Review Of The Souls Of The Black Folk By W.E.B Dubois
W.E.B Dubois’ The Souls of the Black Folk is a thoughtful and eye-opening insight on how despite slavery being abolished, African Americans are still an oppressed force in America. “The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land. Whatever of good may have come in these years of change, the shadow of a deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people, — a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people.” Their lives were influenced by both extrinsic and intrinsic factors. White’s continued to restrict and oppress them. Because most, if not all, African Americans were enslaved, they were deprived of gaining skills to survive outside of their slave masters grasp and get jobs on their own. Throughout the book, Dubois highlights the reality that despite being declared as “free”, it is merely an illusion. They are continuously prevented from attaining the luxuries their counterparts consider privilege.
Dubois almost immediately begins his book by highlighting how despite slavery being emancipated, there still happens to be a “veil” that ultimately separates African Americans and whites in this country. It is a two-dimensional term. Whites do not see the Africans as Americans and in turn African Americans don’t see themselves as equals because of the continuous negativity that was shed upon them all of these years. Based on the quote, readers can tell that disappointment can be translated as the restriction and separations they face which slows down their progress and place in this society.
Dubois also mentions ignorance. Ignorance can apply to both whites and blacks. Whites, assuming slavery was abolished, continued their discrimination with lawful and blatant segregation, and later simply ostracized African Americans until they eventually segregated due to social pressures. He reflects on his own experience, which gives readers an insight on his passionate argument and reason as to why he made it. He writes about his experience while teaching in Tennessee. Whites were taught in the morning by white teachers and black teachers were teaching at night. This is a great example of how “progress” was merely a label. Being free didn’t mean being equal. African Americans still had to comply to the white agenda. Whites thought of themselves as superior.
For real progression, he urges education and skill development. DuBois recommends depending on white people less. If African Americans were to educate and employ amongst themselves instead of focusing on conforming they would’ve made a strong presence in America.
His argument applies to society today, most black communities lack the resources and protection richer neighborhoods do. They are missing a solid education system, proper protection, fair housing, and strong businesses. They are still very obviously treated unjustly by our justice system. DuBois’ reflection sheds light on how racism still exists today. It is not as obvious, but the systematic oppression still lies there. Du Bois gives a recount of the situation of African-Americans to empower the reader to completely comprehend the challenges looked by this group in the nineteenth and twentieth Centuries. Without this historical foundation, it would not be easy for one to comprehend the formation of the veil.
