W.E.B Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk: Bringing Attention to Racial Inequality in America

In 1903, African American sociologist W.E.B Du Bois wrote The Souls of Black Folk to investigate one of many first advocates of the concept: race-conflict. His book revealed the matter of racism, explaining its effects on black identity. Du Bois wanted to address the ‘strange meaning of being black’ in an unjust society.

Within the twentieth century, Du Bois believed that the laws and society that had anticipated blacks from accomplishing uniformity in a post-slavery period would still pose a black identity problem. In addition, he contended that U.S. blacks and whites are isolated by a hypothetical ‘color line’ as a result of this. He thought the ‘color line’ deprived blacks equal access to schooling, opportunities, and jobs; however, it ceased them from understanding their human potential.

Du Bois utilized the word ‘the veil’ to explain how racism ultimately made it difficult for whites to see blacks as genuine Americans, and as a result blacks saw themselves as the way whites viewed them. Du Bois states in The Souls of Black Folk, “You still sense the twoness... An American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unconciliated strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, the strength of which alone prevents it from being torn apart” (W.E.B Du Bois). This quote introduced a new critical thought- double-consciousness. Du Bois argued that there are two competing identities as a Black American- seeing oneself as an American and as a Black American while living in white-centric America.

Moreover, the social-democratic contrasts between blacks and whites had driven W.E.B Du Bois to co-find the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. He utilized news coverage as one of the foremost effective devices against auxiliary bigotry. Factually, a bigger number of whites has riches. Post eras of Black Americans were not able to construct these riches since they had distant access for higher incomes, services, and lodging. All of these cutting edge ideas within-race strife hypothesis, racial personality, racial arrangement, racial legislative issues, and racial resistance all have their roots within the work of humanist W.E.B Du Bois.

American Philosopher John Rawls, Justice as Fairness: A Restatement, would undoubtedly agree with W.E.B Du Bois’ critique on political injustice in a conventional liberal-democratic society. However, Rawls acknowledged that debates / protests over inequality and what to do about it are frequently marked with futile squabbling that often contributes to no alter. What Rawls was after was a straightforward, economic, and polemical way of showing people how unequal their cultures are and what they could do about it.

Rawls claimed that cultures have become unjust because those who profit from it are denied the need to worry about what it would be like to be raised in different circumstances, he named it ‘the veil of ignorance’ Rawls’ challenge to humanity is: “if we didn't know where we would end up, what kind of world would it feel safe to enter?” The ‘veil of ignorance’' (John Rawls) prevents us from speaking of all those who have done well and brings our eyes to the horrific dangers of joining the U.S. system as if it were a gamble. In addition, any participant in the experiment will want a well-functioning society because It would be the best version of outsiders to acknowledge the nation in which they would like to be raised arbitrarily. Responses from Rawls (experiment) are persuasive because it enables us to speak more honestly about what seems like a fair society.