W. E. B. Du Bois was an influential African American scholar, sociologist, and civil rights activist born on February 23, 1868, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University and co-founded the NAACP in 1909, advocating for the rights of African Americans and promoting social justice. Du Bois is best known for his work, "The Souls of Black Folk," published in 1903, which explored the struggles of African Americans in a racially divided society. He emphasized the importance of higher education and the need for a "Talented Tenth" of the African American community to lead the fight for equality and civil rights.