Editor's note: In honor of Black History Month, the UC Merced newsroom is highlighting some of the organizations, services and people who serve or represent the Black community on campus.
We all need heroes.
Perhaps that was on Roy Wilkins’ mind as he faced the sea of humanity – 250,000 strong – on a warm August afternoon in 1963. At the podium on the Lincoln Memorial, the executive secretary of the NAACP stood to inspire the throng gathered for the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
“This has been a long fight,” Wilkins said, his amplified voice echoing down the National Mall. “We were reminded of it by the news of the death yesterday of Dr. W.E.B. Du Bois. … At the dawn of the 20th century, his was the voice that was calling to you to gather here today in this cause.”
Minutes later, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King immortalized the day, declaring “I have a dream.” Wilkins, meanwhile, had reminded the multitude of multigenerational lines of civil rights flag bearers, including a brilliant and prolific Black social scientist whose pioneering work and words can continue to inspire.
A team of UC Merced researchers wants to tap that potential, embarking on a multi-institution project to free Du Bois from the margins of textbooks and center him as inspiration for racial and ethnic minority students in courses that emphasize innovation, problem-solving and critical thinking.
UC Merced is one of three strikingly different universities developing curricula for STEM courses that spotlight Du Bois’ contributions to statistics and data science. A centerpiece of the project is a collection of information graphics from a team guided by Du Bois’ meticulous sociological research. The artful charts and maps – decades ahead of their time – framed institutionalized racism in the United States and challenged a spectrum of viewers at the 1900 Paris Exposition.
