Just one of those books it’s important to reread from time to time. This book is a lot like rereading James Baldwin essays from the 1950s where it’s refreshing to find clear, precise, and relevant articulations of issues still being discussed. It’s also deeply troubling and depressing how many of these issues are still being discussed.
Some stray observations:
–the history of the Freedman’s Bureau in the early chapters of this book remind us that white supremacy doesn’t just refuse to give up power but actively sabotages any attempts to create balance. DuBois talks about the original structures of and setting up of the bureau and how it immediately became the target of purposeful slow-handed destruction. Setting up something so that it could fail.
–a book that is a reminder that those who are acting to uphold white supremacy have always used full-throated, and half-throated methods. It’s not just about the loudest, but the most persistent too.
–White liberals always show their ass (me too on plenty of occasions — and I am embarrassed by every single one of them) to impress Black people with how cool, good, and virtuous they are.
–DuBois’s breakdown of Booker T Washington’s failures are a good reminder of the constant struggle between different kinds of resistance. I feel James Baldwin in this section the most.
(Photo: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/318742.The_Souls_of_Black_Folk)
