Week 2 Assignment

David Whitehead
SOC101: Introduction to Sociology
Instructor: Budzinski
July 21, 2014










The individual whom I have chosen who contributed to our present opinions of sociology
is W.E.B. DuBois. Dubois was born in in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The place he was
born in was a predominantly white neighborhood where the few blacks who were treated like
they shouldn't be there. He was the first African American to graduate from his high school. At
an early age and throughout his years Dubois witnessed and experienced abuse and injustice
toward his race. Every day's motivation grew more powerful to advance social justice, as well as
equal rights for his people. Like every leader before and after him witnessing injustice,
discrimination, and inequality, an author, annotator, and inspiring keynote lecturer on racial
discrimination was born. Du Bois set the platform for Black sociology, as well as assisted
organized the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), the most
important and well known civil rights group in American history. At a very young age, Du Bois
suddenly realized the racism as well as poverty in the south, and after that this compelled Du
Bois to make a change, with those inequalities progress his fight for equal opportunity for the
black community. W.E.B DuBois had a philosophy on racial equality for African Americans that
centered on the vote for African Americans. He believed in a more political approach to racial
inequality. He had a focus on civil rights; in fact, he helped found the NAACP, one of the
biggest civil rights organizations in America. He thought that a group of ten educated African
Americans called the "Talented Tenth," could create social and political change (PBS). He
believed that almost everything came with the right to vote, writing "with the vote goes
everything: freedom, manhood, the honor of our wives, the chastity of our daughters, the right to
work, and a chance to rise" (DuBois, pg. 249-251). He also believed in more formal education
for African American children that wasn't as centered on labor. He believed that the biggest
impediment to freedom for the African American race was the continuation of racism and
segregation in America (PBS). DuBois believed in the civil action and the vote for African
Americans. There are significant merits and problems to his theory. DuBois' theory does a good
job of trying to avoid a recurrence of slavery; it tries to give more rights to African Americans
immediately and doesn't rely on the white population to give African Americans economic
independence. On the other hand, it tries to force equality down the throat of a white population
that isn't ready to accept blacks being equal members of their society yet. It also relies on the
more educated sect of the African American population to make decisions, not giving everyone a
voice. DuBois' approach is much geared more towards those with a background in education in
power. It also doesn't recognize the power the white population has. If the white population
became upset because they felt like blacks weren't deserving of civil rights and right to vote, they
could become violent, or try to create laws that would seem racially equal, but stop blacks from
having rights. In his book "The Souls of Black Folk" Dubois talked about a concept called
double consciousness. "Double consciousness describes the individual sensation of feeling as
though your identity is divided into several parts, making it difficult or impossible to have one
unified identity." (Edles and Appelrouth 351-352). Dubois believed that because of the
inequality and injustice African Americans have gone through for years it was difficult to see
themselves as blacks and Americans. His theory forces blacks to not only see themselves from
their own eyes, but from the eyes of the outside world. According to Dubois, the prejudices of
white people made African Americans adopt self-hate.
The most notable reason for selecting this theorist is my racial experience as being am
African American male. The contribution Du Bois made for the Black society and final; struggle
to eliminate the unfairness for the Black community. Double consciousness is still very relevant
in today's society. While many people feel or argue we live in an equal rights society, there are
still many inequalities based on race that make it difficult for African Americans to accept their
identities as blacks and as Americans. The media shows images of black men as criminals,
athletes, rappers, or in a negative light, and, as a result, white America believes art imitates life.
Young African American males see these limited paths as their only options for advancement.
With that, the cycle continues, and the stereotype will never fade.















References
Brooker T. and W.E.B: The Two Nations of Black America. PBS.org. Public Broadcasting
Station, n.d. Web. 24 Sept. 12
.<http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/race/etc/road.html
Du Bois, W.E.B. 1947/2010. From The World and Africa. Quote on Pp.346 in Sociological
Theory in the Classical Era: Text and Readings, Edition 2, edited by L. D. Edles and S.
Appelrouth. Los Angeles, CA: Pine Forge Pres