matttrevithick 's review for:

The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Du Bois
4.0

A great read, clearly and honestly written with a simple confidence in the prose typical of older writing. Some parts are powerful calls to double standards, hypocrisy, or explanations of the often violent and generally bewildering post- Civil War context, some parts touching explanations of life in the South. As a native Bostonian, his obvious affection for New England's educational systems and civilization (his words) made me smile in more than a few places. His chapter on education as salvation was an easy favorite given his emphasis on not words but specific actions to make this happen. Throughout all of it, couldn't help but wonder what he would think about America in 2015.