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     MANUSCRIPTS and ARCHIVAL MATERIAL

W.E.B. Du Bois address at the Conference on the Encyclopaedia Africana

 Unprocessed Material — Folder: 1
Identifier: ViU-2023-0177

Content Description

This collection contains a mimeographed typescript of W.E.B. Du Bois's opening address disseminated to the press and attendees at the Conference of the Encyclopedia of Africa held at the University of Ghana in Accra in 1962. Du Bois argues for his project of an Encyclopedia Africana based in Africa and compiled by Africans. He notes that it is long overdue but that "such a work had to wait for independent Africans to carry it out." He acknowledges the excellence of the Presence Africaine (founded in 1947), which "has already brought to light much material written in the French language," and sees the project as a "living effort which will grow and change -- which will expand through the years as more and more material is gathered from all parts of Africa." Furthermore, he hopes that the project would dispense with divisive colonial distinctions such as "British," "French," "Black," or "Islamic" Africa and consider the continent as a whole.

Acquisition Type

Purchase

Provenance

Purchased Maggs Bros, 8 August 2023.

Language of Description

English

Script of Description

Latin

Restrictions Apply

No

Dates

  • Creation: December 18, 1962

Creator

Extent

.03 Cubic Feet (1 folder (letter))

Language of Materials

English

Inventory

1 item (3 pages)