The Souls of Black Folk

January 16, 2021

I have to be honest. I had a hard time getting into this book. The first chapter pulled me in, but the following chapters nearly scared me away. So much history. So much storytelling. I wasn't ready. But that therein lies the brilliance of Du Bois in The Souls of Black Folk.

Imagine asking an African-American professor to explain racism in the U.S. to you. Instead of walking up to the whiteboard and seeking to draw out every analytical point regarding the subject, the instructor invites you on a spontaneous road trip. You and the instructor then drive through the post Civil War South, and he explains visually every example, remnant and byproduct of racism in the South.

This is what The Souls of Black Folk is. It's almost like reading the script of a documentary in which Du Bois takes the listener through the history of Emancipation, Reconstruction and the modern-day Black experience. Though it is often extremely dense, Du Bois's prose is so strong, and his empathy and heartbreak permeate so many of his essays.

Many will have difficulty accompanying Du Bois in the entirety of this metaphorical "road trip," but to those that stay the course, you will not walk away from his writings the same. They will change you, and your heart will ache for the unseen, undervalued and marginalized in today's society.