The book, The Souls of Black Folk, was written by W. E. B Du Bois in 1903 and is a famous work as an American classic and African American literature. The author’s concept of living behind the mask of race as well as the whole issue of twofold consciousness and the logic of looking at “oneself through the eyes of others” have provided criteria of rethinking the concept of race in America. DuBois, through this book, offers a race assessment, there being a possibility of future progress towards the twentieth century.
DuBois scrutinizes the years which followed after the Civil War, and particularly the role of Freedmen’s Bureau in the reform efforts. The failures of the Bureau were not just due to ‘national neglect’ and the southern opposition, but also due to the biases in courts and mismanagement. The courts portrayed their ‘favor of the black litigants.’(Du Bois, 2008). However, the Bureau was also successful in that it contributed to the founding of the schools of African Americans. Since1876, when the Reconstruction came to an end, Du Bois claimed that the event which has most significances in the History of African Americans was when Booker T. Washington rose as an educator and a spokesperson for the race. Washington’s way of approaching race associations was counterproductive to the race’s long-term development. He acknowledged segregation and stressed on material improvement which DuBois says is, ‘an old attitude of submission and adjustment’ (DuBois 1903) DuBois brings out the level of pretense and masking of the majority, stating that instead of asking him directly how it feels to be the problem, they state that, they, ‘knew of a brilliant colored man in the town’ (DuBois, 2008). This demonstrates that DuBois understood clearly the deep-rooted feelings of the whites despite their attempt to portray a different image.
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DuBois also presents his experiences when he was in rural Tennessee as a school teacher, turning his focus on critiquing Materialism in America and Atlanta city, where focus was focused on acquiring wealth, threatening to substitute the rest of the considerations. According to him, African Americans should not be taught simply to make money, but rather, a balance between ‘low training standards’ and ‘ the standards of ‘ideal of life and human culture’ (Du Bois, 2008) was necessary. He argued that the African American colleges needed to train individuals who will help to contribute to lower education while acting on improving race relations. DuBois also looked at the African American lives in rural areas, focusing on Dougherty County. He presented the history and also the contemporary conditions of this County. Du Bois described the farming system as well as the legal system to have been slightly removed from slavery. He also works on an examination of the impact that slavery has on morality.
DuBois also works on presents racial prejudice and how it affects individuals. Although he grieves having lost a child, he also wonders whether his son could be better alive if he would grow in a world with color line dominance. DuBois presents the urge of the American Negro to get recognition, not by their souls being bleached but rather to be both an American and a Negro in a white-dominated world. He also expresses that American Negros want a world in which the doors of opportunity will not be, ‘closed roughly on his face’ (Du Bois, 2008). DuBois uses his work to present the issues facing African Americans in a foreign land, helping the reader understand the main and pressure that Negroes underwent under white supremacy.
References
Du Bois, W. E. B. (2008). The souls of black folk . Oxford University Press.
