The souls of black folk : essays and sketches / by W.E. Burghardt Du Bois ; with an introduction by Saunders Redding.

"A Fawcett Premier Book."

The forethought -- Fifty years after -- Of our spiritual strivings -- Of the dawn of freedom -- Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and others -- Of the meaning of progress -- Of the wings of Atalanta -- Of the training of Black men -- Of the Black belt -- Of the quest of the golden fleece -- Of the sons of master and man -- Of the faith of the fathers -- Of the passing of the first-born -- Of Alexander Crummell -- Of the coming of John -- Of the sorrow songs -- The after-thought.

This book contains powerful arguments that show the problem of the position of black people in the US at the turn of the 20th-century. Du Bois identified three significant issues ('the color line'; 'double consciousness'; and 'the veil') that acted as roadblocks to true black emancipation, and showed how each of these in turn contributed to the problem of inequality. Du Bois carefully investigates all three problems, constructing clear explanations of their significance in shaping the consciousness of a community that has been systematically discriminated against, and dealing brilliantly with counter-arguments throughout.

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