The Souls of Black Folk: (Annotated Edition)
- ISBN-10
- ISBN-13
- 9798598709962
- Series
- The Souls of Black Folk
- Pages
- 102
- Language
- English
- Published
- 2021-02-19
- Author
- W E B Du Bois
Description
The Souls of Black Folk (1903) is a work in African-American literature, that to this day is lauded as one of the most important parts of African-American and sociological history. In this collection of essays, Du Bois coins two terms that have developed into theoretical fields of study: "double consciousness" and "the Veil." "Double consciousness" is the belief that the African-American in the United States live with two conflicting identities that cannot be entirely merged together. First and most important to the black experience is the black identity. The second most important thing is the American identity, an identity into which the black man was born only because of the historical remnants of slavery. Working along with the idea of double consciousness is the veil, which describes that African-Americans' lived experience happens behind a veil. While they are able to understand what life is like for people outside of and within their group, it is difficult for white people to fully understand the black experience. The Souls of Black Folk provides the reader with a glimpse into life behind the veil. In order to full explain the experience of living behind the veil, Du Bois provides the reader with anecdotes and situations that the black man experiences throughout the period of reconstruction. In the first essay, the reader learns about his experience within the veil, and of his realization of the discrimination he would face because of his skin color. In the second essay, Du Bois contends that the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line. This provides a basis for the rest of his essays, where he further analyzes the stratification and marginalization processes that exist due to the existence of this invisible line. In the third essay, he describes Booker T. Washington's rise to prominence in America, and how his success, while symbolic for African-Americans, was also detrimental. Instead of realizing that the oppression of the Negro was what led to his lack of education, Washington argues that the Negro needed to focus more on education in order to achieve ultimate success.
