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4.28 AVERAGE
4.28 AVERAGE
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
The Souls of Black Folk is a collection of essays from 1903 on the black experience in America and the need to protest, which was considered radical in a time of Booker T Washington and the accommodation strategy.
I only discovered this from my history coursework, and I expected it to be dry and a hard read. This is definitely not the case though. Du Bois writes beautifully and includes personal experiences, real people and aspects of everyday life to give an insight into life for black people in America during the Jim Crow era.
I only discovered this from my history coursework, and I expected it to be dry and a hard read. This is definitely not the case though. Du Bois writes beautifully and includes personal experiences, real people and aspects of everyday life to give an insight into life for black people in America during the Jim Crow era.
"The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land."
- W.E.B. Du Bois
I seem to be reading backward in time, not universally, I've read slave narratives and I've read Frederick Douglass, but mostly I've read about race backwards. I immersed myself in Coates, King, and Baldwin, and now Du Bois. Certainly, Booker T must be next.
I loved the book and how Du Bois danced between a sociological and cold examination of slavery, share cropping economics, home life, racism, etc., and flipped into an almost lyrical hymn about being black at the end. The chapter on his dead son (Chapter 11) moved me to tears, but so too did the chapter on Alexander Crummell (Chapter 12) and the chapter on the two Johns (Chapter 13). These chapters rang for me like good poetry and lyrical storytelling always does. But Du Bois is also sharp. He delves into the issues of the Freedmen's Bureau (Chapter 2), critiques Booker T's limited vision for his people (Chapter 3), and addresses his thesis that the blacks of the South need (1) the right to vote, (2) the right to a good education, and (3) to be treated with equality and justice. Du Bois also introduced me to the idea of "double-consciousness" or "always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity."
Other things I loved? I loved his focus on education, his critique of the economics of both slavery and the post slavery economy in the South, hell, his critique of capitalism to a degree. I also loved his imagry of the veil: "So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the Veil."
This last year (actually the last couple years) has been hard. What seemed to be a jump forward on race for a couple decades, seems to have aggrivated and angered some deep, dark cyst in white America's soul. So, now I'm drawn to these narratives. They give me hope that the journey is not over for our too often divided nation. I hope that, given time, love, education, respect, and economic security, the wounds of slavery and discrimination, will continue to heal. Sometimes a fever doesn't break immediately. Sometimes an infection needs to burst to heal. Hopefully, things will calm the F down. Hopefully, like Du Bois suggests/sings:
"Thus in Thy good time may infinite reason turn the tangle straight, and these crooked marks on a fragile leaf be not indeed - The End."
- W.E.B. Du Bois
I seem to be reading backward in time, not universally, I've read slave narratives and I've read Frederick Douglass, but mostly I've read about race backwards. I immersed myself in Coates, King, and Baldwin, and now Du Bois. Certainly, Booker T must be next.
I loved the book and how Du Bois danced between a sociological and cold examination of slavery, share cropping economics, home life, racism, etc., and flipped into an almost lyrical hymn about being black at the end. The chapter on his dead son (Chapter 11) moved me to tears, but so too did the chapter on Alexander Crummell (Chapter 12) and the chapter on the two Johns (Chapter 13). These chapters rang for me like good poetry and lyrical storytelling always does. But Du Bois is also sharp. He delves into the issues of the Freedmen's Bureau (Chapter 2), critiques Booker T's limited vision for his people (Chapter 3), and addresses his thesis that the blacks of the South need (1) the right to vote, (2) the right to a good education, and (3) to be treated with equality and justice. Du Bois also introduced me to the idea of "double-consciousness" or "always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity."
Other things I loved? I loved his focus on education, his critique of the economics of both slavery and the post slavery economy in the South, hell, his critique of capitalism to a degree. I also loved his imagry of the veil: "So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the Veil."
This last year (actually the last couple years) has been hard. What seemed to be a jump forward on race for a couple decades, seems to have aggrivated and angered some deep, dark cyst in white America's soul. So, now I'm drawn to these narratives. They give me hope that the journey is not over for our too often divided nation. I hope that, given time, love, education, respect, and economic security, the wounds of slavery and discrimination, will continue to heal. Sometimes a fever doesn't break immediately. Sometimes an infection needs to burst to heal. Hopefully, things will calm the F down. Hopefully, like Du Bois suggests/sings:
"Thus in Thy good time may infinite reason turn the tangle straight, and these crooked marks on a fragile leaf be not indeed - The End."
Du Bois is a genius. The writing is superb. He's pulling from a range of sources - historical, social commentary, religious, political, mythology, literature, and metaphor with a dash of pathos for good measure. This should be required reading for all Southerners because many of the mistakes and critiques Du Bois speaks of are still being perpetrated today by ignorance and malice alike.
There are a few remarks I would challenge him in regard to his assumptions about most of the South; however, I do realize these assumptions, though false, have some backing to justify the disdain.
Top quotes:
p. 16
"the South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and always will have, an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction and discontent. Nevertheless, men strive to know."
p.88
"It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South to reply that their social condition is the main cause of prejudice. They both act as reciprocal cause and effect, and a change in neither alone will bring the desired effect. Both must change, or neither can improve to any great extent."
p.88
Only by a union of intelligence and sympathy across the color-line in this critical period of the Republic shall justice and right triumph,"
There are a few remarks I would challenge him in regard to his assumptions about most of the South; however, I do realize these assumptions, though false, have some backing to justify the disdain.
Top quotes:
p. 16
"the South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and always will have, an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction and discontent. Nevertheless, men strive to know."
p.88
"It is not enough for the Negroes to declare that color-prejudice is the sole cause of their social condition, nor for the white South to reply that their social condition is the main cause of prejudice. They both act as reciprocal cause and effect, and a change in neither alone will bring the desired effect. Both must change, or neither can improve to any great extent."
p.88
Only by a union of intelligence and sympathy across the color-line in this critical period of the Republic shall justice and right triumph,"
I recently pulled this book up from my TBR pile and was merely going to browse through it until I reached a hotspot where I could download something else. Instead, I ended up reading the book cover to cover.
In its time (being published in 1903) this book was meant to be persuasive, a tool to help people understand and mollify or change their thought processes. I continued reading the book for an entirely different reason, based upon my love and fascination of history. In today’s world, this is definitely a revealing slice of history. It not only reveals another side to the United States during the 35 years after the Civil War, but also allows an understanding of the evolving issues in the 20th and 21st centuries.
History is always best when related by someone who lived during that era, and W.E.B. DuBois certainly qualifies. His words seek to enlighten rather than incite, and reading the book will provide the path leading to the incendiary speech of today. While I had some knowledge of the time period, this was my first introduction to the world of the former slaves, and reading the timeline of events from 1865 to 1900 enabled me to draw my own lines form 1900 to the current year.
There are those who may incorrectly determine that this is nothing more than a treatise, one over a century old that should be allowed to gather dust or molder away. In an era where some think nothing of erasing our country’s history, this is one more example why we need to embrace our history, no matter whether it is positive or negative. Without looking back and correcting our errors, how can we ever expect to move forward? Five stars.
In its time (being published in 1903) this book was meant to be persuasive, a tool to help people understand and mollify or change their thought processes. I continued reading the book for an entirely different reason, based upon my love and fascination of history. In today’s world, this is definitely a revealing slice of history. It not only reveals another side to the United States during the 35 years after the Civil War, but also allows an understanding of the evolving issues in the 20th and 21st centuries.
History is always best when related by someone who lived during that era, and W.E.B. DuBois certainly qualifies. His words seek to enlighten rather than incite, and reading the book will provide the path leading to the incendiary speech of today. While I had some knowledge of the time period, this was my first introduction to the world of the former slaves, and reading the timeline of events from 1865 to 1900 enabled me to draw my own lines form 1900 to the current year.
There are those who may incorrectly determine that this is nothing more than a treatise, one over a century old that should be allowed to gather dust or molder away. In an era where some think nothing of erasing our country’s history, this is one more example why we need to embrace our history, no matter whether it is positive or negative. Without looking back and correcting our errors, how can we ever expect to move forward? Five stars.
This book was not what I expected going in. Du Bois revealed a lot about the lives of African Americans and his learned suggestions of a way forward. As a bonus, this book presented a strong argument in favor of classical education (without insisting that classical education is ideal for everyone)!
challenging
informative
reflective
medium-paced
4.75 stars, all people should read this
Great read with a lot of insight into race relations in the late 19th century, where (maybe cynically unsurprisingly) many still hold today. Sometimes, other Black writers from that time and earlier propagated the narrative that the 'burden' is somehow on the Black folk to 'prove' themselves that they can be smart or handy etc. It's very nice to see DuBois taking a more radical stance (given the time) and not falling into racist traps of compromise.
All in all great and well written account!
All in all great and well written account!
informative
reflective
medium-paced