African American Struggle In "Returning Soldiers" And "Autobiography"

James Weldon Johnson and WEB DuBois, both being of African American descent, present works that encompass the inherent writing style of the Harlem Renaissance period. Although the writings differ between fact and fiction, each text works to prove the inferiority African Americans fought against, both during and after World War I.

While Johnson’s main character vacillates between self-interest and self-sacrifice, DuBois’ content directly pinpoints the returning African American soldier and his undeviating call for continued duty. There was no time or space to fluctuate from DuBois’ point of view; fight for democracy or fall to injustice. However, the unnamed narrator in Johnson’s book battles against his own timidities, all of which connect to his uncertainty in exposing his racial identity. Both authors present passionate writings, each selection shedding light on overall democracy for African Americans. Although both DuBois and Johnson offer insight into racial inequalities, it can be argued that the ambiguity of race foreshadows an overall affection for mankind, proving that segregation on any level results in discord.

May of 1919 might possibly have been a celebratory time in history due to an end of World War I, but for the returning African American soldier, there appears no time for shedding a tattered uniform. WEB DuBois’ article, “Returning Soldiers”, targets a larger audience at the time of its printing. Not only is he addressing the fighters, he offers reminders for the original premise of World War I. DuBois’ resonating words state, “But today we return! We return from the slavery of uniform which the world’s madness demanded us to don to the freedom of civil garb.” The African American man is still a “soldier”, and he returns to an even greater need for victory, not only for himself, but for his race as a whole. From the perspective of DuBois, advancement in positions for non-white minorities should have been an outcome of World War I, although his hopes were clearly unsatisfied. His frustration evident throughout the article, DuBois clearly states an on-going need for equality.

James Weldon Johnson uses an unnamed narrator in his novel, The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, to illuminate the racial divide of the early twentieth century. The narrator’s struggle to unearth his racial identity comes about during a time of cultural inequality for African Americans. Johnson’s main character in the novel grapples between his own weak and strong will. Though born into what many might consider a life of privilege, the narrator states, “So far as racial differences go, the United States puts a greater premium on color, or better, lack of color, than upon anything else in the world. To paraphrase, ‘Have a white skin, and all things else may be added unto you.’”

The biracial narrator, having been born from a white mother and African American father, assimilates himself into the white race far more easily than the black community, mainly due to a self-centered drive for personal success. As the novel progresses, life experiences from both southern and northern assessments bring the narrator to a final decision regarding the “passing” of his individual race. After witnessing the lynching of a black man at the hands of whites, Johnson’s main character states, “I finally made up my mind that I would neither disclaim the black race nor claim the white race; but that I would change my name, raise a mustache and let the world take me for what it would; that it was not necessary for me to go about with a label of inferiority pasted across my forehead.” Thus, the narrator chooses the way of a coward, ultimately refusing to stand for either race, and allowing a self-loathing attitude to define his manhood.

The question of dominance in regard to race seems too often to take precedence over a concept of unity for all mankind. The racial divide that plagues the world is unending, as both writings portray. With the close of World War I, the African American race was hopeful for improvement, both in the United States and worldwide. DuBois’ thoughts concerning the country as a whole are, “It lynches. It disfranchises its own citizens. It encourages ignorance. It steals from us. It insults us. It has organized a nation-wide and latterly a world-wide propaganda of deliberate and continuous insult and defamation of black blood wherever found.” His words brought about a greater focus on the chief southern oligarchy that primarily dictates country wide laws during this time in history. America’s claim to be one nation with a dominance of democracy for all can often be a source of argument when highlighting historical past events that represent the opposite. Even though fictious, Johnson’s opposing opinions between characters allow for further insight into the racial divide of the early twentieth century.

The strong sentiment of the Texan portrays this as he states, “…the war was fought and the niggers were freed; for it’s no use beating around the bush, the niggers and not the Union, was the cause of it; and now do you believe that all the niggers on earth are worth the good white blood that was split? You freed the nigger and you gave him the ballot, but you couldn’t make a citizen out of him.” The crucial part of Johnson’s overall argument from the perspective of the novel’s narrator shows his opinion regarding a dominance of one race over another. No matter how much African Americans achieve, they will always need whites to gain success, while the white race will continuously deny them vital means and prospects to do so. These accounts prove the argument that it is the white race in greater need of change in attitude towards the African American race.

By making a case, not only for individual races, but for the greater need of mankind as a whole, the above writings portray strong opinions on both sides of the racial divide.