Various scholars and activists have stood up for the civil rights of affected groups in the history of our country. Some of these activists oppose the unequal treatment of people based on factors such as gender and race. In this paper, I shall discuss one activist, W.E.B Dubois, the Atlanta School, as well as some of his notable contributions as an activist of African American and women’s rights. Further, I will discuss the lived experiences of the arguments highlighted.
The Atlanta Sociological Laboratory was the first sociological program in the country to institutionalize public dissemination of the limitations of its research. Also, it was the first sociological program to institutionalize the use of insider researchers as well as the first sociological program in the nation to institutionalize method triangulation. Before the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory, some of these practices were not entailed in any collective sociological research program within the United States.
Some works of the schools include studies on the impact of lack of ventilation in early 20th century apartments. Other major works include studies on African-American people and the criminal justice system as well as studies on gender and women’s rights. Despite various evidence that the Atlanta Sociological Laboratory comprised the first American school of sociology, made numerous contributions to the discipline especially in areas such as research methods, and conducted a number of seminal studies in the discipline, it remains greatly excluded in today’s contemporary sociology textbooks.
Dubois expressed his thoughts and concerns on women by arguing that they ought to be allowed to choose for themselves a life that is worth living. In his works, Dubois argues that women live under a type of curse which inhibits them from progressing, especially within the context of work and career. They have to conform to some norms such as bearing children while at the same strive to do best in work. The effect was greatly impactful on black women since the black men were underpaid and job opportunities for women were extensive, which exerted pressure on black women. Dubois aims and looks forward to a future in which women are accorded with a life of work, economic independence as well as the right to motherhood at their own discretion.
Dubois worked with various women, including Shirley Graham and other female activists who led to the accomplishment of various developments. For instance, through his works and collaborations with the various women, some developments were achieved. For instance, women received the right to vote. Dubois was an advocate for black women. His attention on black women as mothers, workers, activists and intellectuals is included as the basis of his works.
The Bosnian context on race follows an existentialist analysis described through lived experiences of blackness and a blunt challenge to the American social and political system as a white supremacist polity premised upon the subjugation of nonwhite people. For example, black people continue to face unequal treatment, especially as witnessed through police brutality. While driving, often they are racially profiled and offered sentences that are unequal to the white offenders. Racism is also experienced in job applications where choices are made in the context of one’s skin color. Some of the views of Dubois are still prevalent today and Dubois would argue that race is still a product of power and resistance as opposed to it being a biological inheritance.