The Souls of White Folk

Reading Material
Written By stefani :)

W. E. B. Du Bois

:)

W. E. B. Du Bois :)

"The Souls of White Folk" is an essay of absolutely epic proportions penned by W. E. B. Du Bois, a prominent Black sociologist, historian, and one of the original founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). He is most well known for his collection of essays “The Souls of Black Folk” and his 1934 magnum opus “Black Reconstruction in America” where he challenged the prevailing sentiment at the time that Black people were responsible for the failures of the Reconstruction Era after the abolishment of slavery.

A bit of background: originally published in 1910 for The Independent and revised in 1920 as part of his book "Darkwater: Voices From Within the Veil," this piece has a bit of everything - it’s analytical, introspective, and poetically sarcastic; it’s thought-provoking and goal-oriented and ultimately asks: what is the role of whiteness in the oppression of the world at large?.” Du Bois spends a lot of time addressing the intricacies of the white American psyche by detailing their fears, prejudices, and subconscious perceptions about Black people and establishes that even the most well meaning white liberals can and do perpetuate racism on a systemic basis because whiteness is not just a construct of ideals but a tool to be yielded.

A true and worthy ideal frees and uplifts a people; a false ideal imprisons and lowers. Say to men, earnestly and repeatedly: “Honesty is best, knowledge is power; do unto others as you would be done by.” Say this and act it and the nation must move toward it, if not to it. But say to a people: “The one virtue is to be white,” and the people rush to the inevitable conclusion, “Kill the ‘n****r’!”“

Du Bois goes on the describe that systemic racism and oppression are necessary conditions for the production of capital. He lays out, in detail, how World War I was a mobilization by white majority countries to compete for slave labor in the global south and for the rights to the “world’s wealth and toil".” After exploring the current political climate he was writing from, Du Bois finalizes the piece by questioning America’s role as the world’s bastion for freedom and democracy because aside from integrating German, Jewish, Irish, Italian, and other white immigrants into its ‘white’ caste, America has done nothing to create a free and democratic land for the Black, Brown, Asian, and Indigenous communities that built the country.

But wait! As always, there is more :) For our bonus material this time around we’ve got some gems:

  • Firstly, we have “Credo.” A poem originally published in The Independent in 1904 in which Du Bois’ succinctly proclaims his philosophy of racial equity. It’s a beautiful piece of literature that was and is still considered to be one of the foremost pieces of text of Black equality in America surpassed only by MLK’s “I Have a Dream” speech.

Secondly, a cool audio/visual take on the Credo prose poem – It’s a orchestral composition by Margaret Bonds, one of the first Black composers to gain recognition in the United States. Bonds put music to the words to create a classical social-justice manifesto that Du Bois’ wife said to be “a work of art that is eternal — that will live as long as people love each other and really believe in brotherhood.”

Thirdly, it’s a scan of the first published draft of “The Souls of White Folk” from the July-December, 1910 issue of The Independent. This piece is much shorter than our main read and written with insinuations of an imminent World War (WWI hadn’t happened yet, but was over by the time he finished the revised version, our main read.) When coupled with the main read, we are able to compare how Du Bois expanded on the topics from the original and to create a complex weave of all the inherent and acquired flaws of white supremacy

And lastly, for the sake of disseminating very important information we have a very short telegram from Du Bois to The Chicago Sunday Evening Club on January 20, 1939 in in which he clarifies the often incorrect pronunciation of his name - It’s pronounced like "Due Boyce"… none of that French Deaux Bouagh nonsense.

I hope you enjoy this heap of materials by and for one of the greatest Black thinkers in American History and I can’t wait to discuss it with you all!

Sources:

stefani :)
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