Quotes from book
The Negro

The Negro
W.E.B. Du Bois

The Negro is a book by W. E. B. Du Bois published in 1915 and released in electronic form by Project Gutenberg in 2011. It is an overview of African-American history, tracing it as far back as the sub-Saharan cultures, including Great Zimbabwe, Ghana and Songhai, as well as covering the history of the slave trade and the history of Africans in the United States and the Caribbean.

W.E.B. Du Bois photo

“Present-day students are often puzzled at the apparent contradictions of Southern slavery. One hears, on the one hand, of the staid and gentle patriarchy, the wide and sleepy plantations with lord and retainers, ease and happiness; on the other hand one hears of barbarous cruelty and unbridled power and wide oppression of men. Which is the true picture? The answer is simple: both are true. They are not opposite sides of the same shield; they are different shields.”

W.E.B. Du Bois book The Negro

Source: The Negro (1915), Ch. XI: The Negro in the United States

W.E.B. Du Bois photo

“Unfortunately there was one thing that the white South feared more than Negro dishonesty, ignorance, and incompetency, and that was Negro honesty, knowledge, and efficiency.”

W.E.B. Du Bois book The Negro

Source: The Negro (1915), Ch. XI: The Negro in the United States

W.E.B. Du Bois photo

“The theory of democratic government is not that the will of the people is always right, but rather that normal human beings of average intelligence will, if given a chance, learn the right and best course by bitter experience.”

W.E.B. Du Bois book The Negro

Source: The Negro (1915), Ch. XI: The Negro in the United States

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