William Edward Burghhardt Du Bois: The Souls of Black Folk
- Robert W. Williams (Bennett College)
The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 spoke at once, directly and passionately, to the vital concerns of African Americans. But it spoke also to the United States as a whole, directly addressing its often triumphalist claims to be “a land of liberty”. In the century following its publication the book has come to transcend its era, enduring as a classic analysis of racial oppression and a lyrical expression of human hopes persevering in struggles against injustice and dehumanization. Many consider that Souls lives today because of its empowering sense of Black subjectivity – the agency of those struggling against unjust constraints – and its multiple modes of analysis and expression – its sociological, political, and aesthetic
Citation:
Williams, Robert W.. "The Souls of Black Folk".
The Literary Encyclopedia. first published 17 June 2005
[http://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7786, accessed 05 September 2010.]