This reference book is a foundational work in black protest literature. W. E. B. Du Bois (1868-1963) played a key role in developing the strategy and program that dominated the black protests of the early 20th century in the United States. In this collection of essays, first published in 1903, he eloquently asserts that it is beneath the dignity of a human being to plead for those rights that are inherent in all humanity. He also alleges that the strategy of accommodation to white supremacy developed by Booker T. Washington, then the most influential black leader in the United States, would only serve to perpetuate black oppression.