| Title | : | Writings: The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade / The Souls of Black Folk / Dusk of Dawn / Essays and Articles |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 094045033X |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780940450332 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 1334 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 1986 |
The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade to the United States 1638–1870 (1896), his first book, renders a dispassionate account of how, despite ethical and political opposition, Americans tolerated the traffic in human beings until a bloody civil war taught them the disastrous consequences of moral cowardice.
The Souls of Black Folk (1903), a collection of beautifully written essays, narrates the cruelties of racism and celebrates the strength and pride of black America. By turns lyrical, historical, and autobiographical, Du Bois pays tribute to black music and religion, explores the remarkable history of the Reconstruction Freedman’s Bureau, assesses the career of Booker T. Washington, and remembers the death of his infant son.
Dusk of Dawn (1940) was described by Du Bois as an attempt to elucidate the “race problem” in terms of his own experience. It describes his boyhood in western Massachusetts, his years at Fisk and Harvard universities, his study and travel abroad, his role in founding the NAACP and his long association with it, and his emerging Pan-African consciousness. He called this autobiography his response to an “environing world” that “guided, embittered, illuminated and enshrouded my life.”
Du Bois’s influential essays and speeches span the period from 1890 to 1958. They record his evolving positions on the issues that dominated his long, active life: education in a segregated society; black history, art, literature, and culture; the controversial career of Marcus Garvey; the fate of black soldiers in the First World War; the appeal of communism to frustrated black Americans; his trial and acquittal during the McCarthy era; and the elusive promise of an African homeland.
The editorials and articles from The Crisis (1910–1934) belong to the period of Du Bois’s greatest influence. During his editorship of the NAACP magazine that he founded, Du Bois wrote pieces on virtually every aspect of American political, cultural, and economic life. Witty and sardonic, angry and satiric, proud and mournful, these writings show Du Bois at his freshest and most trenchant.
Writings: The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade / The Souls of Black Folk / Dusk of Dawn / Essays and Articles Reviews
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I feel better now that I’ve read many of Du Bois’s major essays.
To be clear—I don’t feel better about race relations or their history. I feel better because I feel like NOT having read him, especially The Souls of Black Folk, was a major gap in my learning and understanding.
You don’t need me to recommend W.E.B. Du Bois. And neither does he. In terms of the forcefulness of his prose and the spectrum of change he occupied, I’d place him between Baldwin (my favorite) at his left and King at his right. All three were MASTER rhetoricians and courageous beyond all sound.
Even if you don’t pick up this Library of America version with his other writings, The Souls of Black Folk is essential reading for any student of history, race, and identity. -
DuBois, one of the greatest and most prolific writers/thinkers of our time and one of the foundational scholars anyone, interested in "the race problem" , should use as a critical resource and guide.
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A powerful story with a dualism that is intriguing and sad.
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Not much to say about this one other than that Du Bois really seems like the beginning of so much modern day thinking on race so it was fascinating and important to read.
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For the book club and it was okay. Some of the chapters on how the freed slaves were financially manipulated are very powerful.
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The Suppression of the African Slave-Trade - finished 09/28/18
The Souls of Black Folk - finished 03/03/19
Dusk of Dawn – finished 04/10/20
Essays and Articles - finished 05/29/21 -
Read this book for a class .
