In 1900, the world came together in Paris. But for Black Americans, the story being told about them was built on lies.
The year is 1900. A massive World's Fair opens in Paris, France. 50 million visitors from around the globe come to see the latest innovations and achievements of nations.
The United States wants to showcase its "progress." But it has been only 35 years since slavery ended. Jim Crow laws are spreading across the American South, enforcing racial segregation.
W.E.B. Du Bois is tasked with creating the "Exhibit of American Negroes" — his challenge is to counter the racist narrative on a global stage.
"Scientific racism" was a mainstream belief in 1900. Pseudosciences like phrenology (measuring skull shapes) and eugenics (selective breeding theory) were used to argue for the biological inferiority of Black people.
This was not fringe thinking — it was published in academic journals, taught in universities, and used to justify discrimination, segregation, and violence.
Scholar Analysis: "Scientific racism" functioned as an ideology — it dressed up prejudice in the language of science to make oppression seem natural and inevitable. By giving racism a "scientific" veneer, it made it harder to challenge. How does understanding this help you recognize similar tactics today?
Fun Fact: The 1900 Paris World's Fair featured the debut of escalators, talking films, and diesel engines. It was the Olympics year too! Du Bois's data exhibit competed for attention with ALL of this — and still made a lasting impact.
Hover over each event to learn more.
Instead of relying on essays or moral arguments alone, Du Bois and his students at Atlanta University took a scientific approach.
They created 63 hand-drawn charts, graphs, and maps using rigorous, empirical data. Their goal: to use real numbers to prove the progress and capability of Black Americans since Emancipation.
Claims dressed up as "science" to justify oppression. What did they actually say?
Real data, beautiful charts, undeniable evidence. What did he show?
Du Bois's weapon wasn't a sword — it was data.
Why was a data-based approach "radical" in 1900? How is using data different from moral arguments or emotional appeals? Consider: Du Bois was operating in a context where the opposition ALSO claimed "science" was on their side. What made his approach different?
Du Bois's data revealed a stark geographic reality. The legacy of slavery was written on the map.
In 1900, 9 out of 10 Black Americans lived in the South, concentrated in the former slave states. The states with the highest populations were Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama, South Carolina, Louisiana, and Texas.
This was not coincidence — it was direct evidence of how the geography of slavery continued to shape and constrain Black life, 35 years after Emancipation.
Du Bois used this data to show that Black Americans were rooted in the South not by choice but by the legacy of an institution that had lasted 246 years.
The South in 1900 was also where Jim Crow laws were strongest — meaning the vast majority of Black Americans lived under legalized segregation and discrimination.
Did You Know? In 1900, Mississippi's population was 59% Black — a majority! Yet Black citizens were almost entirely denied the right to vote.
How did slavery's geography become Jim Crow's geography? Why did Black Americans remain concentrated in the South even after slavery ended? Consider economic factors (sharecropping), legal barriers (Black Codes), and social forces (family ties, community).
What happened between 1900 and today was one of the greatest population movements in American history.
In Du Bois's time, the geography of slavery still defined where Black Americans lived. The South held nearly the entire population.
From 1916 to 1970, over 6 million people moved from the South to Northern and Western cities — escaping Jim Crow laws and seeking better jobs. They built thriving communities in Chicago, Detroit, New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco, and Denver.
Push Factors: Jim Crow, violence, sharecropping | Pull Factors: Factory jobs, voting rights, freedom
Historians debate whether the Great Migration was primarily driven by "push factors" (fleeing Jim Crow, racial violence, crop failures) or "pull factors" (industrial jobs, higher wages, greater freedom). What does this framing reveal about agency and choice?
Today, the population is more distributed, though a "Reverse Migration" has brought many people back to growing Southern cities like Atlanta, Houston, and Charlotte. The South's share dropped from 90% to 58%.
In 2020, there were 41.1 million Black Americans. If 58% live in the South, how many is that?
Hint: 41.1 × 0.58 = ?
The data reveals a complex story. One gap is narrowing while another grows wider. Understanding why is key.
Free public K-12 education is available to all.
The gap between Black and White high school completion rates shrank from nearly 17 points to just over 4 points.
College comes with major financial barriers.
The bachelor's degree gap has more than tripled, from 3.6 points to 12.5 points.
Cost of college vs. free public K-12 education
The role of generational wealth in affording higher education
Structural barriers: legacy admissions, standardized testing
Disproportionate student loan debt burden
Drag each factor to whether it explains the closing high school gap or the widening college gap.
Which gap matters more — the one that's closing (high school) or the one that's widening (college)? What structural factors explain each trajectory? What would Du Bois say about these trends?
Du Bois documented Black American occupations in 1900. The transformation since then has been extraordinary.
Mind-Blowing Stat: In 1900, for every 1 Black professional, there were 62 Black agricultural workers. Today, for every 1 agricultural worker, there are 90 professionals!
For each category, calculate how much it changed from 1900 to 2023:
Two ways to look at the same data tell very different stories. Which perspective matters more?
Representation in professional jobs skyrocketed from 1% to 36% — a 36-fold increase. By this measure, the progress is extraordinary.
In 1900: White 10%, Black 1% (9-point gap). In 2023: White 44%, Black 36% (8-point gap). The gap has barely changed even as representation skyrocketed.
Critical Question: Which is a better measure of success — achieving ambitious goals (absolute progress) or closing the gap (relative parity)?
Write a paragraph arguing for EITHER absolute progress OR relative parity as the better measure of success. Use specific data from this lesson.
His methods are the foundation of modern data journalism and evidence-based policy.
He pioneered American sociology, using empirical data to prove that social disparities result from structural barriers, not inherent differences.
His methods laid the groundwork for modern data journalism: The Upshot (NYT), FiveThirtyEight, The Pudding — all descendants of his approach.
His core idea — using data to make marginalized communities visible and counter false narratives — is more relevant than ever in the era of big data.
The Du Bois Does Data exhibit used scent, sound, and touch to bring data to life. Click each card to explore the connection.
Vetiver — "the soil of Ghana and Georgia"
Curated jazz from the dawn of the Jazz Age
Raw cotton and the Africana encyclopedia
How does engaging multiple senses change our understanding of data? Does adding scent, sound, and texture to a data exhibit make the information more or less "objective"? What would Du Bois think?
Choose ONE prompt and defend your position using specific evidence from the data.
Du Bois chose to respond to racism with data visualization rather than emotional appeals or moral arguments. Evaluate the effectiveness of this strategy. What did data accomplish that other approaches could not? What limitations did this approach have?
The data shows massive absolute progress alongside persistent relative gaps. Which matters more: absolute progress or relative parity? Defend your position using specific evidence.
Test your understanding of Du Bois's data revolution.
Master these terms to think critically about data and justice.
Click to flip
Write each definition in your own words to deepen understanding.
The graphical representation of information to reveal patterns and insights.
Beliefs mistakenly regarded as based on the scientific method. Du Bois fought this with real data.
Evidence collected through direct observation and measurement.
When societal systems and institutions produce unequal outcomes for different groups.
An increase in a metric for a group over time (e.g., higher income, more graduates).
The difference or ratio between two groups for a given metric (e.g., the wealth gap).
“What we Americans want is freedom to know the truth and the right to think and to act as seems wisest to us under the democratic process.”