The Soul Of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk was written by W.E.B. DuBois from 1897 to 1903. This work explains the meaning of the emancipation, and its effect, and his views on the role of the leaders of his race.

W.E.B. DuBois, born William Edward Burghardt DuBois, was born in 1868 in a small town known as Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He receives his bachelor of arts degree in 1888 at Fisk University in Nashville, Tennessee. After attending Fisk, he attended Harvard where he received a second B.A. degree and a M.A. He was also the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard. He also studied at the University of Berlin as well as teaching at Wilberforce University and the University of Pennsylvania previous to beginning of his teaching in 1897 at Atlanta University. DuBois seemed to have held many professions such as a sociologist, historian, poet, and novelist. He was a co-founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He died in Ghana at age 95. The irony in it is he died on the eve of the march to Washington in 1963.

In DuBois' work, The Souls of Black Folk, he claims that "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line". His ideas of living behind a veil and double-consciousness pretty much become ideas for a nation when dealing with racial issues in America. The idea of the veil refers to the invisibility of blacks in America while the idea of double-consciousness refers to looking at one's self through the eyes of others. This work by DuBois also shows progress of the race, challenges of the progress, and possible future progress at the turn of the century.

DuBois discusses the years following the Civil War and the role that the Freedmen's Bureau played in Reconstruction. The Bureau's failures were not only due to the opposition of the South and "national neglect", but also mismanagement and biased courts were to blame. While the Bureau did have failures, it also had its successes. One of the most important successes would be the founding of African American schools. DuBois also states that one of the most significant events in African American history since the end of Reconstruction is the rise of Booker T. Washington from educator to spokesman. He believes that Washington's approach is "counterproductive" to the progress already taking place in the race. He claims that Washington's policy has damaged their ability for suffrage, civil equality, and chance for a higher education.

Dubois believes that African Americans shouldn't be taught to just earn money. He believes African American college should educate young