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A review by silentbutcuddly
The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
informative
medium-paced
3.0
A bit dated.
“The Soul of Black Folk” published in 1903 by W.E.B. DuBois is a collection of essays on race in American. While I was already familiar with the concept of double consciousness and the color line, I was shocked to learn how obsequious DuBois was to white racists in his essays.
I get he had to tailor his message to his audience, but I couldn’t get with how DuBois tripped over himself making excuses for white racism and selling out the Black folks he supposedly was advocating for by saying only x amount of them need go on to higher education.
I will say I did learn some new history regarding how the US government infantilized Blacks following Emancipation and thought throwing money at them without ever solving the underlying problem of racism would magically make everything better for them and the country.
I get this was revolutionary in its time, but to my modern eyes this book holds little value outside being a window into the past.
I give “The Souls of Black Folk” 3 out of 5 stars.
“The Soul of Black Folk” published in 1903 by W.E.B. DuBois is a collection of essays on race in American. While I was already familiar with the concept of double consciousness and the color line, I was shocked to learn how obsequious DuBois was to white racists in his essays.
I get he had to tailor his message to his audience, but I couldn’t get with how DuBois tripped over himself making excuses for white racism and selling out the Black folks he supposedly was advocating for by saying only x amount of them need go on to higher education.
I will say I did learn some new history regarding how the US government infantilized Blacks following Emancipation and thought throwing money at them without ever solving the underlying problem of racism would magically make everything better for them and the country.
I get this was revolutionary in its time, but to my modern eyes this book holds little value outside being a window into the past.
I give “The Souls of Black Folk” 3 out of 5 stars.