The Souls of Black Folk (Dover Thrift Editions) |  | Authors: W. E. B. Du Bois, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois
Publisher: Dover Publications
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Rating:  58 reviews
Sales Rank: 41129
Media: Paperback
Edition: Unabridged
Pages: 176
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.3
Dimensions (in): 8.1 x 5.2 x 0.5
ISBN: 0486280411
Dewey Decimal Number: 973.0496073
EAN: 9780486280417
ASIN: 0486280411
Publication Date: May 20, 1994
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Amazon.com Review
William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868-1963) is the greatest of African American intellectuals--a sociologist, historian, novelist, and activist whose astounding career spanned the nation's history from Reconstruction to the civil rights movement. Born in Massachusetts and educated at Fisk, Harvard, and the University of Berlin, Du Bois penned his epochal masterpiece, The Souls of Black Folk, in 1903. It remains his most studied and popular work; its insights into Negro life at the turn of the 20th century still ring true. With a dash of the Victorian and Enlightenment influences that peppered his impassioned yet formal prose, the book's largely autobiographical chapters take the reader through the momentous and moody maze of Afro-American life after the Emancipation Proclamation: from poverty, the neoslavery of the sharecropper, illiteracy, miseducation, and lynching, to the heights of humanity reached by the spiritual "sorrow songs" that birthed gospel and the blues. The most memorable passages are contained in "On Booker T. Washington and Others," where Du Bois criticizes his famous contemporary's rejection of higher education and accommodationist stance toward white racism: "Mr. Washington's programme practically accepts the alleged inferiority of the Negro races," he writes, further complaining that Washington's thinking "withdraws many of the high demands of Negroes as men and American citizens." The capstone of The Souls of Black Folk, though, is Du Bois' haunting, eloquent description of the concept of the black psyche's "double consciousness," which he described as "a peculiar sensation.... One ever feels this twoness--an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder." Thanks to W.E.B. Du Bois' commitment and foresight--and the intellectual excellence expressed in this timeless literary gem--black Americans can today look in the mirror and rejoice in their beautiful black, brown, and beige reflections. --Eugene Holley Jr.
Product Description
In this founding work in the literature of black protest, first published in 1903, W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) eloquently affirms that it is beneath the dignity of a human being to beg for those rights that belong inherently to all mankind. He also charges that the strategy of accommodation to white supremacy would only serve to perpetuate black oppression. Essential reading for everyone interested in African-American history and the struggle for civil rights in America.
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Showing reviews 1-5 of 58
 Understand "double consciousness" October 17, 2009
Michael A Neulander (VA)
This was required reading for a graduate course in the Humanities. William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (February 23, 1868 - August 27, 1963) was an American civil rights activist, leader, Pan-Africanist, sociologist, educator, historian, writer, editor, poet, and scholar. He became a naturalized citizen of Ghana in 1963 at the age of 95. David Levering Lewis, a biographer, wrote, "In the course of his long, turbulent career, W.E.B. Du Bois attempted virtually every possible solution to the problem of twentieth-century racism--scholarship, propaganda, integration, cultural and economic separatism, politics, international communism, expatriation, third world solidarity. After graduating from Fisk University in 1888, Du Bois took a bachelor's degree cum laude from Harvard College in 1890 (Harvard having refused to recognize the equivalency of his Fisk degree), and in 1892 received a stipend to attend the University of Berlin. While a student in Berlin, he travelled extensively throughout Europe, and came of age intellectually while studying with some of the most prominent social scientists in the German capital, such as Gustav von Schmoller. In 1896, Du Bois became the first African American to receive a Ph.D. from Harvard University. After teaching at Wilberforce University in Ohio and the University of Pennsylvania, he established the department of sociology at Atlanta University (now Clark Atlanta University).
"The Souls of Black Folk" is the most well-known work of African-American W.E.B. Du Bois, a writer, leader, and civil rights activist. The book, published in 1903, contains several essays on race, some of which had been previously published in Atlantic Monthly magazine. Du Bois drew from his own experiences to develop this groundbreaking work on being African-American in American society. Outside of its notable place in African-American history, The Souls of Black Folk also holds an important place in social science as one of the first works to deal with sociology. In Living Black History, (p. 96) esteemed scholar and Du Bois biographer Manning Marable makes the following observation about the book: "Few books make history and fewer still become foundational texts for the movements and struggles of an entire people. The Souls of Black Folk occupies this rare position. It helped to create the intellectual argument for the black freedom struggle in the twentieth century. Souls justified the pursuit of higher education for Negroes and thus contributed to the rise of the black middle class. By describing a global color-line, Du Bois anticipated pan-Africanism and colonial revolutions in the Third World. Moreover, this stunning critique of how 'race' is lived through the normal aspects of daily life is central to what would become known as 'whiteness studies' a century later."
For Du Bois the problem of 20th century is problem of color line. Concept of double consciousness is looking thru eyes of others. Notion of authenticity what does it mean to be authentic? His idea is very Freudian. Du Bois says authenticity is a longing for Blacks, but impossible because blacks can't be authentic have to live another way. Cornell West says Du Bois is a pragmatist. He is connected to the Harlem Renaissance. Paul Gilroy says Du Bois is more connected with Pan Africanism experience of displaced Africans around the world. What does he mean "souls of Black folk"? It is a metaphor for spirituality. Book is meant to provide progress for black folks. Freedman's bureau had some success like schools. He had issue with B. T. Washington populist message of wanting blacks to concentrate on jobs not the vote, higher education, or civil rights. Du Bois resents Booker T. Washington as spokesperson for blacks. Critiques American materialism. Standard of human culture and lofty ideals of life, the talented tenth. Book is pioneering for 6 reasons: 1. Identification of hyphenated self. 2. Recognition of Black culture like music, the Blues vernacular culture. The soul of the nation itself, West says musically is key to text, it "sings" the "sorrow song" is motif of life. 3. Important to Harlem renaissance period. 4. Pioneering work of sociology and psychology. 5. Higher education is means to self realization. 6. Relations to economics drives development of black life.
Double consciousness. His double consciousness gives us a vivid picture of how tragic the racist discourse is, defined by skin color. Black or white thus it strengthens arguments that each race had unique properties thus polarizing us. His book gives us this understanding of our mind and self identity. If Blacks accept the racial divide they then deny equality. He does see a black identity and celebrates difference made real in Black experience. Celebrates difference made real in peoples experience and beyond our racial fictions. How does he do this, what is the key? It is music the "sorrows song." Those voicings, these songs speak to slow tragedy. He precedes each chapter with sorrow song. The doubleness of consciousness is extended throughout the work. They convey resistance and defiance. Last chapter how prejudice works on people. Whiteness is non race. The great chain of being, your place in society. Rise of Enlightenment human is now sovereign leads to systematic study of man.
Du Bois was investigated by the FBI, who claimed in May of 1942 that "his writing indicates him to be a socialist," and that he "has been called a Communist and at the same time criticized by the Communist Party." Du Bois visited Communist China during the Great Leap Forward. Also, in the 16 March 1953 issue of The National Guardian, Du Bois wrote "Joseph Stalin was a great man; few other men of the 20th century approach his stature." Du Bois was chairman of the Peace Information Center at the start of the Korean War. He was among the signers of the Stockholm Peace Pledge, which opposed the use of nuclear weapons. In 1950, he ran for the U.S. Senate on the American Labor Party ticket in New York and received 4% of the vote. He was indicted in the United States under the Foreign Agents Registration Act and acquitted for lack of evidence. W.E.B. Du Bois became disillusioned with both black capitalism and racism in the United States. In 1959, Du Bois received the Lenin Peace Prize. In 1961, at the age of 93, he joined the Communist Party USA.
Du Bois was invited to Ghana in 1961 by President Kwame Nkrumah to direct the Encyclopedia Africana, a government production, and a long-held dream of his. When, in 1963, he was refused a new U.S. passport, he and his wife, Shirley Graham Du Bois, became citizens of Ghana, making them dual citizens of Ghana and the United States. Du Bois' health had declined in 1962, and on August 27, 1963, he died in Accra, Ghana at the age of ninety-five, one day before Martin Luther King, Jr.'s "I Have a Dream" speech.
Recommended reading for anyone interested in history, psychology, or philosophy.
 Above Average October 6, 2009
R. Costello
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
Took the entire period of shipping to get to me, but the book was in good condition
"history" September 15, 2009
John L. Sommer
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This bit of history is a classic. In his day he was as outspoken as was possible. There is such a thing as intellectual hybrid vigor.
Wholesome Food For Thought! August 22, 2009
J. Walker (Houston, Texas)
This is a Great Book for All African Americans as well as Human Beings Period, all Americans. This book is so relevant to the world of today as if it were written just a few years ago. W.E.B. Du Bois was definitely ahead of his time, right along with Carter G. Woodson.
Belongs on every shelf July 13, 2009
S. Jones (Chicago, IL United States)
This is one of those classic American writings that ought to be part of every ones core library. At the core of it are not only the underpinnings of African American consciousness, but the framework for a Century of American history. This is a book that needs to be read by all Americans, regardless of background.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 58
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