W. E. B Dubois Double Consciousness Essay

Have you ever felt like you did not know exactly who you are or ever felt like you did not fit in your society? Well, that’s how most of the African Americans felt during the Harlem Renaissance. W.E.B. DuBois concept on double consciousness is when a person believes their identity is divided into two different identities. “Double consciousness, the sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his twoness," (Du Bois, 12).
He first brought up the concept of Double Consciousness after he published the book, “The Souls of Black Folk” in 1903. He wrote about how black people struggled for a long time to find their identities.

They ended up viewing themselves in the eyes of others and the perspective of both cultures, which made it hard for them to unify their African American cultures and their American identities. People that live in this situation feel as if they are one person living in two different bodies. Du Bois' believes that the concept of double consciousness was provoked by whites in the way they stereotyped the blacks’, which is why it made the Negros (the African Americans) to be confused on who they are. Racism is what made blacks and whites segregated and made them believe that their not both African and American. Americans and Europeans saw them as less human and criminals but in reality they had incredible values, culture, and traditions that made them different from the other countries.
The Afro-American strove to attain self-consciousness and change his double consciousness to a satisfactory truer self (Du Bois, 13). African Americans decided it was time to get out of the problem they were in but were not going to change any natures to suit them. They decided to start a movement where they show their skills through literature, music, art, poetry, plays, and other ways to express their feelings on how they want the whites’ to treat them. They came together to discourage stereotypes, racism, and discrimination. That was how the Harlem Renaissance was created. The movement grew and became popular in the African American community. The Harlem Renaissance grew in popularity in the beginning of the 20th century but ended shortly after because of the great depression and because the whites believed that the blacks’ culture was not important and was not related to the social and economic realities.
The African Americans tried finding better standards of living in other parts of the United States of America.

They migrated all over the country, from the southern farmlands to northern cities. At first, whites’ treated the African Americans were treated pretty normal and were accepted. They started living pretty normal jobs, starting their businesses and establishing their homes, even then the whites’ looked down on the blacks’, they saw them smaller in economy and in different aspects. That is why blacks changed their lives and found a better life in the neighborhood for some time. This led to a higher population of the Whites from the south leading. The population of poor blacks in the region increased, as most of them lost their jobs and were from the poor background. This situation led to an increase of thugs, formed group’s gangs, and disturbed the peace of the people in those areas. Which caused double consciousness for later on blacks because that is what the image that whites’ have remembered and have kept for many years after and even to this

day.

Double consciousness has been a problem for a long time and still is present today to a certain degree. For example, Police criminalize blacks’ more than they do the whites’. They concentrate on blacks in jails for various crimes such as drug trafficking, murders, and different offenses. Police are scattered mostly in black neighborhoods than any other residential. Even though, white people are equally engaged in the same crimes. Further, it’s more likely for blacks’ to be criminalized than whites. Mostly white people, are not criminalized and prosecuted because of the perceptions that their crimes are not as serious. You are also more likely to find more policemen in neighborhoods and cities with a black population. With this concept, the black community gets an image of who they are through other people’s eyes and they fear that they will be criminalized based on their color and not there doings.
In addition, the media, being mostly of white people, has rarely focused on black people (African Americans) and their cultures. Black people could share remarkable things that they have done to change the society but they are hardly highlighted. The society is made to think that black people do not have as much to offer, and they are treated the way the whites’ believe that they should be treated. As a result, many blacks have grown up with a double consciousness mind sense. Their self-imagine and esteem has been affected by what the society and media portrayed of them to be, because of that they are more likely to drop out of school and commit those crimes that they were told all their lives that that’s what they are and who they are. Which makes them live with concept of double consciousness.
Some examples in media about black people and their cultures, is they see most black males to be either criminals, rappers, or professional athletes. Which makes other cultures believe that’s what black men are only capable to do. So, young black boys see that and think that those are their only choices but feel as if they can do other things other then what the media or other cultures believe.
DuBois uses “the veil” a lot in his book as a metaphor.

In his book, Du Bois stated that the "Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil" (Pg 12). The veil in this sense is like a curtain that separates different types and groups of people. It is portrayed by showing that the veil is separating the whites’ and the blacks’. The veil acts as a mask for the whites and they are not able to see the importance of black culture for the American culture. It blocks off the African Americans that are born “In the veil”, which makes them invisible to the rest of America. DuBois was trying to say that he wants to lift up this veil that the blacks’ are under and show us, the Americans, what is inside the

veil.
The veil separated the colors, meaning it separated the white people and the black people. This veil changed how the whites and blacks saw each other and how they treated each other. It followed them throughout their whole lives, in their banks, stores, schools, jobs, and businesses. The blacks felt like they were under the whites and it destroyed their self-esteem. They felt as if they were what the whites’ portrayed them to be but at the same time they felt that they had their own cultures and traditions, which is the concept of “double consciousness.”
Du Bois believed that double consciousness was damaging to how one's identity and self-esteem formed because of the negative ways people looked at them and the way they were treated. Due to stereotypes, people get affected and choose their lifestyle by the perspectives of other people. According to Du Bois, this encourages being self-critical and doubtful.
Double consciousness is still a very relevant concept in our society. A lot of people of all cultures would like to believe that we live in a post-racial society. However, there is still racism happening today which makes it hard for African Americans to resolve current issues with double consciousness.