And to themselves in these the days that try their souls, the chance to soar in the dim blue air above the smoke is to their finer spirits boon and guerdon for what they lose on earth by being black.
Du Bois describes how, amidst the struggles of racial oppression, the opportunity for spiritual and intellectual transcendence offers a profound reward to Black individuals.
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They approach me in a half-hesitant sort of way, eye me curiously or compassionately, and then, instead of saying directly, How does it feel to be a problem? they say, I know an excellent colored man in my town; or, I fought at…
The Nation has not yet found peace from its sins; the freedman has not yet found in freedom his promised land.
The direct result of this system is an all-cotton scheme of agriculture and the continued bankruptcy of the tenant.
Three things characterized this religion of the slave,—the Preacher, the Music, and the Frenzy.