November 15, 2018
In 1900, renowned black sociologist and civil-rights leader Du Bois created more than 60 charts, graphs, and maps for an exhibit on African American life at the Exhibition Universelle in Paris. The American Negro Exhibit, presented just 30 years after the official abolition of slavery, contained two series of data visualizations: a case study of Georgia's black population that depicted African American progress after the Civil War, and a broader picture of African American life using national statistical data such as employment and literacy rates. Introductory essays by Du Bois scholars provide context for the exhibition and the work of his Atlanta University school of sociology, with captions by an art-and-design scholar that situate the work within design history. But the infographics themselves, presented as full-page color plates, ultimately speak for themselves. Whether as traditional bar charts or in experimental presentations such as spirals and interwoven bars, Du Bois' data visualizations convey the power of information design and "infographic activism." Recommended for academic libraries that support programs in art and design, sociology, or African American studies.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)