In chapter one of The Souls of Black Folk titled, "Of our Spiritual Strivings," written by W.E.B Du Bois, the issue is the veil. Du Bois says that every Negro is born with this veil. I will explain the issue of the veil by explaining the African Diaspora. The African Diaspora is the dispersal of African people from Africa to the rest of the world. Du Bois says that every Negro is born with a veil; however, being born with a veil does not mean that the veil is visible. The African Diaspora made the veil visible to the world. In addition, the veil plays a key role in the way Whites view African Americans today. The veil causes the Negro to be viewed as someone who is inferior through the e ...view middle of the document...
Because a servant does not have unconditional freedom, Black people, as servants, are not completely free. According to Du Bois, Negroes are working toward human brotherhood through the ideal of race. Du Bois writes, "gained through the unifying ideal of Race; the ideal of fostering and developing the traits and talents of the Negro,... in order that some day on American soil two world-races may give to each those characteristics both so sadly lack" (Du Bois, 16). Du Bois explains the meaning of human brotherhood, which has two parts to its meaning that collectively work together: the first is the unification of all races; the second is that these unified races will focus on the development of the Negro. I believe in "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," Du Bois is focusing on the veil to show the position of the Negro.In "Of Our Spiritual Strivings", Du Bois focuses on the veil, which he says every Negro is born with. I think this veil acts as a separation of the Negro from the White world, because it separates the Negro from many opportunities afforded to White people. Moreover, the veil acts as a point of difference. The point of difference is a symbol that the person behind the veil is different from everyone who is not behind the veil. Because the purpose of a veil is to cover and hide the person behind it, that person can only be seen through the veil. The Negro is the only person with a veil; therefore, he is different from everyone else, those with out a veil. The Negro was born with a veil; therefore, he has no other option than to live as a person shut out from the White world. I think that because the Negro was born with a veil, he will have it for the rest of his life. Du Bois writes, "After the Egyptian and Indian, the Greek and Roman, the Teuton and Mongolian, the Negro is a sort of seventh son, born with a veil" (Du Bois, 10). This shows that a Negro at birth already has this veil, the point of his differences that cause him to be shut out and viewed differently by the people of the White world. I believe that the African Diaspora better explains the veil and double consciousness.With a closer look at the African Diaspora, I will further understand the issue of the veil. A Diaspora is "the migration or scattering of a people away from an ancestral homeland" (dictionary). More specifically, the African Diaspora is the scattering of African People from Africa. The Americas played a large role in the African Diaspora. Africans were brought to the Americas as slaves, to work the land for the profit of White land owners. Africans came to the Americas facing a people who believed that they were inferior. Joseph E. Harris writes, in African Roots/ Ameri...
