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The timeline can be navigated with the “Scroll Left” and “Scroll Right” buttons or by dragging the pointer to a date on the timeline waveform (located at the bottom of the screen on the desktop version and on the left of the screen on mobile). To filter by a particular topic and see a smaller section of the data, make a selection on the dropdown “Filters” menu or click “Search” to do a keyword search. Hover over the abbreviated filter tags in the blue boxes to see the complete name of the filter, or click a filter to display all the data with this tag. If you want to take a deeper dive into a specific topic by viewing a narrative essay page and a curated timeline, click on “Stories.”

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Photograph of man with receded hairline, a mustache and beard, wearing a suit and looking serious into the camera.
Black and white photograph of Du Bois.

W.E.B. Du Bois publishes The Health and Physique of the Negro American.

1906

The Story of Tuberculosis
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Black and white photograph of Du Bois.

Du Bois names tuberculosis as "not a racial disease but a social disease." Increasing understandings of germ theory during this era have begun to increase general awareness that germs don't recognize racial lines. In some places, this begins to force the racial integration of the health care system, but in others, it prompts the establishment or expansion of segregated healthcare for Black people.

Du Bois and Dr. Booker T. Washington represent two different strategic approaches to change. Washington focuses on providing skills and education to Black community members, and Du Bois focuses on poverty and social conditions as the primary causes of Black health struggles.