W.E.B. Du Bois:
The Fight for Equality and the American Century, 1919-1963
By David Levering Lewis
Henry Holt, $35
ISBN 0805025340

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What makes a leader? David Levering Lewis' second volume of the biography of W.E.B. Du Bois distinctively narrates the journey of a self-determined visionary who was an influential force in shaping national and international history. Lewis' first volume on Du Bois won the Pulitzer Prize for biography in 1994. The final volume, recently chosen as a finalist for the National Book Award, will please the reader with its detailed private and public portrayal of a controversial man who deserves such a classic rendering.

Spanning the last 44 years of his life, the book opens with Du Bois gazing upon a grisly photograph of a recent lynching. He was evaluating the photo for publication in The Crisis, NAACP's monthly periodical which he edited for 24 years. It is Du Bois' writing for The Crisis and other publications that reveals the challenging personal story of a great scholar, researcher and politician. "It goes without saying that anything I write is pro-Negro," Du Bois declared. "Naturally, it is going to defend the poor, black and ignorant against prejudice and power."

As a spokesman, Du Bois untiringly argued that racial relations were the main problem of the 20th century. His stance on racial inequality was passionately expressed in his speeches and editorials. His battles took him to the halls of academe, through the Deep South, and across the seas to Europe and Asia.

Du Bois was also a leader of change. Lewis provides an interesting analysis of Du Bois' role in the Harlem Renaissance, which motivated people to ascertain their cultural pride in the arts and also increased the circulation of The Crisis.

As an activist, he involved himself in many unpopular circumstances. The Great Depression ushered in a time of uncertainty in America. For African-Americans it was a time of stark reality. Looked upon as second class people, what would be their destiny? Du Bois began to advocate transitions that were too extreme in the eyes of some in his inner circle as well as others outside his sphere. He supported segregation, communism, multiculturalism and world peace. These views led to his resignation from the NAACP and eventually to other confrontations that would jeopardize his work and livelihood.

After many years of courageous achievements, Du Bois became a member of the Communist Party and citizen of Africa. He died in Ghana at the age of 95 on the eve of the March on Washington, a leader whose life's work was devoted to intellectual freedom and human rights.

Connie Freeman is a librarian in Indiana.