The Souls Of Black Folk Pros And Cons

In the book, “The Souls of Black Folk,” by W. E. B. Du Bois, Du Bois states that the problem of the era which is during the twentieth century, is the issue of the color line. The color line was originally used to describe racial segregation that existed in the United States after the abolition of slavery. Du Bois breaks down his book into four different categories or concepts and these concepts are categorized as the years following the Civil War, his experience as a school teacher in what was the rural Tennessee, his thoughts and examinations of the rural African American life, and finally he concentrates on how racial prejudice impacts individuals to an extent. His thesis or purpose of this book was to install a new consciousness into African

Americans, while also showing Caucasians that blacks have a place in life.
The first part of Du Bois’s book talks about the failure of the Bureau’s role in the Reconstruction after the Civil War.

He states that the Bureau failed not only because of mismanagement and opposition towards blacks in the southern half of the country, but also due to court systems that were biased in their decisions. Although the Bureau had more cons than pros, one of the main pros that the Bureau had was the creation of schools for African Americans. Du Bois states that once the Reconstruction era ended in 1876, the single most important event in African American history was the when Booker T. Washington, who was an educator at the time rose up and became a spokesman of sorts for the African American culture. Despite the thoughts and opinions of others, Du Bois states that his belief is that Washington’s acceptance on segregation and his views and emphasis on materialistic products were the wrong way to go about things as far as the appropriate approach should’ve been. Du Bois also states that three main rights or values that African Americans should be able to have our the right to vote, to have civic equality, and to also have the right to education of youth based on their ability or skill set, but he believes that all of these have been limited due to Washington’s approach. He emphasizes that African Americans lost the right to vote, the loss of aid for institutions with higher education, and the right to have a civil status due to Washington’s

method.
The next part of Du Bois’s book travels back to the time when he himself was a school teacher in what was then rural Tennessee. After talking about his time as a school teacher, Du Bois then talks about how Atlanta, which is a up and coming city of American materialism focuses primarily on the ability to gain wealth on a large scale instead of considering and worrying about other important factors and elements. He states that there should always be a balance or equilibrium between what is known as the standards of human culture, the standards of lower training and that of the ideals of life. Du Bois also makes a statement that African Americans should never be taught to simply gain or seek out money. He believes that colleges should instead train what is known as the talented tenth so that they can help with lower education and to be a mediator for improving the racial ties and relations.
The third part of Du Bois’s book is when he talks about his thoughts and examinations of African American life in a rural setting. He does this with the help of a presentation of Dougherty County, Georgia as a model for the life as what he calls the “southern black belt.” Du Bois talks about the current conditions and the history of the county during the presentation and he also talks about how the main thing keeping the economy afloat in the black belt is that of growing the crop known as cotton. The farming system is described by Du Bois as being tentative and both the farming system and the legal system is viewed as only being slightly removed from the art of slavery. Du Bois also talks about the changes in the religion practices by African Americans and how it is different from their original African society. He also talks slightly about the formation and creation of the Methodist and Baptist churches within the black culture. Before he talks about the impact slavery has on morality, he states that studying the religion of Negros is an important part of African American history and that it also should be an important part in America’s history as well.
The final part of Du Bois’s book is about how he concentrates on how racial prejudice impacts individuals to an extent. He begins by talking about the loss of his baby son and about how awful it is, then he recollects his thoughts and asks himself whether or not his son would be better off being dead then growing up in a world that is based primarily on the color line or that of racial segregation. He then talks about a story of a man by the name of Alexander Crummel who during his attempt to become a priest, struggled and faced prejudice on his way. In an essay that Du Bois talks about known as “Of the Coming of John,” he tells the story of a young black man who seeks an education during his life time. Du Bois then talks about how John is metaphorically destroyed by racism due to his disagreements with a southern community and due to his new found knowledge that he obtains through an education. As the final part of his book, Du Bois includes an essay pertaining to African American spirituals or songs. He states that these songs are the most “beautiful expression of the human experience on this side of the sea.” The songs are said to be full of pain, exile, and sorrow and have developed that way through their original origins dating back to Africa and they can be viewed as a detailed expression of the experiences that African Americans face throughout their lives.
I feel like the audience of this book is that of both African Americans and Caucasians due to the era and time period when the book was produced. A hidden meaning behind the book is to give African Americans more confidence and security, while trying to make Caucasians see the way that African Americans view things that are thrown or portrayed at them. On a personal level, I feel as if Du Bois is trying to persuade the reader to take a stand against the color line or racial segregation in an attempt to make the lives of everyone equal despite their race or color. Although, I also feel as I he is trying to further educate the reader into the lives of African Americans and the events that they dealt with that unfolded around them. The author is persuasive on a large scale due to his knowledge of the situation and due to the facts that he presents and also due to the feelings and emotions that he personally displays throughout the book and the book is also a valid illustration of the experiences and objects that African Americans dealt with and still deal with today in some places.