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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
I enjoyed this collection of poignant essays, though too much of the content was sadly familiar to today’s world. While some of the earlier ones were too dry/academic and some of the later ones too colorful/emotional, all of it was worth reading and the middle sections were phenomenal.
(I published a longer review on my website.)
Gorgeous prose, and heartbreakingly many of the arguments Du Bois made are still relevant. I'm glad to have read this. 4.5/5
Excellent- the only book that I actually read every page of for my degree this year
'To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.'
'His doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro's shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.'
'To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars is the very bottom of hardships.'
'His doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro's shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.'
This book was not what I expected it to be. It wasn't as "academically" written as I thought it would be although some sections are like that. Although it is a short book, it is one of those books that I felt the need to highlight and write down how I felt about certain sections. It was also an easy read despite being published in 1903. Much of what he said still proves true today and I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the Black/African-American plight post-slavery.
This is beautiful sociology. I hope to write half as well someday. Keeping my rental copy.
There were two profound lessons I took from this collection of essays.
1. 1903 looks a lot like 2017 for race relations and black freedoms. While this is crushingly depressing, it is also critically important to know. White people have to do better, and that leads me to the other lesson learned.
2. Most white people know very little about black history - by design. This is how systemic racism works. The system is literally keeping us from doing better by manipulating what we learn. If you don't believe me, read these essays and mark every person and historical event new to you. I have an embarrassing number, and I plan to fix it by reading more. All it takes is wanting to make those changes and bringing them into the light.
1. 1903 looks a lot like 2017 for race relations and black freedoms. While this is crushingly depressing, it is also critically important to know. White people have to do better, and that leads me to the other lesson learned.
2. Most white people know very little about black history - by design. This is how systemic racism works. The system is literally keeping us from doing better by manipulating what we learn. If you don't believe me, read these essays and mark every person and historical event new to you. I have an embarrassing number, and I plan to fix it by reading more. All it takes is wanting to make those changes and bringing them into the light.
I learned more about the Civil War and Reconstruction from this book than any history class I ever took.
Intensely interesting, moving, and educational. Far more than I expected. The author was an exceptional human being at a very interesting time in history. Should be required reading in every American high school.
Throughout the book, Du Bois wonders whether black people will see justice both in the mortal world and in the afterlife. Even as his prose contains undertones of optimism, overall it is defined by an overwhelming sense of uncertainty. Although Du Bois makes a convincing case that racial progress is a matter of justice and that black people deserve better than their current lot in America, it remains very unclear whether the country will change for the better.