The Souls of Black Folk · Chapter
Of the Training of Black Men explained
Du Bois argues for the necessity of higher education for African Americans, emphasizing that industrial training alone is insufficient.
What happens
Du Bois argues for the necessity of higher education for African Americans, emphasizing that industrial training alone is insufficient. He traces the history of post-Civil War education in the South, highlighting the role of black colleges in developing leaders and fostering culture, and critiques the racial prejudice that seeks to limit black aspiration.
Themes in this chapter
Education and Leadership
Du Bois argues that black colleges must develop men of culture and character, not merely train workers, to lead the race.
The Color Line
The social separation of races in the South creates a chasm that necessitates separate educational institutions for black people.
The Veil
Du Bois describes dwelling 'above the Veil' through intellectual communion with great thinkers, transcending racial barriers.
Economic Oppression
The industrial school movement is critiqued for potentially reducing human beings to mere material resources for profit.
Characters to notice
- The Narrator
Du Bois reflects on the value of higher education and the intellectual companionship he finds across the color line.
- Booker T. Washington
Implied in the discussion of industrial education and the Atlanta Compromise; his philosophy is critiqued indirectly.
Key passages
“The function of the Negro college, then, is clear: it must maintain the standards of popular education, it must seek the social regeneration of the Negro, and it must help in the solution of problems of race contact and cooperation.”
The purpose of black colleges is to uphold educational standards, promote social uplift, and address racial issues.
Du Bois defines the triple mission of higher education for African Americans.
“I sit with Shakespeare and he winces not. Across the color line I move arm in arm with Balzac and Dumas, where smiling men and welcoming women glide in gilded halls.”
Through education and culture, I can engage with great writers and thinkers without facing racial prejudice.
Du Bois illustrates how intellectual life transcends the color line.
“Is not life more than meat, and the body more than raiment?”
Human existence is about more than mere material survival.
Du Bois questions the overemphasis on industrial training at the expense of broader education.