Darkwater · Chapter
III: The Hands of Ethiopia explained
Du Bois argues that Africa is central to world history and that the color bar is the fundamental problem of modern democracy.
What happens
Du Bois argues that Africa is central to world history and that the color bar is the fundamental problem of modern democracy. He indicts European colonialism for the slave trade, land theft, and labor exploitation, and outlines a vision for a free and independent African state built on modern education, local self-government, and industrial democracy. He concludes with a parable of the Princess of the Hither Isles, symbolizing Africa's beauty and suffering, and a call for a new peace and democracy of all races.
Themes in this chapter
Racial Oppression and White Supremacy
Du Bois details the systematic degradation of black people through slavery, land theft, and the belief in black subhumanity, calling it a 'vicious habit of mind' not based on science or history.
Economic Injustice and Labor Exploitation
The chapter describes how European powers exploit African labor and land for profit, including the slave trade, forced labor in mines and cocoa plantations, and the proposal to treat colonies as 'crown estates' to pay war debts.
War and Imperialism
Du Bois connects World War I to colonial greed and the color bar, arguing that the war's aftermath threatens to intensify exploitation of Africa.
Democracy and the Franchise
The chapter frames the 'present problem of problems' as democracy struggling against the color bar, and calls for a 'new democracy of all races' and equal rights for black South Africans.
Characters to notice
- The Princess of the Hither Isles
Symbolic figure representing Africa, beautiful and veiled, sitting in a swampy land and longing for the golden Yonder Kingdom.
- The King of Yonder Kingdom
A tall, thin-lipped, white and tawny king who visits the princess but remains emotionally cold and unresponsive.
- David Livingstone
Mentioned as a European explorer who had successors in Africa, providing some positive contributions amid colonial exploitation.
Key passages
“The present problem of problems is nothing more than democracy beating itself helplessly against the color bar”
The central issue of our time is democracy's futile struggle against racial discrimination.
Du Bois identifies the color line as the fundamental obstacle to democracy.
“For four hundred years white Europe was the chief support of that trade in human beings which first and last robbed black Africa of a hundred million human beings”
For 400 years, white Europe sustained the slave trade, which ultimately stole 100 million people from Africa.
Du Bois quantifies the human cost of the transatlantic slave trade.
“The hands which Ethiopia shall soon stretch out unto God are not mere hands of helplessness and supplication, but rather are they hands of pain and promise; hard, gnarled, and muscled for the world’s real work”
Africa's outstretched hands to God are not weak or begging, but strong and ready for labor and redemption.
Du Bois reinterprets the biblical image of Ethiopia stretching hands to God as a symbol of strength and agency.