Description
His Day Is Marching On: A Memoir of W.E.B. Du Bois, published in 1971, is a biographical account by Shirley Graham Du Bois, W.E.B. Du Bois’s second wife. The book offers an intimate, personal perspective on his later life, his work, and their shared activism.
Key features of the memoir include:
- Focus on the later years: The book chronicles the period of Du Bois’s life from their marriage in 1951 until his death in 1963. It covers their joint activities in the peace and antiwar movement during the Cold War and their struggle against McCarthyism.
- A global perspective: The memoir details their move to Ghana in 1961, where they dedicated themselves to the Pan-African movement. This account offers a view of Du Bois’s activism on a global stage and his connection to the broader black freedom struggle.
- Personal and political insights: Shirley Graham Du Bois draws on Du Bois’s extensive archives to reveal a more personal side of her husband, alongside his intellectual and political pursuits. It describes their life together as both a personal and a political partnership.
- An enlarged legacy: As a creative writer herself, Graham Du Bois sought to expand public understanding of Du Bois’s legacy beyond his political activism. The book includes appendices with some of his poetry and speeches, presenting him as both a poetic artist and a political figure.
- A “curatorial” narrative: Some scholars have described Graham Du Bois’s writing as “curatorial,” meaning she carefully shaped her husband’s memory and narrative after his death. The book was a way for her to present his legacy in a way that highlighted his artistic and radical aspects and preserved his reputation against contemporary backlash.
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