And yet, somehow, above the suffering, above the shackled anger that beats the bars, above the hurt that crazes there surges in me a vast pity,--pity for a people imprisoned and enthralled, hampered and made miserable for such a cause, for such a phantasy!
This quote expresses Du Bois's deep empathy for the suffering of Black people, emphasizing their plight and resilience.
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More from W.E.B. Du Bois
The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife,—this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.
By 1830 slavery seemed hopelessly fastened on the South, and the slaves thoroughly cowed into submission.
I had thereafter no desire to tear down that veil, to creep through; I held all beyond it in common contempt, and lived above it in a region of blue sky and great wandering shadows.
Three things characterized this religion of the slave,—the Preacher, the Music, and the Frenzy.