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The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B DuBois, especially in chapter one, tries to clarify his own experience incorporated in it, the consequences, and the history of emancipation. DuBois talks of how the Negros had the power in both the mind and the body to emancipate themselves from the strangle; unfortunately, it has been dispersed and forgotten. This failure has hitherto been considered weak, an issue that should be demystified to the contrary as a “contradiction of double aims.” One side, trying to escape the White man’s contempt, and on the other hand, nailing, digging, and ploughing for poverty-stricken people.

The poem "We Wear the Mask" by Paul Dunbar discusses what it's like to belong to an oppressed community. The speaker belongs to a group of people who are forced to hide their genuine emotions all the time to appear joyful to the outside world. In the first stanza, 'We wear the mask that grins and lies,' Dunbar shows how they have drawn back their sadness and misery inside the mask and instead presenting only his teeth to be seen, to depict a happy soul and smile that is never genuine.

This is a rection that depicts an African American in the 19th century after the civil war; life seemed to have been better as shown outwardly by others. Still, inwardly the colored was experiencing hardships and racism. Surviving racism and hardship is compared to wearing a mask by showing a happy face to the universe. The speaker of "We Wear the Mask" portrays intense and protracted anguish throughout the song. In this poem, the victims are described as having "torn and bleeding hearts," expressing "tears and sighs," and being "tortured souls" who are forced to maintain a perpetual façade of composure. But the poem also has a strong undercurrent of resiliency.

In line 5, the poet states, ' and mouth with myriad subtleties. He suggests that even though oppression and racism may be experienced, the Blacks have a high degree of deceit, if not the highest. They may not seem to enjoy the predicaments they are going through, but they are happy and feels the pride of accomplishment whenever they do and perform their crafts successfully. The mask cannot be optional or forced on them, but it is inevitable as long as you are a black living amid another color. Not that removing the mask is impossible; doing so would only be translated to not surviving; it is a requirement.

In lines 6 and 7, it is realized that the oppressed are unwilling to show the world their tears, nor are they doing so, but the world is over-wise to analyze their mystery. Later, the speaker says, "We sing," even though "the clay is vile / Beneath our feet" and the distances they must go in it are "long," showing that even if the voyage is challenging, they can and will keep a brave face while going through it. This indicates that the group is resilient both as a result of and despite its pain. Additionally, this poem's phrasing implies that wearing the mask is a decision.

The speaker tries to dispel the preconception and reveal it as nothing more than a survival tactic. The speaker makes several allusions to their suffering throughout the poem, most frequently coupling it with the representation of the mask. The speaker reveals to the reader that, despite their outward look and how sincere it may seem, there is a perpetual state of anguish beneath their smile by saying, "We smile, but." In the end, the poem points out that being compelled to tell a falsehood also contributes to the suffering of tyranny. This cliche was used to defend slavery: if chained, individuals are handled well by their owners and can feel happiness, then slavery can't be so horrible, the argument went. - Samuel Theron

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Upon reading the assigned quote for this week, the first thing that stood out to me was when Dubois wrote “One ever feels his two-ness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings.” The reason this stands out so much is because it illustrates the way many of the African-American narratives that we have explored looked at identity, which is through a lens of duality, with both an American identity and an African identity. Though we have explored many different stories, poems, and other forms of literature in our first three units, the one that stands out to me most is Olauda Equiano, through his narrative. Throughout his text, there are two very different views of the world: his African world and his American world spent in captivity. For me as the reader, it was as though I was reading two completely different narratives, as one, the first half in Africa, was a celebration of culture, filled with color and positive emotions, while the time spent in America was the complete opposite, tinged dark from the start through his memories of the slave ship and his first experiences after being stripped from his home and the life he knew. On one hand, I know the purpose in writing this way was to highlight how nothing had really been that bad growing up, and the rose colored glasses were likely intentional, and created a reverse “Wizard of Oz” effect, going from living in color to the dull unhappy new homeland.

While many slave narratives ended with the eventual death of the enslaved individual, Equiano took charge of his story and obtained an education through his first slave owner, which led to his being able to work as an accountant for his final slave owner, rather than in the fields. In showing his worth through knowledge, he embraced the American ideology of school, albeit in London, and by not stopping his education, it allowed him to go against the norm by embracing the role of an educated American, which eventually allowed him to write his book. The narrative itself stands as a stark reminder of the differences between his two lives, the man who he became and the boy he was before his capture and enslavement. Equiano also held his own religious beliefs, evidenced with the regard he shows for his cultural upbringing, versus the way he describes his conversion to Christianity as almost procedural, and something that he had to create for himself, rather than something that comes naturally.

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For this weeks discussion, which is surrounding W.E.B. DuBois's concept of double consciousness, I have decided to use Frederick Douglass and his experiences as a black person in America to highlight how DuBois's theory of double consciousness rang true throughout his life. The idea behind this concept of DuBois's is that a black American always will have the dual identity of being both black and American, two identities that could never be melded into one. Although DuBois's double consciousness idea came post-emancipation once slavery was abolished, I believe that it still applies very much to Douglass and the experiences he talks about in his autobiography Narrative of the life of Frederick Douglass, an American Slave, Written by Himself.

In his autobiography, Douglass talks a lot about the power that learning to read and write gave him. Without having Mrs. Auld teach him the alphabet, he may not have ever made it out of slavery, and attributes his freedom and success to the fact that he'd had the tools to learn to read and write and access knowledge. Dubois also discusses the idea that knowledge is power  saying, "...for the South believed an educated Negro to be a dangerous Negro. And the South was not wholly wrong; for education among all kinds of men always has had, and always will have, an element of danger and revolution, of dissatisfaction and discontent." (15). The reason why so many white people were against the education of their black counterparts is because they knew the power that knowledge holds. This notion is reflected in Douglass's experiences as well when Mr. Auld finds out his wife is teaching him his ABC's and states," “if you teach that n****r (speaking of myself) how to read, there would be no keeping him. It would forever unfit him to be a slave. He would at once become unmanageable, and of no value to his master. " (29). Once again highlighting that being education is key when it comes to either lifting yourself out of oppression or keeping people oppressed.

Dual consciousness comes into play for Douglass once he does know how to read and write and for the first time is able to learn more about slavery from a different perspective. “In moments of agony, I envied my fellow-slaves for their

stupidity." (35).  It's in this light that Douglass experiences dual consciousness and has to straddle the line between slave and aspiring abolitionist. About dual consciousness DuBois says that it's the "sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others . . ." (689) which applies to what Douglass experiences once reading about slavery once he knows how to read. Being able to see slavery from a new vantage point forced a whole different understanding and caused a split between his two 'identities'.

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Hello Class and Professor Shaw,

The text I choose to discuss this week is called “ Aint  a woman”? written by Sojourner Truth. I find her work very interesting because of the tone in her writing. It is very stern to my knowledge because during this time, her speech was critiquing society and that was out of the normal especially coming from an African American woman. This text’s purpose was to persuade the audience to allowing women to vote should just be common sense. Truth raised the argument of the male’s perspective that women are fragile and because they need to always be helped and must be put on some sort of pedestal. “And ain't I a woman? I could work as much and eat as much as a man - when I could get it - and bear the lash as well! And ain't I a woman? I have borne thirteen children, and seen most all sold off to slavery, and when I cried out with my mother's grief, none but Jesus heard me! And ain't I a woman?”(Truth,180)

Truth states that she worked just as hard as any man why should she not have the rights to complement that? This quote has impacted me because she used her experience as a black woman, a mother and proves that she is just as hard working as any man out there. After reading about Dubious idea of double consciousness, it is safe to say that Truth encompasses that of which he refers to. For example, he states “We still seek, - the freedom to love and aspire. Work, culture, liberty- all these we need, not singly but together, not successively but together, each growing...” (Dubois 693) Truth is an example of someone at the time who was fighting for rights and freedom, and she made sure it was known as she addressed the audience. She wasn’t only fighting for the rights of black women but those of all colors.

After reading texts from the past, I often analyze and reflect on how far we have come in today’s especially women of color. I currently work for a company where women weren’t even allowed in their building- they had to wait in a special “tea room” or outside of the building so that they do not interrupt their husbands while they worked. As I toured the building it made me very emotional because the same issues Truth had to face in 1851, the women in the 1960’s had to do that as well.

- Rajni Bhoodram

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W.E.B. DuBois and Booker T. Washington are two of the most popular educators and black leaders in the African American community.  While they differ in philosophy, they both drew attention to comparing black African Americans to White Americans and the expectations placed on both to succeed and their self-worth. W.E.B. DuBois sums up this expectation in his double-consciousness theory.  Double-consciousness is defined as a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world...One feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body” (689).

Booker T. Washington faced a similar dilemma while in a classroom for the first time.  He did not have a surname and felt honored to be able to name himself. It was during this time that Booker questioned the advantages of having a family name with accompanying legacy, land, and wealth and how it affects the performance and expectations of a young black boy in America. He questioned whether he would have used his rich ancestry as a crutch if he was afforded one like a white boy. Booker went on to say that “the world should not pass judgment upon the Negro, and especially the Negro youth, too quickly and too harshly. The Nego boy has obstacles, discouragements, and temptations to battle with that are little known to those not situated as he is” (562).

W.E.B. DuBois mentioned that American only let a black men value their self-worth based on how they value the self-worth of a white man.  But Booker said that how can this be when the Negro youth starts out with the expectation that he is going to fail, and the white youth starts out with the expectation that he is going to fail. Booker went on the say that people are usually surprised if the black boy succeeds. As a result of this, a black youth should not measure his success to that of a white man as a white man has family history and connections behind him to help him success.  A white man does not face the same obstacles that are laid out in front of a black man. There are no restrictions or limits placed on him. While black boys must work harder and better to get recognition.

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W.E.B DuBois speaks of the concept double consciousness in his excerpts, defining it as a  "Veil" almost like being awoken to world's conscious through spirituality and learning. "I have in two chapters studied the struggles of the massed millions of the black peasantry, and in another have sought to make clear the present relations of the sons of the master and man. Leaving, then, the world of the white man, I have stepped within the Veil, raising it that you may view faintly its deeper recesses,-the meaning of its religion, the passion of its human sorrow, and the struggle of its greater souls. (DuBois 688)" Becoming educated and literate was considered illegal because the white men knew how strong being literate made them. The less you are conscious of anything, the easier you are manipulated and controlled. Through learning history and literacy an African American could draw swords on their oppressors. "The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife-this long 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 know that Negro blood has a message for the world. (DuBois 689)" An Author that could see beyond the veil as well was Frances E. W. Harper  Harper was the first African American women to be published in America. She also knew becoming literate was her weaponry, but once the veil is lifted, you cannot draw it back. Frances couldn't stand the thought of being buried on American soil in Bury Me in a Free Land, as America is the land that claims to be free, yet many along with her are being treated as "human prey". In this poem she writes, "I could not rest, if I saw the lash
Drinking her blood at each fearful gash;
And I saw her babes torn from her breast,
Like trembling doves from their parent nest.
I'd shudder and star, if I heard the bay
Of a bloodhound seizing his human prey;
And I heard the captive plead in vain,
As they bound, afresh, his galling chain (Harper 453)." To be conscious, is to also see the true havoc slavery is doing to civilization, peace and justice. The horror is far more of a fright fest when you understand everything behind it. But, once you are awoken to the truth, you cannot be put back to sleep.

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For this week's discussion I will be discussing DuBois idea of double-consciousness and how it relates to Venture Smith. DuBois describes double-consciousness as “sense of always looking at oneself through the eyes of others . . . One ever feels his two-ness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings” (689). This quote can be broken down to DuBois basically saying black people feel like they are two consciousnesses in one body because of how people view them. One consciousness is what they view themselves as and what they truly are, which is that they are American, and they think and live the same way as every type of person. The other consciousness based on Dubious, is what white people view them as and that would be as property and lower than themselves. We can compare DuBois' statement to current events as well. For example, when people are born there is a title put on them at birth, whether they be a female, male, black, white, or even depending on their hairstyle. The title that is put on them gives them expected responsibilities by society because of what that title holds. For example, having a male title generally means providing for your family and a female title generally means taking care of the house while the male tries to generate income. In this case every human has a double consciousness which is how they see themselves and how society sees them as and you can choose to either do what society wants you to or be yourself and choose your own path.

Venture Smith, born around 1729 was the son of a prince and sold into slavery at a very young age. Dubois idea of double-consciousness can be shown through the life events of Venture Smith, for example he was taught how to read and write which not many slaves were. The idea of double-consciousness sets in here as Smith sees himself as a normal person in America who can read and write but because of his skin color there is also a part of his mind which thinks himself to be less than the average human. This is because the view white people had on black people, which was being property and viewed as less. So, in some regard Smith also saw himself as that in some part of consciousness. “Smith arranged to have himself sold again, to a man who allowed Smith to hire his time as a wood cutter, farmer, and fisherman so he could raise the money for his purchase price” (Venture Smith 94). We can see here again how Smith tries to be himself and do what he feels is right even in such dire circumstances. The duality here is that Smith knows what he's trying to do is weird or not considered to be right in the view of the white masters, but the other part of Smith's Consciousness wants to upset them, to show even a little rebellion.

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Double Consciousness and Anna Julia Cooper

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Double Consciousness and Anna Julia Cooper

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The piece of writing that I choose to focus on for this week is Anna Julia Cooper's Womanhood A Vital Element in the Regeneration and Progress of a Race. Within her essay on the importance of womanhood, she must navigate several identities. She must claim her position as a woman. She must also assert here a position as a Christian to stand in line with those in the clergy, of whom is the primary audience of this essay. Finally, she must write with the care in mind that she is also a black writer too. In order to do this, she does separate these identities into easier to manage categories to navigate the eyes of her audience. When separating her identities in this way, for the sake of credibility, she is overcoming the difficult obstacles of their combined weight. She acknowledges in her paper that "With all the wrongs and neglects of her past, with all the weakness, the debasement, and the moral thralldom of her present, the black woman of to-day stand mute and wondering at the Herculean task devolving upon her" (Gates et al 626). The ability for her to write and to assert her own ideas in a time of overt patriarchy and racism is nothing short of almost Sisyphean effort. She must use double consciousness to navigate all that stand before her.
By first writing about the nature of where chivalry come from, she claims her
identify as a woman who's standing in society is based on the men around her. When she claims this, she spotlights her womanhood to shield her blackness from harming her credibility.
However, she also embraces her blackness while also being aware of it. "I would beg, however with the Doctor's permission, to add my plea for the Colored Girls of the South" (Gates et al 625). The usage of be here carefully navigates that she as a black woman is one who shouldn't have the right or brazenness to just write about these matters. She must beg in her writing to appease the other white readers that she is asking for their permission, even though she is well aware she does not need it. The rest of her writing highlights how the black women is at the crux of the revitalization and progression of a race. That it is the black women in all of her lack of status and apparent lack of power who shall be the source of great change and upward elevation. "Only the BLACK WOMAN can say 'When and here I enter, in the quiet undisputed dignity of my womanhood, without violence and without suing or special patronage, then and there the whole Negro race enters with me'"(Gates et al 627). Her identity as a black woman also lends to her perspective to place black women at the heart of regeneration. Both aspects here come together to produce a stronger message than any of its singular parts. As her writing is a combination of more than one argument, her identities merge to create a larger meaning about the importance of not just women but also of black women as well. As Dubois writes, "[She] would not bleach [her] Negro soul in a flood of white Americanism, for [she] knows that Negro blood has a message fir the world" (Gates et al 689). -Johnson Hoang

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For this weeks discussion I decided to choose Frederick Douglas's to compare to Duboi's idea of double-consciousness. Dubois in his literature had talked about how the the world visualizes you, and seeing yourself through other peoples eyes. Simply because African Americans are black they are seen as two separate people in the United States. He states, " two souls, two thoughts" (689) in relation to the idea that they are for one American and for two they are people of color. Within all of this, Dubois realizes that there is a higher level of thought that is going on subconsciously and that was that white men didn't see black men as human beings or at least on the same level as themselves. Where the aspect of double consciousness comes into play is that people struggle from a mental standpoint in truly accepting and admiring who they are as a person, simply because of an outlying factor, such as the color of their skin. This not only effects the black folk in the country at the time but every person who is American. They see themselves as American, but what else do they see themselves as? What do other people view them as? This is a major question that we still struggle with to this day, when we worry about what other people think about us. This still affects us in the way we talk, speak, and act in the eyes of the public on a daily basis. So for Dubois to put his thumb on it in these desperate times shows the true meaning of what double consciousness is/was at the time of slavery.
Frederick Douglass was one of few slaves that were able to master the art of literacy, but it was not easy for him as he was a slave and the double standard or double conscious being brought on by white people was always an overlooking stature. Douglass states, "I envied my fellow salves for their stupidity, I often wished myself a beast." (354) Douglass slowly started to realize that the idea of literacy was much easier than said to be. It was in fact the idea of the double consciousness that was holding his fellow slaves back.  The idea that the white man would look upon them even more indifferently and they would have to fight those battles within to ensure their safety at all costs.
Overcoming this obstacle of of worrying about what the other person is thinking will lead to a "better and truer self" but this comes with identifying what those thoughts in your own head actually mean.

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W.E.B DuBois introduced the concept of dual consciousness as a type of identity crisis most specifically experienced by black Americans after the Emancipation. DuBois’s idea of dual consciousness stems from the feeling that being black is a separate identity from being American and that struggling with this duality causes a person to not ever feel fully comfortable in their identity as a black American. This presumption of separation of the two designations is a direct consequence of the persecution and oppression committed against black people that was endorsed by America. Therefore, a black person living in America cannot be expected to seamlessly transition from the repressive role of a slave into that of a loyal American citizen whilst staying true to their experience and history.

DuBois suggests that the experience of dual consciousness is also a direct cause of how black Americans view themselves based on the opinions and influence of white oppressors. In his piece, The Souls of Black Folk, DuBois writes, “But the facing of so vast a prejudice could not but bring the inevitable self-questioning, self-disparagement, and lowering of ideals which ever accompany repression and breed in an atmosphere of contempt and hate”. (692) Understandably, the false beliefs, prejudice, and abuses practiced in the United States against black people became a major influence in the development of the self-consciousness, self-esteem, and identity of all black Americans for generations. This would appear to be especially difficult for W.E.B. DuBois who graduated with a Ph.D. from Harvard University and was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree.

I believe Frederick Douglas, also incredibly intelligent and talented, had great difficulty struggling with dual consciousness as well.  He describes his experiences of struggling with dual consciousness as starting when he began to read proficiently. Douglas describes living with blissful ignorance until he was able to read and learn arguments about basic human rights from the book, “The Columbian Orator”:

There was no getting rid of it. It was pressed upon me by every object within sight or hearing, animate or inanimate…Freedom now appeared, to disappear no more forever. It was heard in every sound and seen in everything. It was ever present to torment me with a sense of my wretched condition. I saw nothing without seeing it. I heard nothing without hearing it and felt nothing without feeling. (354-355)

Once Douglas was able to educate himself it opened a pandora’s box of information that changed his understanding of his entire existence. He was now able to see exactly how horrific the slave experience was not based only on what he witnessed and experienced, but he now had contextual evidence of the profound disparities in the lives of slaves and non-slaves.

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I decided to focus on Ida B. Wells-Barnett’s A Red Record to highlight what I consider to be the quintessential ‘double-consciousness’ experience of African Americans at the time, wherein the two incongruous identities of being simultaneously black and American clash against one another. W.E.B. DuBois describes the black American as someone who “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” (DuBois 690). At the time of A Red Record being written, however, the plights of an African American weren’t limited to merely being mistreated—they were in very real danger of being murdered over the smallest of perceived injustices. Although technically true, black people were now in more danger than ever of being killed outright by whites. As Wells-Barnett explains it, “the slave was rarely killed, he was too valuable…but Emancipation came and the vested interests of the white man in the Negro’s body were lost…but with freedom, a new system of intimidation came into vogue; the Negro was not only whipped and scourged; he was killed” (Wells-Barnett 670. Almost without exception the perpetrators were never brought to justice, and according to statistics at the time, more than ten-thousand African Americans were killed “in cold blood, without the formality of judicial trial and legal execution” (671). Wells-Barnett brings up herself that ‘equality before the law’ is something preached as a staple of the American way that the country prides itself on, but this very obviously wasn’t the case for anyone but the white man. For blacks, their newfound freedom was little but lip service, and despite no longer being slaves, they weren’t truly ‘Americans’ either, at least not in the eyes of their fellow man or even the law. They didn’t have the same rights or protections, despite what the letter of the law might state. Despite the Fifteenth Amendment allowing for the black suffrage, not only was there rampant voter suppression, but thousands of African Americans were also murdered with the excuse of safeguarding against a ‘Negro Domination’ that would supposedly overrun and taint the “white man’s government” (671). Everything that America claimed to stand for, to champion—that all men are created equal and deserve unalienable rights, the greatest of which being the right to “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”—was foreign to the black man, who was awarded none of the rights they were promised and deserved.

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Hello everyone and Professor Shaw.

For this week’s discussion board, I will be choosing Frederick Douglass to trace with W.E.B. DuBois’s idea of double-consciousness. The reason I chose Frederick Douglass is because of the way he was treated differently, both early on in his childhood and later on, and the way he lived life as compared to DuBois. DuBois describes double-consciousness as a "sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others... One ever feels his two-ness- an American, a Negro; two souls two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings" (689). What DuBois is trying to say is that by looking through the eyes of the white majority nation, a black person will be ‘looked down’. DuBois indicates that in the second half by saying you are in essence ‘forced’ to see yourself as a black man, or “a Negro” as DuBois describes it, rather than just view yourself as any other human or “American”. Dubois did not see African Americans as such but believed in each one of them based on who they really were rather than just off their skin color. Hence, treated them equally as well. In addition, one of DuBois’s ideas is also that due to the minority of black people being treated as not equal beings and lacking self-consciousness, they begin to believe that they really are inferior instead of recognizing themselves as beings of “better and truer self” (689). He further adds to it by describing, “The Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this American world, -a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world” (689).

On the other hand, Frederick Douglass also experiences double-consciousness by experiencing a phase of being treated unequally during his childhood and latter years, which eventually led to him escaping slavery and leading an abolitionist movement. During Douglass’s time as a slave, he was taught how to read and write by one of his mistresses, Mrs. Auld. Upon getting caught, Mr. Auld said, If you give a nigger an inch, he will take an ell. A nigger should know nothing but to obey his master - to do as he is told to do. Learning would spoil the best nigger in the world” (351). This is also a quote I used in my essay that characterizes the way Douglass and other black people, slaves, are seen. Mr. Auld is trying to infer that by black people learning literacy will no longer be controllable. They will not be content with what is being taught either but will try to take advantage. This shows how differently those people of color are treated when compared to any other human, even the white kids that Douglass took advantage of trying to learn to read and write further from. This goes in accordance to DuBois’s idea of double-consciousness as they are prohibited from learning to read and write, for doing so will allow for colored people to be recognized as beings “better and truer self” (689).

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W.E.B. DuBois discusses the unique perspective African Americans have and describing it as a “double conscience” (689) Meaning that African American view themselves through two lenses, one being American and the other being Black. Later in the text, DuBois discusses his goal of having these lenses be put together into one. DuBois says “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 whishes to make it possible for a man to be both Negro and an American” (DuBois 689). What DuBois is saying is he wants African Americans to be able to retain their culture as it adds to American culture while also adopting parts of white American culture. DuBois recognizes that both subcultures have something unique to offer to America and to African Americans and, in an ideal situation people can retain both without being ostracized for it.

After reading this idea from DuBois I immediately started to think of Olaudah Equiano’s account of his time in Africa. Olaudah’s writing was a realization of DuBois idea. Olaudah has used Stand American English (SAE) as described in the ‘Vernacular Tradition,’ to describe the culture in his home village. Furthermore, Olaudah was comparing the culture he came from to that of the Jewish and English culture.

Olaudah learned literacy while he was in England, therefore SAE sort of applies but for the sake of this discussion, Olaudah had learned Standard English English (SEE). The use of SEE helped Olaudah to close the gap between both lenses by being his tools to allow him to communicate to the people around him, the culture he was taken from, in an intelligent and extremely eloquent manor. This helped him catch the attention of the higher educated classes in England. This becomes evident in reading his story.

Olaudah also applied DuBois’ idea to the Europeans with comparing his culture to that of the Jewish culture. Olaudah writes “[he] cannot forbear suggesting what has long struck [him] very forcibly, namely, the strong analogy which even by this sketch, imperfect as it is, appears to prevail in the manners and customs of [his] countrymen and those of the Jews” (123). This quote shows Europeans do not have to think of the Africans as separate, and that the culture to which he is from is like that of European and Jewish culture. This also furthers the alignment of the lenses Dubois was writing about for the Africans, weather in American or Britain.

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For this weeks discussion I chose Frederick Douglass to trace with Dubois's idea of double-consciousness. I chose Frederick Douglass because of how different their histories and backgrounds are, yet how similar and intersecting their message and purpose is. Dubois states, "sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others... one ever feels his two-ness- an American, negro; two souls two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings" (689). He is essentially saying that white men struggle to see black men for who they are, Americans; humans. Dubois had seen a side to African Americans that others did not. He not only saw them for who they are, but their struggles and what they had to suffer and endure unlike anyone had ever before. He understood that their skin color had determined their worth for so long without justification. His idea of double-consciousness is an idea that there is a struggle within oneself in understanding and accepting who they are due to the fact that because of one aspect that makes them different, they are not treated the same, and they cannot understand why, therefore they feel inferior. Frederick Douglass had struggled with this idea as he ventured to conduct a movement in attempt to abolish slavery. His whole idea and his purpose was based off this idea of double-consciousness without even realizing it. His movement was on the sole fact that because of a difference people can't understand (skin color) he is left to feel inferior to and treated to a white man, despite both African Americans and White men and women, all being Americans, all being humans. His struggle with double-consciousness led him to lead others to an education they didn't think possible. He taught himself to read and write because of a former slave owner that said slaves should not learn to read and write because a slave that is literate is no longer a slave. In accordance with understanding the struggles of African Americans and Fredericks attempt at abolishment, Dubois states, "Throughout history the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars, and dies sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness" (290). Dubois has fully and deeply understood with one quote, the daily inferiority African Americans feel as a result of a difference in their skin color. He connects his idea of double-consciousness to the struggles of a black man and in my opinion this quotes itself exemplifies the sole fact that African Americans too are human and are just as bright and powerful as any other man and are just as important as any other man despite a difference in skin tone and it is a shame that many will never understand or see the brightness of their star.

Gracie Ross

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For this weeks discussion I chose Frederick Douglass connecting to Dubois's idea double-consciousness.  Frederick Douglass is a great example of double-consciousness because as a black man he was treated differently, in which Dubois is essentially saying in his idea, that one struggles with self-consciousness and awareness of themselves and who they are due to the fact that they are treated differently or lesser and in turn they start to believe their inferiority. DuBois states, "a negro is .. born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in they American world, a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see through the revelation of the other world" (689). Dubois sees that the black man that everyone treats with no respect is actually just another man like any other that should be accepted and appreciated for their differences just like any other man would. He understands that the black man is in fact not lesser despite being treated as so.
Frederick Douglass is an example of a black man living with a lack of self-consciousness at first. He had struggled with the idea of being equal despite being treated differently and started to believe his inferiority, ultimately leading to his movement. After being told by a slave owner that he should not learn to read and write because a slave does not know how to read and write, he began to realize that his path to freedom was through educating himself because if a slave does not know how to read and write than the opposite is true. Frederick Douglass's former slaver owner Mr. Auld states "if you give a nig*** an inch, he will take an ell. A nig*** should know nothing but to obey his master to do , as he is told to do" (351). Connecting Frederick's struggles and accomplishments to Dubois idea, Dubois states, "The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land...the shadow of deep disappointment rests upon the Negro people, a disappointment all the more bitter because the unattained ideal was unbounded save by the simple ignorance of a lowly people" (691). Dubois has proven through his idea that black men and women are not different and are not lesser despite being treated so their whole life. His idea states exactly what Frederick Douglass has said he felt along with many others. This idea has seemingly allowed Frederick to a path of freedom and bravery in his fight for abolishment, without even realizing or stating the idea of double-consciousness.

Tyler Chita

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DuBois’s idea of double consciousness focuses on the experiences of being both black and American. He is known as the Renaissance man of African American letters. He has also been identified as the founder of black studies in the American academic life. He was a powerful writer that believed in all races achieving fulfillment. The idea of double conciseness defines the struggle that black people endured, and the mix of American traits that were merged. He stated, “It is 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” (DuBoi’s 689) DuBois wanted the opportunities of an American without facing the negative opinions of his fellows. He stated, “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” (DuBois 689-690). This quote highlights how DuBois wanted to be himself while fitting in with the Americanized society. This ideology is conclusive with the words from Olaudah Equiano.

Equiano focused on culture throughout his writing.  He had value for himself when it came to his civilization and humanity. During his time of enslavement, he kept his real name and remained positive in hoped of freedom. His time during slavery consisted of mastering the white individual’s technology to benefit himself in the future. He believed in ending the slave trade and educating the public. DuBois’s idea of double consciousness could be applied in Equiano’s writing when discussing his dedication to his culture but uses his economic status to eventually obtain freedom of citizenship. He can see both sides of the different cultures. He wanted better treatment of slaves and used his status to appeal others to follow his lead. He ultimately can explain the different views between both sides. He often referred to himself as higher than other Africans that were not as fortunate as him to retrieve freedom. He stated, “when I compare my lot with that of most of my countrymen, I regard myself as a particular favourite of Heaven” (Equiano 115).  He is viewing himself as experiencing double conciseness within both sides of race. He refers to himself as higher than more Africans and relating his lifestyle closer to a white individual.

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Hi Professor Shaw, and class.

Double-consciousness is a conception in social philosophy referring, originally, to a source of inward “two-ness” putatively practiced by African-Americans owing to their racialized oppression and disvaluation during a white-dominated society. The concept is commonly related to William Edward Burghardt Du Bois, who introduced the term into social and political thought, famously, in his groundbreaking The Souls of Black folk (1903).  Double consciousness changed into particularly the psychological challenge African Americans experienced "constantly searching at one's self thru the eyes" of a racist white society and "coming up against a country that has once again shown that it is despised".The time period also stated Du Bois's reviews of reconciling his African historical past with an upbringing in a European-ruled society. Over a hundred years later, double consciousness is now not confined to the lives of African Americans. Various ethnic Americans revel in this cut-up in consciousness even as trying to merge their particular cultural heritages with the values of dominant white society. By imparting an illustration of society thru its characters and their interactions with the arena around them, literature has been an important tool in the exploration of double consciousness. I choose to merge the concept of Du Bois and Douglass,  Douglass was born into slavery but he choose to learn to read and write for himself and for others, One of his famous quotes is Once you learn to read, you will be forever free, His struggle for freedom wasn’t easy he knew that reading would lead to his freedom. He thinks that it really meant to be a slave to learn about the world. Both of these civil rights leaders have lived and experienced a remarkably different life. Dubois was born free and his parents were free African Americans. Douglass and Dubois's education and upbringing was totally different experience. Douglass lived in the slave times. It was illegal for a slave to read and write. but both men do their best, these men kept their promise to fight for equality Along the way, the two clashed with other leaders of the abolitionist and civil rights movements. The concept of double consciousness is important as it illuminates the reviews of black humans living in post-slavery America, and additionally as it units a framework for knowledge of the placement of oppressed humans in an oppressive world. As a result, it has become used to give an explanation for the dynamics of gender, colonialism, xenophobia, and more along the race. This idea laid a sturdy basis for different critical theorists to extend upon.

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The text I chose is Sojourner Truth, “Ar’n’t I a woman? I chose this text because she speaks about being Black, American, and a woman. In terms of W.E.B. Dubois double consciousness, Sojourner Truth speaks about being a now freed woman slave. Truth spoke at the Women’s Rights Convention where she ironically was told not to speak at. She speaks about how men think that women need help from a man. She states, “Dat man ober dar say dat women needs to be helped into carriages, and lifted ober ditches, or gives me any best place, and ar’n’t I a woman? Look at me! Look at my arm!” (Truth, 180) What she is saying this quote is that she is independent and can has the strength of any man. Since she was previously a slave, she had to do agricultural work just like any male slave and endure the beatings as well. I think this is an important perspective that Truth presents in this speech. She speaks about how difficult it was to give birth to 13 children and then having them sold off into slavery. She says, “I have borne thirteen chilern and seen ‘em mos’ all sold off into slavery, and when I cried out with mother’s grief, none but Jesus heard- and ar’n’t I a woman? (Truth, 180) I think that the women in slavey are often overlooked. This is due to the fact that when a slave mother reproduced their children became profitable because they are future child slaves. Additionally, when these slave mothers give birth there was no guarantee that she would keep her child. In most cases she was not able to keep her child. Which is very traumatizing and can be seen as a mean of control by slave masters. Nearing the end of her speech Truth challenges a male counterpart said that God did not desire women to have rights because she would have them. Truth argues saying, “Den dat little man in black dar, he say women can’t have as much rights as a man, cause Christ want a woman. Whar did your Christ come from? … she repeated, ‘Whar did your Christ come from? From God and a woman. Man had nothing to do with him.’ Oh! what a rebuke she gave that little man.” In this quote she asserts that without a woman their Christ would not be their savior. Which I interpreted as those men do not see women as their equal, but every man came from a woman. So how could a woman not be their equal?

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In the article “It didn't jes grew: The social and aesthetic significance of African American music” By: Kalamu ya Salaam from The African American Review Summer 1995 Vol. 29, Issue 2, we can see a parallel to W.E.B. Du Bois’s idea of double-consciousness. Kalamu ya Salaam discusses two significant adaptations created by African slaves that eventually established a “double-consciousness” for future African Americans- the creation of a new blended language and the need to create an inconspicuous outlet for the everyday atrocities happening to slaves. When slaves were first brought to America, they had no way to communicate with their captors or fellow slaves from different tribes. They were forced to figure out a way to communicate to make life a little more bearable, hence the necessity to learn American English.  Salaam states, “Our use of SAE (Standard American English) existed strictly for the purpose of communi-caring with our captors or as an indication that we had successfully adopted the ways of our captors and hence were not like "most Blacks" -- indeed, were almost "White." The necessity of communication between slaves of different tribes created a blended language. This blended language eventually became “standard” for African Americans and would become an obvious barrier for African Americans trying to blend into the white world. W.E.B. Du Bois describes the dichotomy of this double life completely, “The history of the American Negro is the history of 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 simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American…” (Du Bois 690).

In any other part of the world, language and the dialect of a region are key factors in a person’s heritage. So, when these identifiers are stripped from a people, what can they do to create a new outlet for what was lost? Music! According to Salaam, music was used as a secret language. This adaptation by African slaves ultimately turns into what Salaam calls Great Black Music- “GBM remains identifiably itself because it adapts rather than adopts all influences. It has the capacity to deconstruct, recontextualize, and supersede the "foreign" and even "antagonistic" origins of some modes of expression which it adapts into the music”. Having this secret language or “mother tongue”, that in time becomes a worldwide phenomenon, ie. GBM, helps African Americans create “a better and truer self”(Du Bois 689).

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The Souls of Black Folk was a groundbreaking piece of writing from W.E.B Dubois, released in 1903. Despite the year it was released, much of the messaging still rings true and also accurately explains much of the writing from black writers that preceded him. As stated in the prompt, perhaps Dubois’s most notable concept presented is “double-consciousness”. This term was coined by Dubois and used to explain the complication behind how black Americans are expected to feel good about their identity internally and in their communities embrace one another, but also need to understand that white Americans view them as lesser. This leads to a life where you are forced to view both perspectives the same amount and constantly be aware of how you are perceived by people that aren’t like you. Dubois explains the meaning for his double-consciousness position early in the first chapter of The Souls of Black Folk entitled, “Of our Spiritual Strivings”. Dubois writes, “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 America, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows” (Dubois 690). While the majority of texts that we have covered can speak to what Dubois wrote in this text or touch on something similar, I personally found “Division of an Estate” by Geroge Moses Horton to be a strong example. The poem is essentially about the struggles of black Americans at the time it was written, which makes it even more relatable to Dubois’s text. Horton himself was a notable black writer which makes the connection strong as well. One part of this poem in particular that I found to be interesting and speaks to the double-consciousness that Dubois wrote about comes at the end. Horton ends this poem by writing, “On which we soon must stand with hopeful smiles, Or apprehending frowns; to tumble on. The right or left forever” (Horton 175). I personally took this as Horton speaking to the two different ways black Americans had to portray themselves when he wrote about hopeful smiles and apprehending frowns. This is built on with the last line where he says the right or left forever. This line makes a darker point by insinuating that this is the way things will be for a long time.

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Hello class and Professor Shaw. In this discussion I will be humbly merging the two corelating concepts of our previous writing on Fedrick Douglas and our current discussion on W.E.B Dubois’ writings. Although the two have very different upbringings in that one was born free and the other had to gain his freedom. They are both similar because they were both black. This alone makes them more similar than anything else. “The negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second sight in this American world, -a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of the other world” (Dubois 689).

Dubois recognized black people suffered and struggled with double consciousness because of their skin color. The concept of themselves come from what the superior race (white race) thinks or say they are. This is determined or thought to be determined because the white race was more dominant and blacks being the minority race. Double consciousness is saying I struggle with who I am knowing that you are just like any other man or woman but the fact that they say or treat you lesser makes one believe they are lesser. Fedrick Douglas really struggled with this concept of double consciousness. Fedrick admits ““I often found myself regretting my own existence and wishing myself dead; and but for the hope of being free, I have no doubt but that I should have killed myself or done something for which I should have been killed” (Douglas 355). This is Fedrick struggling with the fact that he is seen as a slave and of lesser class by his masters but also his own self-conscious knowing that slavery should be abolished and he should be treated like any other white man or human being in general. His self-double consciousness also served him well because he was able to understand his situation to get out of it through reading and reading the right material that would guide him to understanding certain words and movements/ revolts happening around the country to bring him to liberation (abolitionists). Also Mr. Hugh telling his wife in front of Fedrick that slaves should be reading or writing and that a slave that could read or write is no longer a slave served a purpose to further propel young Fedrick to learning and yearning to read and write even more. In this movement he also understood that slave owners had a perception of blacks and was able to see it through the white man’s eyes which would serve his purpose and liberation.

Throughout history the, the powers of single black men flash here and there like falling stars and die sometimes before the world has rightly gauged their brightness” (Dubois 690). This statement tells me as a reader that Dubois understood the talents and abilities of blacks during that time, especially which they never got to showcase or when they did, they never received credit for. It will only be depicted just a few times throughout history, but we all know black people are pioneers for a lot of advancements today.

One important point to note is that the styles of writing between the two writers clearly defer. Fedrick learned to write a bit later in his life, which made his autobiography sound like he was less educated. The words and writing style he used was almost biblical hard to understand compared to Dubois’ Harvard graduate level of writing really showed his ability to express himself in a way the reader can understand without having to think twice or do additional research.

written by Dudley Stanislas

Works cited

Gates, Henry Louis, and Smith, Valarie A. “The Norton Anthology of African American Literature 3rd Volume 1” W.W. Norton & company Inc., 1997

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Hello Class and Professor Shaw,

This week discussion will focus more so on the concept of “double - consciousness” in the article “From the Souls of Black folk”, by William Edward Burghardt Du Bois. Du Bois was an African American that is famously known for many things including sociologist, socialist, Author, editor, and a black protest leader.  He defines double – consciousness as a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others…one ever feels his two -ness – an American, negro; two souls two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings” (Du Bois 689).  Therefore, white Americans find it hard to see black Americans as true Americans and Black Americans find it difficult to see oneself as nothing more than what were portray by whites. African American was not treated equally by the white society, which was the majority at the time and forced blacks to accept their belief system.  Double consciousness is like wearing a veil, it affects African American both physically and psychologically.

According to Du Bois concept of double consciousness, Frederick Douglass’s experience one of most dreadful double consciousness between a slave and slave master when he was reading “Sheridan’s mighty speeches”. Douglass states, “the moral which I gained from the dialogue was the power of truth over the conscience of even a slaveholder” (Douglass 354). After reading Sheridan’s mighty speeches he understands the way white thinks and how little they think of blacks. Furthermore, he discovered proof of human rights; rights that were taken from him and his fellow slaves. While reading the article he lives life through someone else perspective which in this case was his master. Even though Douglass was a slave, and it was prohibited for a slave to read or write, it did not hinder, nor did it stop Douglass from becoming a better version of himself.  It became difficult for Douglass to ignore the fact that he now understands how the whites thinks. Nevertheless, looking through the white man's scope, Douglass struggled to live up to the white man standards because he now understands his true potential in life.

Douglass also experiences double consciousness much earlier in his life when Mr. Auld said some hurtful truth about slaves. Mr. Auld told Mrs. Auld to stop teaching him immediately. Mr. Auld states, “if you give a nig*** an inch, he will take an ell. A nig*** should know nothing but to obey his master – to do, as he is told to do” (Douglass 351).  Mr. Auld describe how white society portray African American. He thinks if an African American get a taste of knowledge, he will be unstoppable. Douglass proves that to be true, he stops at nothing to acquired knowledge even in the darkest times of his life. Furthermore, whites only see Douglass as a slave, and he should only do as he is told, no questioning.

Du Bois believed that black and white are not treated equally and whether you can see it or not, there is a color line. This prevents black to fully strive for success and hinder their true potential as human being. Du Bois states, “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” (Du Bois 690). He is hoping that African American are treated equally, and they should be given the same opportunity as the whites.

By Hugh Richards

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One of the most central concepts in the African American literary tradition is W.E.B. DuBois’ “double-consciousness,” which he introduces in the first chapter of The Souls of Black Folk. DuBois defines double-consciousness as a “sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others . . . One ever feels his two-ness—an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings” (689).

In your discussion post for this week, please choose one text we have read so far (Units 1-3) and trace within it DuBois’s idea of double-consciousness. Give specific examples from the text of how the character/author/speaker embodies this dichotomy of being both black and American, how those identities create obstacles by being at odds with each other, and/or how those identities merge into a “better and truer self” (689).

You may choose any poem, slave narrative, essay, etc. you have been assigned. To receive full credit, you must include quotation both from the writer you choose and from DuBois, and your post must be at least 400 words.