W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute facts for kids

The W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute is a special part of Harvard University in the United States. It used to be called the W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research. This institute helps smart people, called scholars, who want to learn more about African history and culture, and African American history and culture. They do this by offering special grants called fellowships.

History of the Du Bois Institute

The W. E. B. Du Bois Institute for African and African-American Research started in 1975. It is named after a very important person, W. E. B. Du Bois. He was the first African American to earn a Ph.D. (a very high degree) from Harvard University in 1895.

This institute was the first part of what is now a bigger group called the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research. The Du Bois Institute is now one of several important centers within this larger group.

What the Du Bois Institute Does

The Institute gives out up to twenty special grants, called fellowships, each year. These fellowships are for scholars who are studying African and African American studies. The grants help them write their doctoral dissertations, which are long research papers needed for a Ph.D.

The scholars who receive these fellowships do their own research for one or two semesters. Their studies are all about African and African American topics. By 2020, the institute had helped more than 300 scholars with their research.

Helping Young Students

The institute also works with the Ella J. Baker House in Dorchester, Boston. Together, they run the W. E. B. Du Bois Society. This program helps African American secondary school students learn more about academics and culture. Jacqueline and Rev. Eugene C. Rivers started the society. Jacqueline O. Cooke Rivers was its director in 2020.

Leadership and Special Programs

Henry Louis Gates Jr. is the director of the W. E. B. Du Bois Research Institute.

In 2013, the institute teamed up with the Hip-Hop Archive and Research Institute. They created the Nasir Jones Hip-Hop Fellowship. This scholarship helps people who are studying the arts, especially hip-hop.