On The Shoulders of Giants
  • Home
  • About
    • Board of Trustees
    • Joseph Ward - OTSOG Author
  • Non-Profit Programs
  • World Giants
    • Giants of Africa
    • Giants of Asia
    • Giants of North America
    • Giants of Europe
    • Giants of Oceania (Australia)
    • Giants of South America
  • Contact
  • Store
  • On the Shoulders of Giants Volume 4 The Caribbean

12/14/2014

Shirley Graham Dubois

0 Comments

Read Now
 
Picture
​ In 1896 Lola Shirley Graham Dubois was born in Indianapolis, Indiana to Rev. David A. Graham and Elizabeth Etta Graham. As a young girl Dubois was taught the importance of opposing personal and social injustices within her community. She showed her brilliance as a 13 year old when she wrote an editorial for the Indianapolis newspaper protesting the discrimination she experienced. She was fueled to write the editorial because she was denied access to a public pool at her local YMCA. Early in her life Dubois and her family lived in five different cities before settling in Spokane, Washington. While living in Spokane Dubois graduated from Lewis and Clarke high school then moved to Seattle, Washington. While in Seattle she met and married her first husband Shadrach McCants. The couple had two sons before divorcing in 1927.

By 1931 Dubois sought the help of her parents to help raise her children while she attended graduate school. She was able to earn her master’s degree in fine arts and music history at Oberlin College. Dubois also attended Columbia University, Howard University, and Morgan State University briefly before earning her master’s. In 1932 as a student at Oberlin College Dubois’ three-act, sixteen seen Opera, Tom-Toms: An Epic of Music and the Negro debuted at Cleveland Stadium drawing a crowd of ten thousand people. Her second showing of her opera drew a crowd of fifteen thousand people, one of which was the Governor of Ohio Newton Baker.  Dubois’ opera Tom-Toms made her the first African-American woman to write and produce and all-black cast opera.

Shirley Dubois never forgot her passion for helping to end racism in her communities. Her political activism found her being fired as the director of the YWCA-USO in Fort Huachuca, Arizona. Because Dubois stood up for the protestors of the death of three black solders she lost her job. But because of her versatile skill set she was hired quickly by the NAACP as a field secretary. As a field secretary she was responsible for organizing new NAACP branches across the U.S. In 1944 Dubois released her first biography titled Dr. George Washington Carver, Scientist. She would then release two more biographies, a biography of Paul Robeson followed by a biography of Frederick Douglas. Later Dubois would become one of the founders of the Progressive Party. Dubois and the Progressive Party would become consultants to former Vice President Henry Wallace.  Wallace would later run for president under the banner of the Progressive Party.

By the late 1940’s Shirley Dubois would become reacquainted with a childhood friend W.E.B. Dubois. Shirley and W.E.B. would date for a while before getting married in 1951 in New York City. The couples love and loyalty for each other was tested as they continuously fought legal battles because of an alleged connection to the Communist Party. In 1961 Shirley and W.E.B. gave up their American citizenship and moved to Ghana. W.E.B. Dubois would die in Ghana in 1963 in the city of Accra. Shirley Dubois remained in Accra until her friend Kwame Nkrumah’s regime was overthrown in 1966. Her next move was to Cairo, Egypt where she lived until moving to Beijing, China. Before she moved to Beijing she traveled throughout Africa, Asia and Europe fighting imperialism and colonialism. Shirley Dubois chose to counter racism by becoming an example of an active activist. She was not one to only complain about injustice, she chose to combat injustices to blacks and others around the world. Ms. Lola Shirley Graham Dubois, we stand on your shoulders.

J.A. Ward.

Click below for the Shirley Graham Dubois video

Share

0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

Details

    Archives

    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014

    Categories

    All
    Africa
    Asia
    Europe
    North America
    Oceania (Australia)
    South America

    RSS Feed

    Click Here to join our mailing list

Contact Us:

Phone:
850-363-1516

Email: mail@ontheshoulders.org

Mailing Address:
​P.O. Box 5442 
Tallahassee, FL 32314

Connect With Us


Picture
Buy Now
Picture
Buy Now
Picture
Buy Now
Picture
Available Now!!!
Site powered by PIT Web Design
  • Home
  • About
    • Board of Trustees
    • Joseph Ward - OTSOG Author
  • Non-Profit Programs
  • World Giants
    • Giants of Africa
    • Giants of Asia
    • Giants of North America
    • Giants of Europe
    • Giants of Oceania (Australia)
    • Giants of South America
  • Contact
  • Store
  • On the Shoulders of Giants Volume 4 The Caribbean