Socialism Was Central to W. E. B. Du Bois’s Thought The leading black intellectual and freedom fighter W. E. B. Du Bois was a longtime committed socialist and, eventually, a Marxist — commitments that were central to his life and work. Liberals are dead set on suppressing this aspect of his legacy. In 1935, W. E. B. Du Bois told his friend George Streator, “I believe in Karl Marx. I am an out and ...