The Souls of Black Folk in 1903 spoke at once, directly and passionately, to the vital concerns of African Americans. But it spoke also to the United States as a whole, directly addressing its often triumphalist claims to be “a land of liberty”. In the century following its publication the book has come to transcend its era, enduring as a classic analysis of racial oppression and a lyrical expression of human hopes persevering in struggles against injustice and dehumanization. Many consider that Souls lives today because of its empowering sense of Black subjectivity – the agency of those struggling against unjust constraints – and its multiple modes of analysis and expression – its sociological, political, …
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Citation: Williams, Robert W.. "The Souls of Black Folk". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 June 2005 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7786, accessed 27 November 2024.]
