Souls of Black Folk Ch.3 Response

Leaders arise to stand up for the foundations they have come to believe are just. They fight for causes when an ideal or a problem in the outside world threatens what they believe. From leaders arise followers, and these followers come as a sign that they truly believe something to be wrong with the world concerning a problem. Thus, since both leader and followers become one, their intent is to protect those who agree with them and those who view them to be saviors of their lives. However, though deeply rooted together in what they believe, there are times when conflicts come about when leaders and follows cannot agree on a way to solve a problem. In W.E.B Du Bois’ selection, “Souls of a Black Folk, readers are introduced to a similar concept where leaders and followers do not see eye to eye. Du Bois makes an argument against Booker T. Washington, where the two leaders clash in their stand for their race. Reader’s are presented with one leader who believes that vocational duties is the only way to earn recognition in the Caucasian society and there is another leader who says to his race, it is time to declare of voice of their own. This divergence actually conflicts with the African American community where followers have to side with either Du Bois or Washington.

One mistake that the audience has to be careful about not to make is that these two characters are not fighting among themselves. Respect is actually one sentiment that is shared between both of these men. Respect comes with the fact that both have noticed a problem in society and are willing to change it no matter the cost. No matter the perspective views upon, there is no doubt that both leaders want to see their fellow brothers resurrect from the hole they have been placed. It is evident that they want the African American community to live a prospering, respecting, and healthy life just like the Caucasians. The need to see your community rise is not a sin, but how will they rise and in what fashion they will rise is the question.

“In all things purely social we can be as separate as the five fingers, and yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress”. Fingers cannot work on their own free will. Without the hand, the fingers that are placed on them might as well be categorized as useless. The hand represents a nation, and this nation that is presented based on Du Bois description is one that is ready to fall. Without the finger’s, there will be no hand and without the hand, the fingers will not exist. The use of the author’s metaphor is to establish the idea that both the white community and the black community have to work together as fellow brothers. Not just those two communities, but in every situation where a nation is present, every member of that nation has to come equally together as one and stand equally as one. Should Caucasians choose to exclude blacks, it is the same as excluding your fingers from your hand. Everything falls apart when discrimination is set in to make blacks a minority and placed under a lesser viewed rank as well as a submissive role. One thing the audience must also realize is that no two fingers are the same nor do they resemble each other. A thumb and a pinky figure can never look alike no matter what an individual tries to do; the two can never be even. A nation is made of different ethnicities and background is the point Du Bois tries to make. Another clever devise that the author uses, is to remind the white community of their own words. “We hold these truths to be self-evident: That all men are created equal; that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights; that among these are life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Including this piece in the text is a rather clever technique. Unless the white race wants to call themselves hypocrites, they did in fact include these words in their constitution. The author includes this text to make a statement to the white society that what they have written has yet to be put into practice.

It is not very often that those who can lead to take others to a better place arise. Most of the time, those who attempt to make a difference fall and they themselves need help to get back up. However, there are those like W.E.B Du Bois and Booker T. Washington that manage to make it to the top though society has placed them at the bottom. Though they may both disagree on how to rise up, there is no doubt that once they rise, they will carry their people with them.