W.E.B. Du Bois: The Dueling Fan Chart
W.E.B. Du Bois led a team that created a historic exhibit for the World’s Fair in Paris in 1900. His mission was to combat ignorance about race with science. Many of the graphs, charts, and statistical graphics he designed were revolutionary.
At a glance, the chart below could be mistaken for modern art. But it’s more than nice-looking; it carries a historical message.
I think of this visualization as a “Dueling Fan Chart.” Du Bois fused two fan charts on a shared axis. The fans show the types of jobs held by African American and White workers in Georgia. For example, in red, you can see that 62% of African Americans were employed in farming, mining, and fisheries, compared to 64% of White Americans.
The shared key is placed artfully in the white space that separates them.
The dueling fans paint a hopeful picture. The Emancipation Proclamation was 37 years old. Du Bois shows that, although Whites hold more high-paying industrial and mechanical jobs, overall, the two groups are similar. Progress and possibilities were made clear.
Occupations of Negroes and Whites in Georgia, 1900. The Library of Congress
