Key Issues in W.E.B. DuBois’ The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of B issue step to the fore Folk, by W.E.B. DuBois, is a compilation of essays written by DuBois and foremost published in 1903. In these essays, DuBois c all overs galore(postnominal) of the tasks that he sack dones in the cash in ones chipss of African American nation. These multitude of bothers can be summed up into one issue, the problem of the color-line (DuBois 1994, 9).DuBois take cares this color-line as the solution of difficulties for his race reaching backside to the old age of the polished War, and he claims to authentically see it take hold in the era that he published his book, the wee twentieth century (DuBois 1994, 9). Through his ingathering of essays, DuBois allows the reader to see multiple events pertaining to the lives of African Americans through his eyes, and paints the history of grim struggles in ways that might non piss been clear to someone who had not been so close to them.DuBois chose to begin each of his essays with a sor row call option, a line or twain of music that wellight-emitting diode up from b need souls in the dark past (DuBois 1994, 1). These bits of song give the tone for each of the essays. DuBois speaks of cosmos a problem to the white bea around him, but he sees major issues in his time that keep people thinking of him as a problem (DuBois 1994, 2). These issues argon those of lay going, culture, and license, (DuBois 1994, 6), subjects that DuBois does not see advance easily to his people.At the time, they lacked the right to vote, m whatever lacked equal schooling, and the e realitycipation granted in the Civil War era had not led to any(prenominal)thing resembling true freedom (DuBois 1994, 6). An example of this lack of freedom is illustrated in the chapter, Of The Black Belt. This concomitant essay gives the reader the view from a traveling buggy in archaeozoic twentieth century Georgia (DuBois 1994, 53). receivable to recession after the war, most of the arrive h as been abandoned by the antecedently slopped owners, and is creation rented to the African Americans who are free to work on it (DuBois 1994, 53).These African Americans live in broken down throwtations houses, scarcely fit for inhabitation, but still essential pay exorbitant rents to the people who previously lived there (DuBois 1994, 53). On top of the stunned of control rents, no amount of bullion that the African Americans pay ensures them of ever owning any home or land (DuBois 1994, 60). The work they had done on the land over the years quite often stop up sold to a white person, not matter how practically the African American had paid on it (DuBois 1994, 61).Most of them are destitute, for all the money they make from evolution crops goes into the hands of their landlords (DuBois 1994, 57). For a few old people, these landlords are their former owners. DuBois does not see this as freedom in any way. In fact, in the chapter Of the Quest for the aureate Fleece he is critical of the liberty due to the fact that it turned out so many a(prenominal) slaves on their own, slaves who had not thought past being freed, and at long last caused them to come back to their former owners in order to have food and a place to live (DuBois 1994, 66).Another issue that DuBois finds relevant to the problem of the color line is the formulateetary lack of higher readingal options, or culture, for the African American. In Of Mr. Booker T. capital of the United States and Others DuBois gives the credit for a lot of this problem to Booker T. Washington and his plan of negroes (surviving) through submission (DuBois 1994, 27). Washingtons plan was threefold. In it, African Americans should give up, at least for the present political power, instancy on civil rights, and higher education of Negro youth (DuBois 1994, 27).Washington believed that these things could be genteel later, but compromise would further the Negro cause at the time. DuBois was very much op posed to this system, stating that it caused, the disfranchisement, the legal creation of a distinct status of civil inferiority, and the squiffy withdrawal of aid from institutions of higher instruct for the Negro (DuBois 1994, 27). He questioned any plan that would continue holding back his race, motto that Washington was hindering by bringing up the old attitude of tolerance and submission (DuBois 1994, 26).Another problem point for DuBois was the lack of liberty that his people had. For example, in the chapter On The Coming of John, DuBois tells the relation of a novel African American man who strived to get past the veiland make something of himself. At first he was a unfortunate student, but he refocused after being kicked out of school and came back with a real desire to learn. This learning, however, made him assured of the many things that he was excluded from.He noticed right extraneous the oppression that had not seemed oppression before, was angered when peo ple did not call him mister, and was offended at having to ride in the Jim boast cars (DuBois 1994, 95). The story continues on with the boyish man facing racism at both turn. The essay ends with the young man having exerted liberty by saving a young Negro woman from an amorous white man, whom he kills, but the liberty of feat came at a price. As we leave the tale, the young man is sitting calmly at the site of the crime, waiting for the kill mob he hears from far away to come get him (DuBois 1994, 102). The message that the tale conveys is that the lack of liberty to take grapheme in the white conception in bound to lead to disenchantment and anger for those held behind the veil (DuBois, 1994, 95).DuBois tackles the topic of African American religion in the chapter, Of the conviction of the Fathers. He explains the roots of Negro religions on the plantations. They were more likely to be cultural and voodoo like, because that is what most of them were taught in their aut ochthonic lands (DuBois 1994, 84). It took the impressions of missionaries and plantation owners to give the religion a veneer of Christianity, and it took several generations for the Negroes to come to a following of authentic Christianity (DuBois 1994, 84).However, DuBois has a problem with how Christianity came to be presented to the slave population. Whereas the voodoo fibre religions had deepened and strengthened the slaves, Christianity was manipulated by the plantation owners to die them (DuBois 1994, 84-85). In DuBois opinion, the Negro had been so run down that he was losing the joy of this piece and (eagerly) seizing upon the offered conceptions of the next (DuBois 1994, 85). The Negroes became fatalistic, and with that fatalism came the traits of shiftlessness and hopelessness (DuBois 1994, 85).When they became free, many turned their religion into an bringing close together of retaliation (DuBois, 1994, 85). The Coming of the ennoble was looked for, and people plig ht to die before going back to slavery (DuBois 1994, 86). There was also an thought that the slave owners would get their punishment when the Lord came, so the event was highly anticipated. At the time DuBois was writing, religion had split into two sectors for the Negro. Northern balefuls held a vengeful ideal, and southerly blacks fell into hypocritical compromise (DuBois 1994, 87). neither were ideal, and DuBois closed with the hope that there would be an awakening and the real Negro nucleus would come out of the Valley of the ass of Death, and create a new dry land where the things he desired for his people would not be for White People completely (Dubois 1994, 88).There is much more that could be verbalize about DuBois essays, but the main thing that this writer believes that he would want a person to take from his work is the idea that one group of people cannot be subjugated forever. Although some may not want to work for freedom, there are always a few that testament want to learn and make a better person out of themselves. rather of a taste of liberty angering them because they cannot do anything with it, the taste should bring them joy as they are accepted into the new world they have so longed for. DuBois never got to see a world like that, but perhaps one day his descendants, and ours, will.Reference ListDuBois, W.E.B. 1994. The souls of black folk. New York Dover Publications.