Political Quotes

W.E.B. Du Bois: He began to have a dim feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and not another.

On the recordJanuary 1, 1903
He began to have a dim feeling that, to attain his place in the world, he must be himself, and not another.
Said by
W.E.B. Du Bois

Editor's note · Context

This passage describes the dawning self-awareness of the freedman after emancipation, emphasizing the need for individual identity.

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