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W. E. B. Du Bois

W. E. B. Du Bois Quotes

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Famous W. E. B. Du Bois Quotes

“The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife, - this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self. In this merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost... He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American.”

MenSelfLostWishConsciousLongingAfrican AmericanManhoodStrifeSelf ConsciousMergingDubois
Book:The Souls of Black Folk: The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois
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“...in any land, in any country under modern free competition, to lay any class of weak and despised people, be they white, black, or blue, at the political mercy of their stronger, richer, and more resourceful fellows, is a temptation which human nature seldom has withstood and seldom will withstand.”

PeopleHumansCountryPoliticalBlackWhiteClassModernLandHuman NatureWeakMercyStrongerBlueFellowsLaysCompetitionTemptationDespisedResourceful
Book:The Souls of Black Folk: The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois
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“The function of the university is not simply to teach breadwinning, or to furnish teachers for the public schools, or to be a centre of polite society; if is, above all, to be the organ of that fine adjustment between real life and the growing knowledge of life, an adjustment from which forms the secret of civilization.”

IfsRealSchoolFormMoneySecretEducationTeachTeacherGrowingFineCivilizationFunctionUniversityReal LifeOrgansGraduationCentrePolitePublic SchoolAdjustmentGrowing Knowledge
Book:The Souls of Black Folk
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“Here is the chance for young women and young men of devotion to lift again the banner of humanity and to walk toward a civilization which will be free and intelligent; which will be healthy and unafraid; and build in the world a culture led by black folk and joined by peoples of all colors and all races - without poverty, ignorance and disease!”

MenWorldYoungHumanityCultureBlackChanceWalksRacePovertyIgnoranceColorCivilizationHealthyDiseaseIntelligentFolksDevotionLiftsYoung ManYoung WomenBannerUnafraid
Author:W. E. B. Du Bois
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“Now is the accepted time, not tomorrow, not some more convenient season. It is today that our best work can be done and not some future day or future year. It is today that we fit ourselves for the greater usefulness of tomorrow. Today is the seed time, now are the hours of work, and tomorrow comes the harvest and the playtime.”

YearsDoneTodayActionHoursGreaterTomorrowFitFutureSeasonsSeedsAcceptedHarvestLive In The MomentConvenientBest WorkUsefulnessHarvest TimePlaytime
Book:Prayers for Dark People
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“How shall Integrity face Oppression? What shall Honesty do in the face of Deception, Decency in the face of Insult, Self-Defense before Blows? How shall Desert and Accomplishment meet Despising, Detraction, and Lies? What shall Virtue do to meet Brute Force? There are so many answers and so contradictory; and such differences for those on the one hand who meet questions similar to this once a year or once a decade, and those who face them hourly and daily.”

YearsSelfHandsFacesLyingForceDifferencesAnswersVirtueHonestyIntegrityBlowDefenseDecadesOppressionDesertDeceptionAccomplishmentInsultDecencyContradictoryBrutesSelf DefenseBrute Force
Author:W. E. B. Du Bois
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“We cannot hope, then, in this generation, or for several generations, that the mass of the whites can be brought to assume that close sympathetic and self-sacrificing leadership of the blacks which their present situation so eloquently demands. Such leadership, such social teaching and example, must come from the blacks themselves.”

SelfSocialSituationGenerationsSacrificeTeachingExampleDemandMassAssumingPatriotismSympatheticThis GenerationPresent Situation
Book:The Souls of Black Folk: The Oxford W. E. B. Du Bois
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“Lord of the springtime, Father of flower, field and fruit, smile on us in these earnest days when the work is heavy and the toil wearisome; lift up our hearts, O God, to the things worthwhile-sunshine and night, the dripping rain, the song of the birds, books and music, and the voices of our friends. Lift up our hearts to these this night and grant us Thy peace. Amen.”

HeartBookNightSongFatherVoiceChristianityLordFieldsFlowerSpringBirdRainFruitHeavyLiftsSunshineGrantsWorthwhileToilEarnestSpringtimeAmenDrippingBooks And Music
Book:Prayers for Dark People
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“Cannot the nation that has absorbed ten million foreigners into its political life without catastrophe absorb ten million Negro Americans into that same political life at less cost than their unjust and illegal exclusion will involve?”

PoliticalCultureNationsJusticeMillionsCostTenDiversitySocial JusticeIllegalUnjustCatastropheForeignersExclusionPolitical Life
Book:W. E. B. Du Bois: Selections from His Writings
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“I believe in Liberty for all men: the space to stretch their arms and their souls; the right to breathe and the right to vote, the freedom to choose their friends, enjoy the sunshine, and ride on the railroads, uncursed by color; thinking, dreaming, working as they will in a kingdom of beauty and love.”

ThinkingMenBelieveSoulDreamCultureI BelieveEnjoyJusticeSpaceLibertyColorArmsDiversityAnd LoveVoteSocial JusticeI Believe InBreatheKingdomsSunshineRailroadsRight To VoteFreedom To ChooseBeauty And Love
Book:Darkwater: The Givens Collection
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“This the American black man knows: his fight here is a fight to the finish. Either he dies or wins. If he wins it will be by no subterfuge or evasion of amalgamation . He will enter modern civilization here in America as a black man on terms of perfect and unlimited equality with any white man, or he will enter not at all. Either extermination root and branch, or absolute equality. There can be no compromise. This is the last great battle of the west.”

KnowsMenLastsAmericaDiesCultureFightingWinningBlackTermJusticeWhitePerfectModernCivilizationBattleDiversityRootsAbsolutesSocial JusticeWestCompromiseBranchesUnlimitedWhite ManExterminationModern CivilizationNo CompromiseGreat BattleRoots And Branches
Author:W. E. B. Du Bois
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“Unless modern civilization is a failure, it is entirely feasible and practicable for two races in such essential political, economic and religious harmony as the white and colored people in America, to develop side by side in peace and mutual happiness, the peculiar contribution which each has to make to the culture of their common country.”

PeopleTwoCountryAmericaPoliticalCultureSidesReligiousWhiteInspiringCommonRaceEconomicModernCivilizationEssentialsHarmonyEqualityCivil RightsContributionMutualPeculiarModern Civilization
Book:The Problem of the Color Line at the Turn of the Twentieth Century: The Essential Early Essays
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