W. E. B. Du Bois's universal history in Black Folk Then and Now (1939).

This article examines W. E. B. Du Bois's *Black Folk Then and Now* within the framework of ancient and African American historiographical traditions, focusing on the concept of "universal history" as articulated by the first-century BCE Greek historian Diodorus Siculus. Du Bois employs this model to integrate African antiquity into a unified human history, emphasizing moral and educational purposes shared by Greco-Roman and African American historians. The work challenges prevailing narratives that exclude Africa from world history, presenting African peoples as integral to global historical processes, including migration, cultural exchange, and the legacy of slavery. Du Bois's approach underscores the complexity of race as a social and historical construct and advocates for historical education as a means to combat ignorance and foster a sense of shared humanity.