Sadly, the following expression of cluelessness regarding American history – and, of course, one of the greatest African-Americans in history (W.E.B. DuBois) – by Prince William County Supervisor Jeanine Lawson (Tea Party Republican – Brentsville District) is not at all atypical among suburban/exurban white people in this country. In fact, Lawson is probably in the (vast?) majority. Still, it’s jarring to watch the following video, as Lawson mangles DuBois’ name and has no clue who he is.
For the record, DuBois “was an American sociologist, socialist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, writer and editor…one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909…[a] leader of the Niagara Movement, a group of African-American activists that wanted equal rights for blacks” and author of “The Souls of Black Folk…a seminal work in African-American literature; and his 1935 magnum opus, Black Reconstruction in America.” Hopefully, Lawson was sincere about wanting to learn more about African-American history, maybe even will read some of DuBois’ writings? And maybe, just maybe, could doing those things lead to her changing her far-right views, just a little bit perhaps?
Sign up for the Blue Virginia weekly newsletter
