Literary Quote of the Day: W.E.B. Du Bois
Today’s literary quote of the day is from W.E.B. Du Bois‘s The Souls of Black Folk.
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, – this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost. He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa. He would not bleach his Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for he knows that Negro blood has a message for the world. He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.
H/t E.E.B.
As always, feel free to share your thoughts regarding this particular quote or drop one of your own favorite literary quotes in the comment section of this post.
14 Responses to “Literary Quote of the Day: W.E.B. Du Bois”
Thanks for this post…
Although W.E.B. Du Bois had a happy childhood. one girl made him struggle for the civil and political rights for African Americans.
And as he mentioned in The ForeThought, the reason for writing this book to argue the Twentieth Century Problem, color line …
…
As he mentioned in The Forethought, the main reason for writing this book is to argue the most significant problem, color line, in the 20th century.
Thanks for that additional information E.E.B.
“But suppose God is black? What if we go to Heaven and we, all our lives, have treated the Negro as an inferior, and God is there, and we look up and He is not white? What then is our response?�
RFK
Gray, lol, I must admit that I never heard / read that quote! It’s a great one though!
Can you imagine that?
“Can you imagine that?”
Sure.
I read a lot about the Kennedies and didn’t know that quote, too.
I found it here…
Ok, this one from the top of the list is even better, simply the greatest:
“I am America. I am the part you won’t recognize. But get used to me. Black, confident, cocky; my name, not yours; my religion, not yours; my goals, my own; get used to me.”
Muhammad Ali
Indeed. And still of a burning relevance. Note the part about religion!
Hah, I had never heard that RFK quote either but it reminded me of the All in the Family episode where Archie Bunker got locked in his basement and got drunk while waiting to be rescued. At the end of the episode, a black person who was passing by breaks in to rescue him and Archie in his drunken stupor thinks that Jesus has appeared to him so he cries out, “Oh my God, Jefferson wuz right!”
LOL, OK, so it’s not a literary quote but it actually was good comedy and this episode, besides being humorous, showcased Carol O’Conner’s talent as he did almost the entire show as a monologue.
“[T]he white group of laborers, while they receive a low wage, were compensated in part by a sort of public and psychological wage. They were given public deference and titles of courtesy because they were white. They were admitted freely with all classes of white people to public functions, public parks, and the best schools.”
W.E.B. DuBois, Black Reconstruction in America 1935.
DuBois’s 1935 book is one of the greatest works of history in the 20th century, not because the interpretation is entirely valid. It isn’t. In fact, it’s heavily loaded with Marxian determinism. But considering the dominant interpretation of Reconstruction floating around in the early 20th century, DuBois’ work was a masterstroke of intellectual insurgency. The final chapter on “The Propaganda of History” is one of the greatest tirades against the mythology of the Lost Cause to appear in print.
Sorry to all, but this is just a test to see if I can get through the spam filters (quote below has NOTHING to do with this post).
I finally arrived here in in 1968. I had empty pockets, but I was full of dreams. The presidential campaign was in full swing. I remember watching the Nixon and Humphrey presidential race on TV. A friend who spoke both German and English, translated for me. I heard Humphrey saying things that sounded like socialism, which is what I had just left. But then I heard Nixon speak. He was talking about free enterprise, getting government off your back, lowering taxes, and strengthening the military. Listening to Nixon speak sounded more like a breath of fresh air.
Sorry to all, but this is just a test to see if I’m being blocked by spam filter.
While I’m glad that Mr. Schwarzenegger has finally abandoned the far right (Sean Hannity praised Mr. Scharzenegger and relentlessly touted his campaign during the 2003 recall election), I find this sudden lurch to the left disturbing. Universal Health Care Coverage isn’t the panacea that its advocates make it out to be for reasons that have already been explained above.
Politically speaking, while this move may win him some support from liberals, it could do much to damage his overall credibility. I seem to remember him making these comments in his speech to the 2004 Republican Convention:
I finally arrived here in in 1968.
Sorry. Another test.
While I’m glad that Mr. Schwarzenegger has finally abandoned the far right (Sean Hannity praised Mr. Scharzenegger and relentlessly touted his campaign during the 2003 recall election), I find this sudden lurch to the left disturbing. Universal Health Care Coverage isn’t the panacea that its advocates make it out to be for reasons that have already been explained above.
Politically speaking, while this move may win him some support from liberals, it could do much to damage his overall credibility. I seem to remember him making these comments in his speech to the 2004 Republican Convention:
I finally arrived here in in 1968. I had empty pockets, but I was full of dreams. The presidential campaign was in full swing.
Once again, I’m sorry. Test for following word:
s0cia1ism
socia1ism