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W. E. B. Dubois Double Consciousness Essay

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Recommended: A reflective glance on cultural diversity

There are a variety of cultural differences depicted throughout the world. Beliefs systems and social groups in our society today are based on a person’s background history, upbringing, and consciousness. One major aspect of a social group is the study of double consciousness or the internal conflict. The presence of two unconnected streams of consciousness in one individual or experienced by subordinated groups in an oppressive society in comparison to one’s own individuality or the quality that makes one person or thing different from all others. How a person feels about themselves and the intrapersonal relationship that occurs within the individual mind or self has a great impact on a person’s life.
W.E.B. Du Bois, the creator of the NAACP, focused his early studies on race and racial identity. He created the notion of Double Consciousness, which he describes in his The Souls of Black Folk. Du Bois states that “African Americans experience identity in a complex, and contradictory manner, quite different from that experienced by European Americans”. (Smith and Riley p24) As a Black person or African American you have to have your own perspective of how you see yourself and then be conscious of how the …show more content…

According to W.E.B. Du Bois, “The Souls of Black Folks”: 1903, African Americans in the United States have two conflicting identities that cannot be entirely merged together. The first identity is the Black or African experience and culture. The second identity is the American identity due to being born in the United States as a result of the captivity of slavery. “Double consciousness has forced some blacks to see themselves through the eyes of the dominant white society. Du Bois theory of double consciousness is always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others.”(Lyubansky and

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Around the end of the 19th century, there lived many people wanting equality between races. Two main leaders of the African American community that emerged during that time were W.E.B. Du Bois and Booker T. Washington. All though both of these men were fighting for the same cause, they disagreed greatly with each other relating to the strategies that could be used to create progress in both the social and economic aspects of how African Americans lived and were treated. The two conflicting philosophies of these men are still affecting how we think of racial inequality, social class injustice, and much more; to this day.

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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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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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