I write this wondering how can I summarize the souls of black folk? The years of under compensated enslavement to the years of under appreciated fabric to the quilt of American life, are impossible to concentrate to one page of words, but need a whole book. This is why we come to W.E.B DuBois', “The Souls of Black Folk”. A book written before it's time it dwells deep into the advancement of the African American race, and even makes an accurate prediction of how our race will ultimately be as we move toward a utopian atmosphere for all races. I try my best as an intrigued, inspired, equipped, and sometimes irrational black child to translate and comprehend these eloquently written pages of DuBois' great book.
“South of the north, yet north of the south…..”, this quote shows DuBois precise foreshadowing of Atlanta being a Mecca not just for black people, but of the south. The author states Atlanta as being queen of the cotton kingdom, gateway to the sun, and the Lachesis of the world. As we move toward advancement economics is always the number one priority, but DuBois examines that as ignorant and says that Atlanta is not the first woman ruined by the curse of greed; and in all the striving that the gospel of work is defiled by the gospel of pay. Quick rewards are more of a hallucination than a reality. Monetary gains can be taken from you in an instant, but knowledge is forever. If you look for mere gold you may find it accursed.
He compares Atlanta to the Greek god Apollo. He understands the fact that work and wealth must coincide to be able to construct new hopes and possibilities. Atlanta as a ruler must stray from the teaching that material prosperity is the touchstone of all success. Southern gentlemen are disappearing and being replaced with vulgar money-getters. A very strong reference is made to the fact that the preacher and the teacher embodied our ideals as a race. We look to run a path to a grand treasure that is not guaranteed and overlook the fist-sized nuggets of gold, as our feet glide over them. The South was strong in religion and yearning for an education, and now that we know we are guaranteed that of which I stated we are a substantial amount less inspired to strive for.
DuBois states that we forget the fact there are millions of black youth, and all are not going to be Booker T. Washington, Dubois, Malcolm X, or even Dr. Cornell West. We need the blacksmiths, the artisans, the janitors, and the factory workers for us to function as a balanced nucleus based organism of a society. Patience, humility, manners, schools, literature, and tolerance are all stemmed from the foundation of education. The Negros of yesterday don't have knowledge of working even less workers to teach them. If the aforementioned is true then is it a crime to ask for the most grandeur of education possible for millions of future negro babies and even more present. Make the best out be your occupation be the best cashier in the world, and mop the floors as if your were mopping the mountainous steps of Zeus' abode.
Your are limited in will as you are ability. You must work for the satisfaction of a hard day's work and not for a much less meaningful pay. Satisfaction is in the eye of the beholder and I see a lot of greedy jigaboos. When night falls on Atlanta we must awake to a new age and a new beginning and help guide our race to prominence and from the penitentiary, to achievement and not annoyance, and to inspiration and not ignorance. I sense a new day as each keystroke leaves my finger we ARE the future, and I see that now.
I was given the arduous, payless, yet rewarding(hint, hint)task of writing my evaluation on the souls of black folk. We are not to be summed in my strong yet compensatory words, but of what we do as a race; and not ignorance or laziness. The soul of this black person burns with a blind desire of prosperity, but no route of which to obtain. Words are the voice of the soul, so listen to mine.
