Entry 42

W.E.B Du Bois was arguably the most influential civil rights activist and inspiring scholar of the twentieth century. Born in Barrington, Massachusetts, Du Bois always excelled academically and went on to eventually become the first African American to receive a medical degree from Harvard College. By the early 1900s, had become a prominent figure in the African American community and became a leading political activist for their equality. Given the honor of “The Father of Pan-Africanism,” Du Bois constantly urged blacks to integrate themselves within American culture and offered ways to improve African American life. In 1903, Du Bois published an American classic The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of essays portraying the struggles African Americans face living in the white-dominant America. He hopes his “Gentle Reader” will listen to his concerns and solutions with an open mind and understand his intentions, “For the sake of the faith and passion that is in me, and seeking the grain of truth that is hidden there” (v). Clearly, Du Bois was fervent about bridging the gap between blacks and whites that segregation had created in American society. The Souls of Black Folks draws on the issues blacks face due to the color-line and the idea of “double-consciousness,” as well as offers solutions for how blacks can survive in America, mainly through the emphasis of education.
W.E.B. Du Bois starts off his work arguing that “the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line” as racial segregation was expanding after the abolishment of slavery. (v) The color-line seems to be an important theme in Du Bois’ writing as he referenced this idea in the beginning and ending of his essays. Du Bois demonstrates how the division between blacks and whites, as illustrated by the Jim Crow Laws, continued to widen in America. To further add to the complications and hardships of being an African American, Du Bois addresses how blacks in America must deal with a “double-consciousness” of knowing when to act as a Negro and when to act as an American. He argues how these two identities have unreasonably become two separate and irrational ideas: “two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings, two warring ideals in one dark body”(2). And despite these obstacles and challenges blacks faced in America, Du Bois offered solutions for how to improve their lives and statuses in society.
Among other things, Du Bois placed a heavy emphasis on African Americans educating the “Negro youth” in order to obtain equality. He recognized the direct relationship between low levels of education and high levels of crimes. He urges blacks to be persistent and resist white-institutions that discriminate based on color. Du Bois understands the importance of education when he states, “The foundations of knowledge in this race, as in others, must be sunk deep in the college and university if we would build a solid, permanent structure” (66). Du Bois insists that all other issues, such as low wages and demoralized spirits, would improve if education were their top priority. Clearly, Du Bois believes that the setback of the color-line and the contradiction of their “double-consciousness” could be overcome with persistency and hard work.
Today, segregation no longer exists as blacks enjoy the same equalities and civil rights as whites in America and face minor cases of racism. It took the visions of prominent figures such as Du Bois who “simply wished to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows” (3). Without his leadership and accomplishments, African Americans may never have overcome the problem of twentieth century racism.