The Souls of Black Folk by Du Bois - Essay Example

The Souls of Black Folk by Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk is a classic piece of American literature that was penned by W. E. B. Du Bois in the early twentieth century. The book is a seminal piece in the development of sociology as we know it. Moreover the book is also considered as a cornerstone of African American history and reflects on the state of slavery and its causes in the aftermath of the Civil War. Du Bois specifically relates that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line” and this concept is further expanded on in the work with the concept of life behind the veil of race. He refers to this paradoxical condition as double consciousness stating that "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others". Over time the concepts introduced by Du Bois have become instrumental in approaching the race issue in America. The author’s work also reflects on the progress of race, the obstacles present to such progress and future possibilities for the nation as it entered the twentieth century. Overall Du Bois examines life for African Americans in the years following the American Civil War with particular focus being placed on the works of the Freedman’s Bureau’s function in the reconstruction efforts. The author indicates that the Bureau’s failures stemmed from a combination of southern opposition and “national neglect” as well as mismanagement by courts which were biased “in favor of black litigants”. However the Bureau was successful on some fronts such as its contributions to the foundation and progress of African American schools. The author also claims that after Reconstruction ended in 1876 the most significant event in the annals of African American history was the rise of Booker T. Washington (an educator) as the spokesperson for the African American nation. However the author also argued that Washington’s approach for dealing with race relations were more counterproductive in the longer run rather than being beneficial. Du Bois saw Washington’s approach of accepting segregation and emphasizing material progress as being representative of an "old attitude of adjustment and submission". The author sees this policy as causing long term damage to the African American racial group by augmenting the loss of voting rights, the loss of civil status for African Americans and the loss of institutions of higher learning. Instead the author argues that “the right to vote”, “civic equality” and “the education of youth according to ability” are critically important for sustainable progress of the African American racial group as a whole. The author also relates his personal experiences as a school teacher in rural Tennessee following which the author reflects on the state of material progress in Atlanta where accruing wealth seems to be the only target for people. The basic contention is to show that accruing wealth should not be the only focus of African Americans. Instead the author argues that there ought to be “standards of lower training” as well as “standards of human culture and lofty ideals of life”. Du Bois contends that African American colleges ought to train the “Talented Tenth” who would then provide contributions to lower education as well as playing the roles of liaisons for better race relations. Following this Du Bois has examined the state of rural life for African Americans through a discourse on Dougherty County, Georgia in order to represent living conditions in the southern Black Belt region. The contemporary conditions as well as the historical conditions have been presented in order to make a strong case. It is shown that cotton is still the lifeline of the local economy while only a very few African Americans are allowed to enjoy the newly found economic success. The contemporary legal system and the tenant farming systems have been compared to the days of slavery and it has been proved that there are little differences if any and that the differences are merely superficial. The derivation of African American religion from traditional African roots has also been shown with the overwhelming influences of slavery. The creation of the Baptist and Methodist churches has also been followed in detail and the author argues that “the study of Negro religion is not only a vital part of the history of the Negro in America, but no uninteresting part of American history”. The effects of slavery on the dominant morality of the day are also examined at length. Towards the end Du Bois chooses to reflect on how individual racial prejudices tend to affect individuals in society. The loss of a baby son has been mourned in order to ask the audience if it would be worth it for the child to have grown up in a world that is characterised by the color line. The tale of Alexander Crummel has also been related who put in his greatest efforts to become an Episcopal priest but ended up in failure. Du Bois examines the saga in “The Coming of John” where a young black man gets educated but his education places him in conflict with the southern community that he live in. In due course of time the young man is destroyed by the overwhelming racism that he has to face. The book is concluded by Du Bois by talking of African American spirituals. The development of such songs from their African roots has been shown to incorporate the misery, pain and longing that characterised the overall African American experience in America. In Du Bois’ own words, these songs exist “not simply as the sole American music, but as the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side of the seas”. One of the greatest contributions of this text was the concept of double consciousness which marked the disparities in the social values and daily struggle of the average African American. Du Bois argues that such a struggle deprives a person of “true self consciousness”. It was common for African Americans to view themselves through the lenses of white American that viewed them with contempt and disgrace. The contradiction of being Black as well as American provided pervasive negation in American social ideals. In the author’s own words, the state of double consciousness is: "a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world. It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness,--an American, a Negro; two warring souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder." Psycho social tensions can be seen as resulting from the pressure of “two-ness” that forced Blacks to be African as well as American at the same time. The split consciousness provided by identification of oneself as an insider and as an outsider at the same time provided contradictions for the African Americans. The struggle of surviving in the duality of being African and American proved to be harmful for the morality of the African American nation. The author can be clearly seen as looking at African American history as the history of strife that has had the objective of attaining self consciousness and a fuller, truer self for the common African American in the United States. Read More