Progressivism 117economiccontrols.Boththe internmentandthe NewDeal’s economiccontrolsinvolve
governistsubordinationof individualrightsto the ostensivesecurityof the greatercom-
munity.Fortunately,AynRandunderstoodthe realitythatGregRobinsonelides.Archi-
vist Jeff Brittinginformsus, “Randregardedthe internment” of Japanese-American“citi-
zensduringWorldWarII as an injusticearisingfromcollectivistNewDealpolicies.”^126
It mayseemtemptingto writeoff regulatoryeugenicsas a fieldreservedexclusivelyto
whitesupremacists.Yet Ray StannardBakerpossesseda nonwhitecounterpartwho,near
the twilightof his life,likewisecalledfor racialseparatismandsegregation.Ironically,
thiswasalsoan African-Americanwhohadpreviously pioneeredin the civilrights
movementand had helpedOswaldGarrisonVillard(1872–1949),^127 ownerof the by-then
illiberalNationmagazineat the time,co-foundthe NAACP(NationalAssociationfor the
Advancementof ColoredPeople).^128 Thiswas W. E. B. Du Bois.
TheLeft’s PloysConcerningDu Bois
Shouldwe trustwhathe has writtenon the matter,W. E. B. Du Boiswouldnot
approveof the mannerwherebyPC historianshavelionizedhim.“Oneis astonished,” he
wrote,“in the studyof historyat the recurrenceof the ideathatevil mustbe forgotten,
distorted,skimmedover.” To the degreethatthe moralfailingsof reveredhistorical
figureshavebeenminimizedor whitewashed,“historylosesits valueas an incentiveand
example;... it doesnot tell the truth.”^129 For argument’s sake,let us assumethat Du Bois
meanshis ownwordsand wouldhaveus applyhis explicitprinciplesas we examineDu
Boishimself.Du Bois’s remarkaboutthe bowdlerizingof reveredhistoricalfiguresis
strangelyprophetic,for theyanticipatehowDu Boishas cometo be treatedamongpracti-
tionersof the socialsciences.He wasnot the saintedcrusaderfor politicalequalityand
morallyjust racerelationsthat he has beenvauntedto be.
PulitzerPrize-winningRutgersUniversityhistorianDavidLeveringLewisinformshis
readersthatDu Boisfoundhimselfon “the brinkof demonizingwhiteAmericans” in his
old age.^130 Du Bois’s 1920bookDarkwater:VoicesfromWithinthe Veilcontainsa chapter
titled“The Soulof WhiteFolk.” In this chapter,the authorarticulateshis generalhostility
towardAmericansof Europeanancestry.As is commonwitha multitudeof the present’s
PC academicians,Du BoisgetsawaywithgeneralizingthatCaucasians,as a whole,are
congenitallyracist.“On the pale,whitefaces.... I see... hatred,a deepand passionate
hatred,vastby the veryvagueness” of the “expressions” on thosefaces.His wordsdrip-
pingin sarcasm,he saysof Euro-Americans,“Thesesuper-menandworld-mastering
demi-godslistened...to no lowtongueof ours[‘we’ beingnonwhites],evenwhenwe
pointedsilentlyto theirfeetof clay.... We havecurledourlipsin somethinglike
contemptas we havewitnessedglibapologyandwearyexplanation” fromwhitesin
general.Accordingly,Du Boisanticipatesthe rejoinderthat surelya U.S.citizencannotbe
prejudgedas evil simplybecausehe is Caucasian.Du Boispreemptsthe rejoinder,“The
numberof whiteindividualswhoare practisingwithevenreasonableapproximationthe
democracyandunselfishnessof JesusChristis so smallandunimportantas to be fit
subjectfor jest in Sundaysupplementsand inPunch[a humormagazine],Life,Le Rive, and
FliegendeBlätter.”^131 Yes,Du Boisdecided,by 1920,thatmostwhiteAmericanswere
innatelybigoted.Accordingly,Du Boisgaveup on his earliercallsfor racialintegration.
By 1935he reverseddirection,proposingthatblacksshouldbe segregatedfromwhites.
Thiswouldshoveblacksintoan enclaveandpenalizeinterracialinteraction.Du Bois
huffed,“Thereexists...a chancefor the Negroesto organizea cooperativeStatewithin
theirowngroup.... No sooneris this proposedthana greatfearsweepsoverthe older
Negroes.Theycry ‘No segregation’—no furtheryieldingto prejudiceand raceseparation.
Yet any planningfor the benefitof AmericanNegroeson the partof a Negrointelligentsia