W. E. B. Du Bois Midterm- Study Flashcards
The Color Line
“the ‘Color Line’ began to pay dividends” through the colonization and exploitation of Africa and Africans beginning in the fifteenth century, race became central to world history.”the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line- the relation of the darker to the lighter races of men in Asia and Africa, in America and the islands of the sea.”. The color line refers to the divide between races, often invisible but sometimes physical. The line is hierarchical, ensuring that white people receive better treatment, services and opportunities. The color line was instituted and and solidified by slavery. An example of the color line is the Jim Crow segregation era.
Double Consciousness
Black American’s have to know how to operate in two Americas: one that is black and one that is white. Thus, Du Bois contends that while African Americans have a “double consciousness,” whites have no racial consciousness at all. a social philosophy concept that describes the experience of having multiple social identities, which can make it difficult to develop a sense of self. African-American men are often typecast in certain roles by the media, which can limit their potential and career ambitions. psychological challenge African Americans faced of being viewed through the eyes of a racist white society. He also used it to describe his own experiences of reconciling his African heritage with his upbringing in a European-dominated society.
The Veil Concept
A metaphor like Gilman’s corset and Marx’s edifice
Works on three levels:
Implies how one’s darker skin become a physical demarcation of difference from whiteness
Reveals white people’s inability of seeing black folks as “true” Americans
Implies the inability of black folks to understand themselves outside what white people describe and prescribe for them (University of Virginia 2009).
The veil is a metaphorical barrier that represents the separation between African Americans and the white majority. It’s made up of three parts: the skin, which indicates the difference between the two groups, and the inability of both groups to see each other as Americans. It’s also a visual representation of the idea that Black people have a different view of the world and its opportunities than White people.
