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Double Conscientiousness Essay

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WEB DuBois spoke of double conscientiousness – a social theory framed to analyze and explain a state of being unique to African-Americans and a sense of being in, but not of a majority culture. As a first-generation American, born and raised in the south with Nigerian-born parents, I quickly realized that my background stretched beyond his duality structure and extended into a third level of conscientiousness. I am African, American and African-American – each having a distinct code and level of awareness as it relates to social institutions. When my mother made fufu and egusi soup, I was teased for smelling like stockfish at school, but I didn’t understand how anyone could not enjoy eating the dish. When I was invited to social gatherings, …show more content…

I have applied the desire I once had of fitting in to effecting change that impacts and unites my surroundings. My interests are vast and my passion is organic. My mission is to revise the narrative of the underrepresented communities of this country. I understand there is value in finding a nexus between variances in cultures, but I believe that it is beneficial to all when all are at their best. I will destroy the concept of double consciousness by striving to alleviate the difficulty African-Americans endure when attempting to identify as black and American. Whether I am representing an underrepresented child in need of a second chance and sound advice or I am supporting an underrepresented entrepreneur looking to start a business, I am confident that Seton Hall will prepare me for the mission. By obtaining my Juris Doctor, I will work to enforce the social norms that encourage cultural collaboration and modify those that do not. Through the knowledge I can acquire from coursework at Seton Hall and participation in various clinics that serve the community, I will continue to effect change while influencing those who focus on the chasms that keep us

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Double consciousness is a term coined by W.E.B. DuBois in his The Souls of Black Folk. He describes it as, “a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this 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”(2). The theory of double consciousness is the idea that the African American must navigate the voyages of life from within a form of “two-ness” (2), because he is both man, and black.

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