By Jessica Granse
January 16, 2009
“The South ought to be led, by candid and honest criticism, to assert her better self and do her full duty to the race she has cruelly wronged and is still wronging. The North- her co-partner in guilt- cannot salve her conscience by plastering it with gold,” (910).
Near the end of chapter three of W. E. B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, he discusses his theories on how the discrimination of African Americans can be solved, but when doing so he personifies the South as a woman, as you can see in the above quote. Is this possibly his own prejudice against women?
The Souls of Black Folk contains Du Bois’ thoughts regarding the issues of race during the time. After the Emancipation Proclamation, although African Americans were then free from slavery, they still were barred from other rights. When Du Bois discusses what he believes should be done, he says that the South needs be led and criticized to be better and make up for the wrongs it has done African Americans. He does this is personifying the South as a female, saying the South must “assert her better self and do her full duty to the race she has cruelly wronged and is still wronging.” Is it possible that in his search to correct the prejudice done to his race, he belittles the whole race of females? We must consider why the South is considered a woman in his eyes. In doing this, we must remember that the South was the one most discriminating against the African American race. One possibility for this statement is that he’s making a statement on the efforts from the women of their race not being as great as that of the men. It could also be a slant at women due to his own prejudice. If you look at the Personal Life section of W. E. B. Du Bois’s on Wikipedia, you’ll see that a biography about him be David Levering Louis presents evidence for the possibility of Du Bois having affairs and refers to him as a “priapic adulterer”. Although there is another biography by Raymond Walters in which this possibility is doubted due to “lack of direct corroboration” from those said to be his lovers. Although there is some doubt, this shouldn’t be ruled out as a possibility. This would then provide some support for Du Bois being discriminative against women because if he cheats on women, it shows that he doesn’t respect them. I do believe that it’s likely for him to be discriminating against them because at this time there was so much emphasis on the race issues that American had yet to approach the sex issues. Because of this, women were still looked down upon. Another possibility is that there’s only two genders, so it’s a fifty-fifty chance he’d choose to use she rather than he and this time he happened to be she, but I still believe that it was thought out and put down on purpose.
Near the end of chapter three of W. E. B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, he discusses his theories on how the discrimination of African Americans can be solved, but when doing so he personifies the South as a woman, as you can see in the above quote. Is this possibly his own prejudice against women?
The Souls of Black Folk contains Du Bois’ thoughts regarding the issues of race during the time. After the Emancipation Proclamation, although African Americans were then free from slavery, they still were barred from other rights. When Du Bois discusses what he believes should be done, he says that the South needs be led and criticized to be better and make up for the wrongs it has done African Americans. He does this is personifying the South as a female, saying the South must “assert her better self and do her full duty to the race she has cruelly wronged and is still wronging.” Is it possible that in his search to correct the prejudice done to his race, he belittles the whole race of females? We must consider why the South is considered a woman in his eyes. In doing this, we must remember that the South was the one most discriminating against the African American race. One possibility for this statement is that he’s making a statement on the efforts from the women of their race not being as great as that of the men. It could also be a slant at women due to his own prejudice. If you look at the Personal Life section of W. E. B. Du Bois’s on Wikipedia, you’ll see that a biography about him be David Levering Louis presents evidence for the possibility of Du Bois having affairs and refers to him as a “priapic adulterer”. Although there is another biography by Raymond Walters in which this possibility is doubted due to “lack of direct corroboration” from those said to be his lovers. Although there is some doubt, this shouldn’t be ruled out as a possibility. This would then provide some support for Du Bois being discriminative against women because if he cheats on women, it shows that he doesn’t respect them. I do believe that it’s likely for him to be discriminating against them because at this time there was so much emphasis on the race issues that American had yet to approach the sex issues. Because of this, women were still looked down upon. Another possibility is that there’s only two genders, so it’s a fifty-fifty chance he’d choose to use she rather than he and this time he happened to be she, but I still believe that it was thought out and put down on purpose.
20/20 Philandering aside, Dubois was a fierce advocate for women's equal rights all of his life -- regardless of race.
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