The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk

by W.E.B. Du Bois

I always find myself reading strong, reflective books during plane rides.  On my flight back home from Chicago, I finished W.E.B. Du Bois’ book The Souls of Black Folk.  Du Bois, born in 1868, lived a long life: 95 years.  Harvard educated, Du Bois was a sociologist and historian who provided candid and honest commentary on the state of race-relations between whites and blacks in the United States.  The book is a collection of short, reflective essays that point to how the United States wasn’t (and still isn’t) united for all in education, prosperity, freedoms and equality.  The articles focus on moments within the development of the South after the Emancipation Proclamation and how the needle really never moved far from its historical roots.  Du Bois’ book title notes how black people must stay conscious of how they view themselves, but also how they are viewed as a race.  The fourteen chapters weave in traditional music and how it reflected on the community’s struggles as well as data points on education and the realities of prejudice and hate, and the poverty which black people have been forced to live in, even with ‘slavery’ no longer in existence.  This is an important read for 100 years ago, but also today since much of what is discussed rings true today.  When will we, as a society, address the inequities that black people face, the acts of hate targeted towards them, and seriously evaluate the laws that hold people of color down?  Well-written and would suggest our civil leaders in government, educators in our schools, and any other organizational leader read as a book club book with their staff.