The prolific William Edward Burghardt DuBois is one of the most influential Americans in history. The first Black American to earn a Ph.D. from Harvard University, DuBois is perhaps best known for advancing the concept of the “talented tenth,” which argued that a least one in ten Blacks needed a college education in order to serve as informed leaders for communities and achieve political and social equity. His speeches and writings emphasizing the need for Black intellectualism dovetailed his belief that Blacks should not accept segregation or second-class citizenship in order to gain acceptance from whites. He was a co-founder of both the Niagra Movement and later the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, two organizations that fought for equality and justice. DuBois was a professor at Atlanta University, part of what would become the Atlanta University Center.