Download The Souls of Black Folk summary attached here

In The Souls of Black Folk, arguably W.E.B. DuBois’ most famous work, he introduces and addresses two concepts that
describe the quintessential Black experience in America— the concepts of “the veil” and “double-consciousness.” Though
DuBois uses these terms separately, their meanings and usage in his works are deeply intertwined. These two concepts gave a
name to what so many African-Americans felt but previously could not express due to a lack of words to accurately describe
their pain. The implication and connotation of these words were far-reaching because not only did it succinctly describe the
plight of being Black and American then, it rings true to the core and essence of what it means to still be Black and American
today.
For DuBois, the veil concept primarily refers to three things. First, the veil suggests to the literal darker skin of
Blacks, which is a physical demarcation of difference from whiteness. Secondly, the veil suggests white people’s lack of
clarity to see Blacks as “true” Americans. And lastly, the veil refers to Blacks’ lack of clarity to see themselves outside of
what white America describes and prescribes for them.
Any socially-aware, present-day African-American has had at least two life-altering experiences in life— the moment
he/she realized he/she was Black, and the moment when he/she realized that was a problem. Like DuBois, many AfricanAmericans can pinpoint the exact instance at which both of these life altering encounters took place, and they too came to this
realization at a young age. For DuBois, these realizations came during a youthful ball, at which his card was “peremptorily”
refused by a Southern, white girl simply (or rather, not so simply) because he was Black. Of this encounter he writes the
following:
Then it dawned upon me with a certain suddenness that I was different from the others; or like [them
perhaps] in heart and life and longing, but shut out from their world by a vast veil. I had thereafter no
desire to tear down that veil, to creep through; I held all beyond it in common contempt, and lived
above it in a region of blue sky and great wandering shadows.
In this passage, DuBois’ initial reaction upon realizing that being Black was a “problem” in American society is
interesting because this same sentiment is commonly felt by African-Americans today. In addition, DuBois’ reactionary
feeling of contempt for all white people on the other side of the veil reveals a larger point about the veil concept. Because many
people only understand DuBois’ veil concept to mean that white people’s view of Black people is obstructed by this not-soinvisible veil that hangs between the races, many forget to see that this lack of vision is two-fold; that is, just as the white girl
looking through the veil could not properly see DuBois for who he was beyond his skin, he in turn could not clearly see the
whole white race because of his one negative encounter with her as well, which he then projected onto the entire white race.
Although there is a veil that shades the view of both Blacks and Whites, the reason why Blacks traditionally have a better
understanding of whites than the reverse is because of this “two-ness” lived and felt by Black Americans. In other words, upon
coming to the realization of being Black and what that has historically meant in America (or arguably presently means in
America), Black people have long known how to operate in two Americas— one that is white and one that is Black. DuBois
describes this phenomena as “double-consciousness”, which is the awareness of the “two-ness” of being “an American and a[n
African-American]”, and the largely unconscious, almost instinctive movement between the these two identities, as needed.
DuBois describes African-Americans as “a sort of seventh son, born with a veil, and gifted with second-sight in this
American world— a world which yields him no true self-consciousness, but only lets him see himself through the revelation of
the other world.” Further, of the actual concept of “double-consciousness”, DuBois goes on to say the following:
It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through
the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and
pity. One ever feels his two-ness— an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled
strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn
asunder.
This passage is perhaps the most powerfully written, (and amazingly accurate for some) of the sheer burden of being Black
and American in this society. Although written over a century ago, for many modern-day African-Americans this passage is a
reflection of how very little has changed in America’s conceptualization of what is “Black” and of what is “American”. But
more importantly, for African-Americans it is an illustration and reminder of how far they still have to go.