W. E. B. Du Bois 
The Souls of Black Folk 

Originally published in 1903,
The Souls of Black Folk is a classic study of race, culture, and education at the turn of the twentieth century. With its singular combination of essays, memoir, and fiction, this book vaulted W. E. B. Du Bois to the forefront of American political commentary and civil rights activism.
The Souls of Black Folk is an impassioned, at times searing account of the situation of African Americans in the United States. Du Bois makes a forceful case for the access of African Americans to higher education, memorably extols the achievements of black culture (above all the spirituals or ‘sorrow songs’), and advances the provocative and influential argument that due to the inequalities and pressures of the ‘race problem’, African American identity is characterized by ‘double consciousness’.

About the author

William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (1868 –1963) was an American sociologist, socialist, historian and Pan-Africanist civil rights activist. Born in Massachusetts, Du Bois completed graduate work at the University of Berlin and Harvard, where he was the first African American to earn a doctorate. A professor of history, sociology and economics at Atlanta University, Du Bois was one of the founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.