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Double-Consciousness In The Twentieth Century

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America is a country which has struggled with its checkered past of freedom. Trampling, negotiating, and conquering are all hallmark traits that have been soaked into its history. In the early times of America the Native Americans were the first to feel the its scorn and all its unforeseen complexities. Bludgeoned, finessed, and manipulated into submission the Native Americans were the first to feel the movements of what would soon be modern day America. Soon came the dawn of the 17th century, when America fully immersed itself in the forest of the slave trade industry which of course came with all its fruits and flies. Given the all the blood that has been soaked into Americas history, many have defined it and related their views and beliefs in various ways from music, art, and protests, to bombings …show more content…

Through the insight he provided in The Souls of Black Folk he was able to articulate "the problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line" and concepts of life behind the veil of race and the resulting "double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one 's self through the eyes of others". This double-consciousness is an important concept and almost referred to as a skill. Du Bois uses this concept to show how those should be aware of how they appear in the eyes of other and how they’re seeing themselves in the others eyes. America in his eyes is huge. It needs many individuals work on various parts and in various ways. From his perspective he was approaching America to improve the quality of life for African Americans through a gradual process of creating more opportunities for success. He developed the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People for that exact purpose by assisting individuals in succeeding and pointing out injustices within laws and perceptions he was doing his best to improve America and his tarnished view of it riddled with seemingly endless

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California History: Mission Santa Clara De Asis When looking at present day America it is difficult to picture what is was like just a few hundred years ago, it is hard to believe that such a vast amount of land could change as drastically as it did in such a short amount of time. This huge change that America went through was caused by the colonization of the multiple European empires. When it came to the colonization of the ‘new world’ and the assimilation of its native people, one of the most common methods was the use of religion. One of the reasons most of the European empires saw the Native Americans as savages and of lower status was because of how greatly their religion differed from the colonists. Although many of the colonists believed

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Du Bois uses many different ways to target the reader. His main purpose in “Of Our Spiritual Strivings”, is to educate mistreated Africans American about demanding equality and rights that were promised to them around the time of the Emancipation Proclamation. Du Bois uses different types of literary devices (mostly personifications) and firsthand accounts stories about injustice to make his point to the reader. For example, Du Bois states, “Will America be poorer if she replaces her brutal dyspeptic blundering with light-hearted but determined Negro humility?” (Du Bois 297).

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In the analysis of the abundance of wonderful leaders who made a difference in the African American community since emancipation, W.E.B Du Bois made a special impact to advance the world. From founding the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, to his influential book The Souls of Black Folk, he always found an accurate yet abstract way of verbalizing the strives of African Americans as well as making platforms for them to be known. Although he had less power than most of the bigger named African American leaders of his time, W.E.B Dubois’ overweighing strengths verses weaknesses, accurate and creative analogies, leadership style, and the successful foundations he stood for demonstrates his ability to be both realistic and accurate in his assessment since emancipation. Though Du Bois did have a beneficial impact

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The NAACP’s primary goal during Du Bois’ time was to invalidate the decision of Plessy v. Ferguson. He was fond of Booker T. Washington, mentioned earlier, and many of his own views surrounded the concept of double consciousness. Du Bois believed that as a result of Plessy v. Ferguson African Americans began to judge themselves based on white standards, ultimately leading to the internal acceptance of inferiority. He describes the state of double consciousness as, “a peculiar sensation this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others…” (143). In other words, black people have reached a state of double consciousness where they look at themselves in the way that white people look at them.

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DuBois’s first post-dissertation book, The Philadelphia Negro, released in 1899, determined that housing and employment discrimination were the principal barriers to racial equality and black prosperity in the urban North. (blackpast.org/aah/dubois-william-edward-burghardt-1868-1963) In his written book, The Souls of Black Folks, released in 1903, he argued for "manly" and "ceaseless agitation and insistent demand for equality” which demanded a education of equality for blacks that’s not inferior to whites. (W. E. B. Du Bois and the NAACP, Virginia Historical Society) Du Bois promoted the idea of self improvement, without giving up full citizenship rights, which impacted the general well being of African American and visualized the idea of having an exclusive group of all black, educated leaders called “The

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His aim was for blacks to be completely separated from the other races so that they could develop their own homeland. His ideas proved to be controversial. Although his leadership was helpful in terms of spreading black nationalism, his ideas of “complete segregation’ wasn’t prefered by many. Why did civil rights

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Instead of focusing on gaining equality and civil rights, the black American needed to strengthen his own position in society and not focus on his position in relation to others. Finally, the African-American needed to give up higher education. Instead of focusing on higher education, they would instead focus on industrial education and become better workers. Although Washington wasn’t to fully blame for the regression of black’s status in society his public position didn’t necessarily help because he was an advocate for blacks. Dubois and Washington although opposites when concerning black suffrage in terms of voting.

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He attending predominantly white schools and churches and although black, had no of discrimination of his white counterparts. His belief was for man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellow man, and without having the door of opportunity closed roughly in his face. (pg.695) He criticized Washington teachings as “tending to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro’s shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators”. (pg.707) He viewed the reconstruction of the south as a debacle and emphasized the efforts to transform the South into a society free of social and economic exploitation; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs.

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Du Bois take on the Color Line Question: Class and Race in the Globalization Age William Edward Burghardt Dubois born in 1868 and died in 1963 was a Black American academic, activist for peace and civil rights, and socialist who wrote about sociology, philosophy, race equality, history and education. The evaluation of W.E.B Du Bois’s studies brings out social and intellectual initiatives especially his color line concept and its role to the history of African Americans (Butler, 2000). The color line concept is the role of racism and race in society and history. However, an analysis that is multidimensional which finds and evaluates the intersection of race together with class as modes of resistance and domination on national and international

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Which is living in two worlds knowing your role within your culture, plus the one living in America. He theorized that racism affected identity that it weighted so heavy that it stopped them from achieving what they could as human beings. He saw beauty in black and wanted the African American community to be equal and have no limitations. “ We will not be satisfied to take one jot or tittle less than our full manhood rights” W.E.B Dubois. On the other hand, Booker T. Washington did not see things this way, he was more concerned in about promoting agricultural and industrial jobs to African Americans than to fully fight for all their American rights.

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From Du Bois perspective he felt as though that black people should be able to live where they want to live instead of being confined to the

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Individuals lay the foundation of America. The Founding Fathers of this unique nation broke their allegiance with Great Britain to create an improved governing body. They desired an individual-centered authority as opposed to Britain’s monarchy, which ruled with tyranny. These Founding Fathers experienced a neglectful democratic monarchy that cared little about the ethical treatment of its people. The domineering actions of Britain challenged these historic individuals to form a new cultural identity.

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Du Bois wanted to show people what it was to African American in America. Du Bois belive that African Americans was held back from achieving equality. Du Bois’s double consciousness was about always looking at oneself through the eyes of others. Du Bois claimed that African Americans struggle with multi-faceted conception of self “a double consciousness”. In this

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He believed that the best way to help African-Americans was by educating them. He became a teacher and headed and developed Tuskegee Institute. These men had very different childhoods, but as adults they both strove for the betterment

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In Du Bois’ the Problem of the Color Line at the Turn of the 20th Century, he gives context that places the prejudice of America on a scale, he states, “This fissure between white and black is not everywhere of the same width. Naturally it is the widest in the former slave states and narrowest in the older and more cultivated east. It seldom, however, wholly closes up in New England, while it is threatening width in the south is the Negro Problem,” (Du Bois, 35). The color line in this sense is the fissure of the whites and blacks. The greatest depth of the line is that closest in the heart of the south.

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