When I began my research on Du Bois I can honestly say that I though I knew everything I needed to know from him but boy was I wrong. This man has done what people in their whole life can only imagine. He brought so much pride to his African American community. He was not only the first African American to graduate from high school but he was also valedictorian. He was also the first African American who received a PhD. D from Harvard. Yes he did received a lot of help from his teacher in his early ages but I think this is where my dad says that perceiving counts. My dad has told me many times that you can be the smartest guy out here or have support and still not make it. But boy oh boy did this man not only took his opportunities but he ran with it. Man he was out of this world. But you know what is the craziest thing that he never forgot where he came from. Even though he had these opportunities present to himself at a young age he made sure that he helped his community out. He was a very busy man. I mean this man was involved in everything research, campaigns, books, organizations. You say the word and he probably was doing that too.
But you know he worked for it all, like we all do and have to do. He was a man that not only was right about his ideologies regarding double consciousness and the veil during his time but still until today. I think that is what captivated me more towards him. That in a way I can relate to him and how he felt in that moment. On how we feel like we are always be judged at, stared down at, and unprivileged because of how we look. And even though in a piece of paper is says that we are American we don’t seem to fit under that name or even feel it. Like he says we live in a world that it predominant white and because of that we are always going to be seen different and we are always going to be the minority. But he always fought for everyone until the last day of his life and that is something very selfless. This is the reason I chose him. And hope too that one day we can proudly say that we are not a country with a color line problem because boy that is getting tiresome.
As I was researching Du Bois I came across this video in YouTube called “I am Not Black, You are Not White” and it made me question so many things. Like the idea that we live in a world of labels. I feel like the guy talking is responding to himself after he takes out his “veil” or comes to his term of double consciousness. I mean maybe its just me and I have read too much of Du Bois ideologies.
In the video the narrator or the person talking ask “who would you be if the World never gave you a label ?, never gave you a box to check. And to that question I answer sincerely I don’t know. I mean we have been so used to world that lives by labels that picturing a world without labels seems unreal even in our imagined world. How crazy is that huh? He also says that “labels blinds us from seeing a person for who they are and instead we see them through the judgmental,prejudicial , artificial filters of who we think they are “. That right there is something that Du Bois always fought after and it is sad to say that we are still fighting for that today. I mean look at the President we have. Look at what people are doing to the Chinese communities after the corona-virus. Man it seems like we still don’t learn our lessons and all we see is history repeating itself. Down below i would be posting the link to my slides for W.E.B Du Bois.
I guess my last answer and the only right way to close this blog is by asking :
who would you be if the World never gave you a label ?, never gave you a box to check.
A Reckless Optimist opening up her mind 