William Edward Burghardt Du Bois was an American sociologist, historian, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, author, and publisher. Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois grew up in a tolerant and respectful community, but still experienced racism during his childhood. After graduating from Harvard, where he is the first black to earn a doctorate in philosophy, he becomes a professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University. Du Bois is also one of the co-founders of the Universal Association for the Advancement of Blacks (UNIA). He achieved national prominence when he was appointed leader of the Niagara Movement, a group of African-American activists who sought equal rights for blacks. Du Bois and his supporters opposed Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Compromise, an agreement in which Southern blacks would work submissively and submit to white political domination, while Southern whites would ensure that blacks received basic educational and economic opportunities. Racism and discrimination were frequent targets of Du Bois' polemics, and he protested loudly against lynchings, Jim Crow laws, and discrimination in education. Their cause included people of color everywhere, particularly Asians and Africans, in their struggle against colonialism and imperialism.