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W. E. B. Du Bois' Souls of Black Folk, (1) is a manuscript that has as much to give the reader today as when it was first published in 1903. From a birth at the end of the civil war, to his death in Ghana in 1963, Du Bois led a life of incorporating two ideals. The opportunities that he experienced in his life were used for more than his own gain but to the greater gain of the cultures he claimed. His voyage of self is reflected in the book itself. Historically the events of his life were a time of change for the newly freed African Americans. The second chapter of the book goes into detail of the Freedmen's Aid Society, a group that he proposes was in existence for too short a period "The passing of a great human institution before it's work is done, like the untimely passing of a single soul, but leaves a legacy of striving for other men." (2) The changes that were required of society to assimilate the peoples that had been oppressed by slavery were far more vast and entrenched in the United States for any group, especially government, to deal with over a period of less than a decade. Du Bois spent his life contributing to the cause he took on as an undergraduate at Fisk University. From his privileged beginnings, he was exposed to the South of the late nineteenth century and to the culture of the new citizens of America. "At Fisk he encountered the sons and daughters of former slaves who had borne the mark of oppression but had nurtured a rich cultural and spiritual tradition that Du Bois recognized as his own." (3) Du Bois' recognition of the art of the African American Culture is evident at the beginning of each chapter with the lines of classical poetry, sorrow songs, spirituals and music lines. He carried this love of art throughout his book in his own poetic prose as he describes scenes of his lifetime. The scene at the beginning of the 10th chapter, (4) describes his experience of a Southern Black revival. His prose is as strong as his cause. In the 1920's he developed a theater group in Harlem that called on those roots and honored them in the rich heritage of a community that was willing to accept that it had a lot worth sharing. Discovery, Acceptance and value are the themes that Du Bois explores and develops throughout Souls. As he describes his personal discovery, the reader is taken along on a gentle voyage of understanding not only the Black folks he talks about but also their own self and the larger culture of the United States. |
| . 1.DuBois, W.E.B., The Souls of Black Folk (New York: Dover Publications, Inc., 1994) |
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