, covering the NAACP’s founding, WWI, and the Great Migration

The Founding Decade (1910-1919)

W.E.B. Du Bois launched The Crisis in November 1910 as the official magazine of the newly formed NAACP. Throughout the 1910s, he used the magazine to document racial violence, advocate for voting rights, and shape a new vision of Black identity and political consciousness.

Historical Context

1910-1914: Building the Movement - NAACP founded (1909-1910) - Escalating lynching and racial violence - Disenfranchisement solidifies across the South - Debate over Booker T. Washington’s approach

1915-1919: War and Migration - The Great Migration begins (1915) - U.S. enters World War I (1917) - East St. Louis race riot (1917) - Houston Mutiny and military injustice (1917) - “Red Summer” of race riots (1919)

Major Themes

Anti-Lynching Campaign Du Bois documented every lynching, pushing for federal legislation and exposing the failure of local justice.

Voting Rights & Political Power Constant focus on disenfranchisement, voter registration, and the power of the ballot.

World War I From “Close Ranks” to disillusionment - tracing Du Bois’s evolving stance on Black military service and the fight for democracy at home.

The Great Migration Documenting and analyzing the mass movement of Black southerners to northern cities.

“New Negro” Identity Laying groundwork for cultural and political transformation of the 1920s.

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