W.E.B. Du Bois: “I meant still to be captain of my soul, but I realized that even…”

On the record

I meant still to be captain of my soul, but I realized that even captains are not omnipotent in uncharted and angry seas.

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W.E.B. Du Bois

Source

Du Bois asserts his determination while recognizing the limits of control in uncertain situations.

More from W.E.B. Du Bois

Jan 1, 1903

So the Cotton Kingdom still lives; the world still bows beneath her sceptre.

Jan 1, 1903

By 1830 slavery seemed hopelessly fastened on the South, and the slaves thoroughly cowed into submission.

Jan 1, 1903

And yet, being a problem is a strange experience,—peculiar even for one who has never been anything else, save perhaps in babyhood and in Europe.

Jan 1, 1903

The direct result of this system is an all-cotton scheme of agriculture and the continued bankruptcy of the tenant.

W.E.B. Du Bois: “I meant still to be captain of my soul, but I realized that even captains are not omnipotent in uncharted and angry…”