Excerpt: The Souls of Black Folk

Du Bois, W.E.B. [1903] 2005. "The Souls of Black Folk". Pp. 176-177 in Understanding Society, 2nd ed., edited by Margaret L. Andersen, Kim Logio, and Howard Taylor. Belmont, CA: Thomson Learning, Inc.

African Americans, as W.E.B. Du Bois claims, possess a "double-consciousness" or duality between their being "Americans" and being "Negroes".

On the one hand, the black community has a deep history in America, and has long suffered under an unequal social hierarchy. It has its own interests, its own values, its own judgements, and its own culture. Black Americans are descended from this integral chunk of America, and are driven to act as representatives of their race, to lift themselves and their brethren up from poverty and racism. On the other hand, blacks suffer from the scrutiny of white America, and those who wish to advance themselves or their race must do so according to white ideals.

Black character, argues Du Bois, is perceived as weak when it is actually "the contradiction of double aims". It is because blacks halfheartedly adhere to the ideals of the black community and halfheartedly adhere to the ideals of the broader white community that their courage, faith, and deeds waver in commitment.

This excerpt, though short, comments strongly on one aspect of the American social character—that broad "personality" that emerges within every American and is shaped and influenced by social structures. Du Bois' "double consciousness" indicates the effect of one culture immersed within another on the people, blacks, who are marginalized. It would be interesting to see the details of his thesis and to see how it holds up after a whole century.

Relevance: 5/5 (very relevant)
Salience: 4/5 (salient)

References:

• none.