DuBois, Race & "Negroes" in the 21st Century

David Levering Lewis dedicates a portion of his book to describing the social implications of the September 23, 1927 public debate between William Edward Burghardt DuBois and Theodore Stoddard on the topic - "Shall the Negro Be Encouraged to Seek Cultural Equality?" DuBois was no stranger to the topic and was one of the leading Negro (African American) scholars of his day. He is most remembered for his initial push to remove negative perceptions of Blacks that were unfairly applied to them as Whites, he believed, judged the race based on the unproductive members of the Negro Race.

Conversely, DuBois felt that if judgements of Negro worth/intelligence/contributions had to be made that the frame of reference for Whites should be the very best of the Negro race ("the talented tenth concept). It was this idea that put him in conflict with Booker T. Washington in the 1890's and with Marcus Garvey in the 1900's.

Dubois would eventually become a founding member of the NAACP (which grew out of the work of the Niagara Movement), published The Crisis Magazine and became a Pan-Africanist, urging Blacks to not only unify and work to better themselves in America, but that their efforts should improve the entire African Diaspora. His best known work is The Souls of Black Folk (1904), in which he said "The problem of the 20th century is the problem of the color line...No sooner had Northern armies touched Southern soil than this old question, newly guised, sprang from the earth, - What shall be done with the Negro?" It was this same question that was pondered at the end of the Civil War, at the Berlin Conference in the 1800's (Europe divides Africa) and Lake Mohonk Conferences in the 1900's (conferences on the "Negro" and the "Indian" held in New York state).

Unfortunately, undignified sectors of American society continued to discuss the issue and came up with violent solutions as evidenced in the work of government leaders, like Bull Connor, Gov. Wallace and Strom Thurmon or with the works of individual citizens, like Citizens Council or White Knights of the KKK. It is a question that has never left the American consciousness and this "race question" or "race card" as it has come to be called resurfaces at the most controversial of times. DuBois' prediction about 20th century American culture appears to hold true for this century, as well - as far as we have come, race/racism is still our biggest problem. Every Black leader has attested to this fact no matter what approach they chose. Rev. Dr. MLK, Jr knew race was an issue just as much as Malcolm X did. DuBois recognized race as a deterrent to intellectual and economic success just as Booker T. Washington or Marcus Garvey, but all three sought "Negro/Colored" liberation in different ways. Jupiter Hammon's "Address to the Negroes of the State of NY" has a different tone than David Walker's "Appeal." Yet and still, in 2008, we ponder whether or not a half Black man is worthy to hold the office of President of the United States!

Medgar Evers spoke of the urgency...the importance of controlling the vote. Charles H. Houston, along with the NAACP legal team, highlighted the importance of standing firm on the constitution as a means towards civil rights. Dubois, in his debate against Stoddard said, spoke to the fear America has of the "rise of black men" and the fear associated with allowing him access to every aspect of American culture, government and civilization- even though it goes against the very nature of the religious and constitutional ideals espoused by the nation. He makes the point that "civilization is the rightful heritage of all men and cannot be monopolized and confined to one group."

If we are to move forward as one nation, if that is indeed possible and if the powers that be are amenable to it, we've got to move past the desire to label, separate, limit, and censor the intellectual, social, economic and political abilities of the darker peoples of the world. DuBois warns of the dangers of such a hypocritical stance - it's dangerous to the moral fiber of the country, its citizenry and to our global relationships with people of color across the world. He says, " ...you are standing before the whole world, with hundreds of darker millions watching. No matter what happens to us, these colored people of the world are not going to take forever the kind of treatment they have been taking." In this time, perhaps more than ever, this is a point well made and that should be heeded.