W. E. B. Du Bois, James and Esther Cooper Jackson, and the Promise of Intergenerational Solidarity in the Black Freedom Movement

Abstract

This article examines the relationship between W. E. B. Du Bois and James and Esther Cooper Jackson over the course of their long and overlapping careers. In it, I will argue that through this relationship, Du Bois demonstrated the importance and utility of intergenerational activism by adapting to changing times, offering guidance and support to young people, and learning from up-and-coming activists. James (b. 1914) and Esther Cooper Jackson (b. 1917) grew up admiring Du Bois, and as youth activists in the 1940s began to build a relationship of mutual respect with their idol. By the time Du Bois wrote In Battle for Peace, the dynamic had blossomed into a collaborative friendship. James Jackson was among the Communist leaders indicted under the Smith Act in 1951, and Cooper Jackson was active in the National Committee to Defend Negro Leadership. Her advocacy extended to Du Bois’s indictment and trial. When Jackson stood trial, Du Bois testified in his defense. Jackson was among those engaged in conversations with Du Bois about Communism prior to his petition for membership in the CPUSA and he transmitted the announcement of his decision to join the Party via the Jacksons before his departure to Ghana. Cooper Jackson collaborated with Du Bois and his wife Shirley in the establishment of Freedomways magazine, a quarterly journal that showcased Black writers, artists, and thinkers, shaping the discourse of race in American social thought for nearly 25 years. After Du Bois’s death, the Jacksons endeavored to preserve his memory and commemorate his legacy. In addition to sponsoring a 100th birthday celebration for Du Bois through Freedomways, Cooper Jackson worked to establish Du Bois’s Great Barrington birthplace as a national landmark. For the Jacksons, Du Bois’s enduring importance over the course of nearly a century reflected the necessity of adapting one’s activism as the world changed around them. Du Bois offered a model for lifelong activism that was not only based on guiding younger generations but on learning from and growing with them as well.