The Souls of Black Folk

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Summary: essential part of history
Review: read it if you want to avoid having an incomplete historical background of the United States of America.

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Summary: Read it!
Review: Read it. Learn what writing can be. Learn what history can be. Learn what pamphleteering can be. Read it and learn. Listen.

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Summary: Souls of Black Folks
Review: The audio CD version of Dubois' "Souls of Black Folks" is horrible. The reader makes mistake after mistake. He mispronounces words, makes breaks where none were to be taken, and his reading in general is poor. He has made a vibrant and enjoyable read a boring and atrocious listening experience. I guess I'll have to find something else to listen to on those long drives. Do not, I repeat, DO NOT Purchase this rendering of "Souls".

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Summary: Not what I expected.
Review: The ideologies in this book are not what I expected. I was disappointed by it. Dubois takes a more conciliatory stance regarding the plight of Black people in the US.

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Summary: Living Beneath a Veil
Review: The Souls of Black Folk, a collection of fourteen essays by brilliant African-American scholar W.E.B. Du Bois written 100 years ago, is a stirring and insightful look at the lives of the former slaves following Emancipation. It thoughtfully addresses nearly all aspects of life, from religion to prosperity (or lack thereof) to race relations, and how they were affected by the abolition of slavery. Some essays take a more historical view while others are nearly in the form of short stories.

What makes The Souls of Black Folk unique is Du Bois' insider's approach to the subject. He himself was African American (although neither of his parents were slaves), and that gives him quite a different view from white historians of the time. He is deeply sympathetic to the plight of the freed slaves and understands with infinitely greater clarity their daily struggle to overcome the subtle manipulations of those cunning and cruel enough to take advantage of their vulnerable, somewhat naive position.

Du Bois also takes immense pride in his race and doesn't hesitate to share all of its accomplishments and contributions to American society with his audience. Given the prevailing attitude of either indifference or animosity towards African Americans at that time in history, The Souls of Black Folk appears to take some important steps toward earning respect for black America or at least making others aware of its positive aspects: "Little of beauty has America given the world save the rude grandeur God himself stamped across her bosom; the human spirit in this new world has expressed itself in vigor and ingenuity rather than in beauty. And so by fateful chance the Negro folk-song- the rhythmic cry of the slave- stands today not simply as the sole American music, but as the most beautiful expression of human experience born this side the seas. It has been neglected, it has been, and is, half-despised, and above all it has been persistently mistaken and misunderstood; but notwithstanding, it still remains as the singular spiritual heritage of the nation and the greatest gift of the Negro people."

Du Bois' use of a metaphorical "Veil" that separates the blacks from the whites is a very unique image that appears throughout the book and serves to unify perspectives on how blacks are perceived by white society. "Within the Veil was he born, said I; and there within shall he live... a hope not hopeless, but unhopeful, and seeing... a land whose freedom is to us a mockery and whose liberty is a lie."

For the most part, Du Bois achieves his purpose of depicting, in gory detail, the hardships faced by the newly freed African Americans. In "Of the Black Belt" and "Of the Sons of Master and Man" particularly, Du Bois discusses the economic injustices that blacks faced. "Of every five dollars spent for public education in the State of Georgia, the white schools get four dollars and the Negro one dollar." As a reader, it was disconcerting to hear of the ways in which whites (especially Southerners) found legal ways of denying African Americans their rights as citizens of the United States.

Du Bois' writing is both elegant and persuasive. One can only marvel at the grace with which he assembles his thoughts: "I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm in arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls... So, wed with Truth, I dwell above the Veil. Is this the life you grudge us, O knightly America?"

Also remarkable is the tone with which Du Bois approaches the sensitive subject matter. Racial prejudice is something that could very easily incite anger and intense emotions in the calmest of people, yet Du Bois is able to take a step away from his anger and tone down his emotional response. He is intent on making his points, but a feeling of calm pervades every page: he is never out of control. This serves to lend even more credibility to his writing.

However, The Souls of Black Folk has one noticeable detractor. Parts of it seem redundant, so much so at times that many of the essays blend into one mega-essay. Essays with similar subjects, such as "Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece" and "Of the Black Belt," which both discuss (to a greater or lesser degree) Negro cotton farming in the South, particularly run together. The overlap of material is probably due to the fact that some of the essays came from individual publications in magazines over the course of years.

The Souls of Black Folk was a surprisingly good read. It was not nearly as boring as I feared it might be. I greatly enjoyed the essays that were more like stories, most notably "Of the Meaning of Progress" (an autobiographical look at Du Bois' first teaching experience in Tennessee), "Of the Passing of the First-Born" (the story of the birth and death of Du Bois' first child), and "Of the Coming of John" (the tragic story of a young black man who leaves home to get an education and returns to find life very different). They had a much stronger emotional pull than the more historical essays, and I became very involved in the events they told of.

I also found myself learning things from this book, things that I really hadn't thought much about before, like what life was actually like in the South once the slaves were freed. I didn't know anything about the Freedmen's Bureau's troubled history or the fact that it was destroyed long before it should have been. It was a much more eye-opening literary experience than I ever expected it to be.

Despite its age, The Souls of Black Folk still rings true today, and Du Bois' foresight is startlingly accurate: "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line". Despite the radical social changes of the 1960's, racism is still ingrained here. Things have gotten better, but it makes one question whether racism is a defeatable problem. Will ever "the ears of a guilty people tingle with truth, and seventy millions sigh for the righteousness which exalteth nations, in this drear day when human brotherhood is mockery and a snare"? Will Du Bois' "Veil" ever be lifted? I hope so.

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Summary: Du Bois, Race and "The Color Line"
Review: The Souls of Black Folks, as other reviewers have pointed out, is a masterpiece of African-American thought. But it is even more than that when we consider the context and time in which the book was written. Most of what DuBois discusses is still relevant today, and this is a tribute to the man, not only as a scholar, but as someone who was continually adapting his views in the best image and interests of black people.

Some reviewers refer to DuBois as "the Black Emerson" and, as a university instructor, I heard similar references made: 'the Black Dewey" or "the Black Park," referring to the Chicago School scholars. Du Bois was brilliant; indeed, these white men should be being called "the white Du Bois"! Du Bois literally created the scientific method of observation and qualitative research. With the junk being put out today in the name of "dissertations," simply re-read Du Bois' work on the Suppression of the African Slave Trade and his work on the Philadelphia Negro and it is clear that he needs not be compared to any white man of his time or any other: he was a renaissance man who cared about his people and, unlike too many of the scholars of day, he didn't just talk the talk or write the trite; he walked the walk and organized the unorganizable.

White racism suffered because Du Bois raised the consciousness of the black masses. But he did more than that; by renouncing his American citizenship and moving to Ghana, he proved that Pan Africanism is not just something to preach or write about (ala Molefi Asante, Tony Martin, Jeffries and other Africanists); it is a way of life, both a means and an end. Du Bois organized the first ever Pan African Congress and, in doing so, set the stage for Afrocentricity, Black Studies and the Bandung Conference which would be held in 1954 in Bandung, Indonesia. Du Bois not only affected people in this country, he was a true internationalist.

Souls of Black Folk is an important narrative that predates critical race theory. It is an important reading, which predates formal Black Studies. The book calls for elevation of black people by empowering black communities -- today's leadership is so starved for acceptance that I believe that Karenga was correct when he says that these kind of people "often doubt their own humanity."

The book should be read by all.

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Summary: Wow...
Review: This book is a timeless classic. It cuts deep into the readers mind, heart, and soul. It is thought provoking and tackles the tough questions of race relations in America. I love the way DuBois challenges the reader, he presents some powerful facts and drops alot of wisdom in this book. I personally took it slow when I read it, in order for everything to sink in completely. You will easily find yourself re-reading it. The Souls of Black Folk should be read by everyone who appreciates some serious food for thought in my opinion and W.E.B. DuBois delivers big time. I recommend this book to anyone and everyone.

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Summary: Philosophy that is Relevant Today
Review: This book is excellent. DuBois shows the mindsets of black people from different walks of life. He presents the errors in thinking and shows how thought should change. This book is still relevant today. He writes of how one's upbringing affects a person and the mindset that a person has determines how he deals with his experiences at institutions. For example, DuBois shares that some people think that an elite educational institution can transform a person who attends it into a member of the elite. But the characteristics that the elite have, they gained from their upbringing and they frequented certain institutions. They did not gain their characteristics from spending time at elite institutions. He believes in the equality of humans and in the book he addresses his disagreements with Booker T. Washington.

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Summary: Timeless piece of work
Review: THIS BOOK IS THE PUREST ANALYSIS OF THE AFRICAN-AMERICAN POSITION IN THE UNITED STATES. THE THINGS THAT HE TALKS ABOUT IN THIS BOOK; RACISM, PREJUDICE, AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT; ARE STILL SALIENT TODAY. HIS ERUDTING PROSES DON'T TAMPER WITH THE ESSENCE OF HIS PURPOSE, TO INFORM BLACK PEOPLE THAT THEY ARE CAPABLE OF ACHIEVING IN ANY ENDEAVOR THEY DECIDE TO PARTAKE IN. THIS BOOK MOTIVATED ME TO BE MORE INFORMATIVE, TO GAIN MORE KNOWLEDGE, AND TO SHARPEN MY MIND. I MUST DWELL ABOVE THE VEIL.

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Summary: Hard to understand
Review: This book is very complex and difficult to understand. I had to read it for my ap us history class and I barely could follow it. I reccomend Up from Slavery instead, it is more entertaining and easier to understnad.