Publisher's Synopsis
This title The Souls of Black Folk contains several essays on race, some of which had previously been published in Atlantic Monthly magazine. Du Bois drew from his own experience to develop this pioneering work on what it was like to be an African American in American society. The Souls of Black Folk, outside of its notable place in African American history, also occupies an important place in the social sciences as one of the earliest sociological works.Each chapter in The Souls of the Black People is headed by an epigraph, usually a quote from a European poet, accompanied by the transcription of the melody (but without the lyrics) of a black spiritual chant about sadness, suffering, hope and the affirmation. Their importance lies in the fact that they are both original and communal, designating a group of people rather than an individual, and that they represent Du Bois's call to the struggle of African Americans.
