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Three African-American Classics: Up from Slavery, The Souls of Black Folk and Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
UP FROM SLAVERY
The autobiography of Booker T Washington is a startling portrait ofone of the great Americans of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The illegitimate son of 'a white man and a Negro slave, Washington, a man who struggled for his education, would go on to struggle for the dignity of all his people in a hostile and alien society.
THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK
W.E.B. DuBois's classic is a major sociological document and one of the momentous books in the mosaic of American literature. No other work has had greater influence on black thinking, and nowhere is the African-American's unique heritage and his kinship with all men so passionately described.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLORED MAN
Originally published anonymously, James Weldon Johnson's penetrating work is a remarkable human account of the life of black Americans in the early twentieth century and a profound interpretation of his feelings towards the white man and towards members of his own race. No other book touches with such understanding and objectivity on the phenomenon once called "passing" in a white society.
These three narratives, gathered together in Three Negro Classics chronicle the remarkable evolution of African-American consciousness on both a personal and social level. Profound, intelligent, and insightful, they are as relevant today as they have ever been.
The autobiography of Booker T Washington is a startling portrait ofone of the great Americans of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. The illegitimate son of 'a white man and a Negro slave, Washington, a man who struggled for his education, would go on to struggle for the dignity of all his people in a hostile and alien society.
THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK
W.E.B. DuBois's classic is a major sociological document and one of the momentous books in the mosaic of American literature. No other work has had greater influence on black thinking, and nowhere is the African-American's unique heritage and his kinship with all men so passionately described.
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX-COLORED MAN
Originally published anonymously, James Weldon Johnson's penetrating work is a remarkable human account of the life of black Americans in the early twentieth century and a profound interpretation of his feelings towards the white man and towards members of his own race. No other book touches with such understanding and objectivity on the phenomenon once called "passing" in a white society.
These three narratives, gathered together in Three Negro Classics chronicle the remarkable evolution of African-American consciousness on both a personal and social level. Profound, intelligent, and insightful, they are as relevant today as they have ever been.
482 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1910
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About the author
W.E.B. Du Bois
626Ìýbooks1,426ÌýfollowersIn 1868, William Edward Burghardt Du Bois (pronounced 'doo-boyz') was born in Massachusetts. He attended Fisk College in Nashville, then earned his BA in 1890 and his MS in 1891 from Harvard. Du Bois studied at the University of Berlin, then earned his doctorate in history from Harvard in 1894. He taught economics and history at Atlanta University from 1897-1910. The Souls of Black Folk (1903) made his name, in which he urged black Americans to stand up for their educational and economic rights. Du Bois was a founder of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and edited the NAACP's official journal, "Crisis," from 1910 to 1934. Du Bois turned "Crisis" into the foremost black literary journal. The black nationalist expanded his interests to global concerns, and is called the "father of Pan-Africanism" for organizing international black congresses.
Although he used some religious metaphor and expressions in some of his books and writings, Du Bois called himself a freethinker. In "On Christianity," a posthumously published essay, Du Bois critiqued the black church: "The theology of the average colored church is basing itself far too much upon 'Hell and Damnation'—upon an attempt to scare people into being decent and threatening them with the terrors of death and punishment. We are still trained to believe a good deal that is simply childish in theology. The outward and visible punishment of every wrong deed that men do, the repeated declaration that anything can be gotten by anyone at any time by prayer." Du Bois became a member of the Communist Party and officially repudiated his U.S. citizenship at the end of his life, dying in his adopted country of Ghana. D. 1963.
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Although he used some religious metaphor and expressions in some of his books and writings, Du Bois called himself a freethinker. In "On Christianity," a posthumously published essay, Du Bois critiqued the black church: "The theology of the average colored church is basing itself far too much upon 'Hell and Damnation'—upon an attempt to scare people into being decent and threatening them with the terrors of death and punishment. We are still trained to believe a good deal that is simply childish in theology. The outward and visible punishment of every wrong deed that men do, the repeated declaration that anything can be gotten by anyone at any time by prayer." Du Bois became a member of the Communist Party and officially repudiated his U.S. citizenship at the end of his life, dying in his adopted country of Ghana. D. 1963.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 40 reviews
January 15, 2008
These three books should be required reading for every American. Douglas, B.T.Washington and W.E.B. Dubois T stand alongside of G. Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln in their importance and significance in shaping our American way of life. It's a shame that most Harvard or Howard grads have never read these American Classics.
January 4, 2011
I finished the first work in this book: Up from Slavery. Washington had a solid work ethic and determination to succeed. His thoughts on greatness, education, the value of meaningful work, the lessons to be gained from associating with great people are lessons we all need to revisit in today's mindset of entitlement. I loved his statement that "great men cultivate love" and the idea that wrongs to any group of people do more to injure the morals of the one perpetuating the wrong than to the target. (I returned the copy to the library so I am quoting from my notes but that is close.)
His efforts in founding and raising funds for the Tuskegee Institute taught him much about the generosity of people and the value of working for what one receives. He firmly believed that "without property, industry, skill, economy, intelligence, character, no race can permanently succeed," and also that "man succeed in proportion as he learns to do a common thing in an uncommon manner."
Chock full of life lessons and valuable insights, this ought to be required reading, particularly in studying the post-Civil War America.
His efforts in founding and raising funds for the Tuskegee Institute taught him much about the generosity of people and the value of working for what one receives. He firmly believed that "without property, industry, skill, economy, intelligence, character, no race can permanently succeed," and also that "man succeed in proportion as he learns to do a common thing in an uncommon manner."
Chock full of life lessons and valuable insights, this ought to be required reading, particularly in studying the post-Civil War America.
November 25, 2012
Read all three of these books in undergrad. Booker T. Washington's story is amazing overcoming enslavement and his focus on education and morality.
The Souls of Black Folks is forever etched in my mind. Favorite chapter, one. The veil. I've carrier the veil metaphor with me through life. It's the first thing that comes to mind when I see this title. According to Du Bois, this veil is worn by all African-Americans because our view on the world social, political, religious, and economically differs from that of white people. The veil represents the color line. It's the social barrier the keeps African- Americans from moving up in the white world. My interpretation. No matter how much or what you achieve, you'll always be "the black girl" that did something or merit as opposed to a regular individual.
Frederick Douglass' rise from slavery is incredible. He was such an intellect. He is a primary example of the underlining of slavery for whites that believed Blacks had no intellectual capacity to thrive on their own thus they should be in bondage. His journey from slavery to freedom and public speaker to abolitionist in compelling. Great read.
The Souls of Black Folks is forever etched in my mind. Favorite chapter, one. The veil. I've carrier the veil metaphor with me through life. It's the first thing that comes to mind when I see this title. According to Du Bois, this veil is worn by all African-Americans because our view on the world social, political, religious, and economically differs from that of white people. The veil represents the color line. It's the social barrier the keeps African- Americans from moving up in the white world. My interpretation. No matter how much or what you achieve, you'll always be "the black girl" that did something or merit as opposed to a regular individual.
Frederick Douglass' rise from slavery is incredible. He was such an intellect. He is a primary example of the underlining of slavery for whites that believed Blacks had no intellectual capacity to thrive on their own thus they should be in bondage. His journey from slavery to freedom and public speaker to abolitionist in compelling. Great read.
November 19, 2011
I've only read Booker T Washington's autobiography so far. It was a very interesting view into the situation for black people in the 19th century, but he was far too apologetic toward white people for my taste. I'm sure that's why they liked him so much.
May 7, 2009
Three classics which provide an fascinating look at the struggle to overcome slavery and achieve political equality in America. Good reading for anyone involved in the fight for liberty.
January 13, 2011
Read Up From Slavery in book group. A fabulous read on slavery and self-improvement from an ex-slave.
March 31, 2021
Three schools of thought in one book
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2021
Note: I read all three of these books at separate times in life, but chose to post this collection of reviews here since all three of those books are what comprise this anthology.
The shortest review is Booker T Washington, because his book is the one that I recommend the strongest.
BOOK 1
UP FROM SLAVERY
This is a brilliant book.
Washington is the foreunner of other excellent black thinkers such as Jason Riley and Thomas Sowell.
It is so obvious, simple, and his reasoning has stood the test of time.
Verdict: Emphatically recommended
BOOK 2
THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK
DuBois is ridiculous.
The sentences read like A, B, C, D......, but the book is so overly-abstract and incoherent that it's like if some editor came along and rearranged the sentences like D, A, C, B then there wouldn't be that much of an effect. The prose is so babbly, that it reminds me of Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness (AmazonClassics Edition)), except that that book is 85 pages long and takes weeks to read and this one is over a couple of hundred pages.
It also does not bother me that this book has been reviewed over 800 times. The Willie Lynch Letter And the Making of A Slave has been reviewed 380 times and is known to be a hoax.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It really is amazing to realize that this book was written 114 years ago, because all the same banalities are here. (Selected sampling.)
1. Everything needs to be turned into a political issue.
2. Everything CAN BE solved through the political process.
3. Political equality is solved first and then economic/ social equality will follow.
4. College prep. education is preferred to learning vocational skills and making things that people will pay for.
There is a chapter in here thrown in on BT Washington. I'll note that:
1. WEB DuBois outlived Washington by about 48 years and died an embittered old man in Ghana (before independence).
2. Washington died after building something that still exists. DuBois built nothing that exists.
3. People are still carrying the DuBois torch (again, 114 years after this series of essays was written) and politicizing everything. And as high as the tide might lift boats in the US, they just don't manage to lift the black boats as high.
Verdict: Not recommended. I would say that you could read this to trace the history of a silly idea/ series of silly ideas, but this book is just SO HARD TO READ that it's not even worth the time that it takes.
**
BOOK 3
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX COLORED MAN
This is a book that came out of the Harlem Renaissance, and it is similar to other books that I have read on this topic. (I have in mind Nella Larson's "Passing.")
1. Excessively florid prose (p.408 has a sentence that is 135 words long).
2. Implausible characters. (In the Larson book, it was a very light-skinned mulatto who was married to a man that didn't even know that she was black. And she liked to spend every recreational moment of the week partying with black people.) In this book, it was a young mulatto (quadroon?) who could play piano beautifully (Chopin, of course) and learned everything by ear and was unaware that his mother was black (mulatto?). Unnamed Protagonist just the *perfect human being.*
He learns to play piano with minimal effort and has a "strong, clear soprano voice."
And--wouldn't you know it?--picks up Spanish in the space of a week. (Then, the same thing happens again later in the book with French and German.)
And goes to a factory and is just such a Smart Guy that he immediately goes to the top of the game.
Oh, and he's just the best looking child/adult that ever was. (The nameless protagonist's looks get brought up every fifth page or so.)
And yet has no regular woman come and nor even any number of side dishes that you would expect.
He walks into a bar in New York and wins several hundred dollars gambling on his first attempt, and then masters ragtime in a few months in such a way as to be in great demand.
Then, all of a sudden he is hired as a house/private pianist and plays for 3~4 hours per night. (I know that some people have a natural ear, but it does take many hours of practice per day over a number of years to develop a repertoire that large.)
Then, he goes to a bar and witnesses a shooting and walks out unscathed, with no police interview and is immediately whisked away to Europe by a millionaire benefactor who takes him all around France and Spain and Belgium and only asks him to play piano in return--for 15 months.
Then, he goes to the South for a visit and moves back to New York and spends a week taking a dream job and becoming a wealthy property owner.
3. As fiction of that era: it's not really the greatest that I've read. And it's not really because of the somewhat clunky prose of that era: "O Pioneers" (Willa Cather) has resonances to this, but it was a good read.
Some things about the book are just weird
1. Not a single character in this book has a name. (And I would have to say that this book is a precursor of Ralph Ellison's 581 page work about an unnamed protagonist speculating about race.)
2. I do have mixed race family on both sides--and I really don't believe that there's anywhere near as much soul searching as is done in this book. Some people just go and live with black people and marry and have children in a matter of fact way. Other people do the same with white people. (We had an entire white branch of the family that none of us had ever met and who were only tracked down by my uncle because of personal curiosity.)
I just don't know was it necessary to write an entire book to tell us something that everybody already knows. There are so many light-skinned/mixed race black people in the United states, they have to have come from somewhere. And, in certain regions of the country (Kentucky/Louisiana) mixed race marriages happened frequently and in a matter of fact way.
But, this author uses his protagonist to whine about having sold his birthright for a mess of pottage (p. 511)Ìý â€� even though there's no reason that he could not have taken his quadroon (octoroon?) children to live around black people if he really felt that he was missing out on that much.
4. Unnamed Protagonist is so nice looking, but does not have a partner for almost all of the book. And when he refers to his interest, it's using these really feminine terms/perspective. (Hearts leaping into throats all over the place!)
5. There is no sense of time. All of these events happened in the brief ragtime era, but for the protagonist to do all that he did... He would have to have lived to be 95 years old even before his marriage.
** Most of Johnson's philosophical observations come in the last 25 or so pages of the book.
There really is nothing new under the sun, and a lot of these silly ideas that a number of black people have go back at least a century.
1. I do know that at some point, there was a black American fascination with Paris. (Josephine Baker,Ìý James Baldwin et al).
2. There are resonances of the "Black Egypt" theory.Ìý (Cheikh Anta Diop. George G.M. James, et. al).
3. Lots of obsessive speculation about "the race question" with the idea that: (a)once the definitions/classifications/categories are hashed out, then Nirvana will come and (b) if you pass it over to some leadership then it is over and done with and they will solve every problem and (c) NO attention to a concrete educational/economic strategy. (WEB Dubois, Malcolm X, et al)
4. Lots of hostility to Anglo-Saxon/American society. (p. 482). "Can you name a single one of the great fundamental and original intellectual achievements which have raised man in the scale of civilization that may be credited to the Anglo-Saxon?"
5. These self-styled leaders of black people actually have quite a bit of disgust for the people that they lead--for instance, Unnamed Protagonist can't even eat the food that these other black people eat. And he can't even live in the same accommodations that they do every day. At the revival meeting that he attended the Negro Spirituals were known to every single person there � except him. (p. 486, Unnamed Protagonist quotes "The Souls of Black Folk," and DuBois was the quintessential black person who wants to be a leader but doesn't actually live around/socialize with any black people.)
6. There is that subset of white people who love the Abstract Negro, but don't actually live around/socialize with any of them nor have a particular fondness for any specific ones. There is that subset of white people who do not like the Abstract Negro, but they do have fondness for many in particular. (This book was written not too long after Reconstruction, and so those people correspond roughly to "Northerners" and "Southerners." About 120 years/6th generations later, it is the same thing. But, the distinction is more between insulated suburban/ academic types versus people who live in the real world.)
7. Black people have been having "revival meetings" (they are referred to as "big meetings") and using the expression "your arm's too short to box with Gd" (the subject of a countless number of plays) for a LONG time.
Interesting point: Unnamed Protagonist gives us numbers that make us believe that two years of University education was the equivalent of 10 weeks of salary.
Good quote: "It's no disgrace to be black, but it's often very inconvenient." (p.479) Verdict: Not recommended. Save your time/money
Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2021
Note: I read all three of these books at separate times in life, but chose to post this collection of reviews here since all three of those books are what comprise this anthology.
The shortest review is Booker T Washington, because his book is the one that I recommend the strongest.
BOOK 1
UP FROM SLAVERY
This is a brilliant book.
Washington is the foreunner of other excellent black thinkers such as Jason Riley and Thomas Sowell.
It is so obvious, simple, and his reasoning has stood the test of time.
Verdict: Emphatically recommended
BOOK 2
THE SOULS OF BLACK FOLK
DuBois is ridiculous.
The sentences read like A, B, C, D......, but the book is so overly-abstract and incoherent that it's like if some editor came along and rearranged the sentences like D, A, C, B then there wouldn't be that much of an effect. The prose is so babbly, that it reminds me of Joseph Conrad (Heart of Darkness (AmazonClassics Edition)), except that that book is 85 pages long and takes weeks to read and this one is over a couple of hundred pages.
It also does not bother me that this book has been reviewed over 800 times. The Willie Lynch Letter And the Making of A Slave has been reviewed 380 times and is known to be a hoax.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. It really is amazing to realize that this book was written 114 years ago, because all the same banalities are here. (Selected sampling.)
1. Everything needs to be turned into a political issue.
2. Everything CAN BE solved through the political process.
3. Political equality is solved first and then economic/ social equality will follow.
4. College prep. education is preferred to learning vocational skills and making things that people will pay for.
There is a chapter in here thrown in on BT Washington. I'll note that:
1. WEB DuBois outlived Washington by about 48 years and died an embittered old man in Ghana (before independence).
2. Washington died after building something that still exists. DuBois built nothing that exists.
3. People are still carrying the DuBois torch (again, 114 years after this series of essays was written) and politicizing everything. And as high as the tide might lift boats in the US, they just don't manage to lift the black boats as high.
Verdict: Not recommended. I would say that you could read this to trace the history of a silly idea/ series of silly ideas, but this book is just SO HARD TO READ that it's not even worth the time that it takes.
**
BOOK 3
AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF AN EX COLORED MAN
This is a book that came out of the Harlem Renaissance, and it is similar to other books that I have read on this topic. (I have in mind Nella Larson's "Passing.")
1. Excessively florid prose (p.408 has a sentence that is 135 words long).
2. Implausible characters. (In the Larson book, it was a very light-skinned mulatto who was married to a man that didn't even know that she was black. And she liked to spend every recreational moment of the week partying with black people.) In this book, it was a young mulatto (quadroon?) who could play piano beautifully (Chopin, of course) and learned everything by ear and was unaware that his mother was black (mulatto?). Unnamed Protagonist just the *perfect human being.*
He learns to play piano with minimal effort and has a "strong, clear soprano voice."
And--wouldn't you know it?--picks up Spanish in the space of a week. (Then, the same thing happens again later in the book with French and German.)
And goes to a factory and is just such a Smart Guy that he immediately goes to the top of the game.
Oh, and he's just the best looking child/adult that ever was. (The nameless protagonist's looks get brought up every fifth page or so.)
And yet has no regular woman come and nor even any number of side dishes that you would expect.
He walks into a bar in New York and wins several hundred dollars gambling on his first attempt, and then masters ragtime in a few months in such a way as to be in great demand.
Then, all of a sudden he is hired as a house/private pianist and plays for 3~4 hours per night. (I know that some people have a natural ear, but it does take many hours of practice per day over a number of years to develop a repertoire that large.)
Then, he goes to a bar and witnesses a shooting and walks out unscathed, with no police interview and is immediately whisked away to Europe by a millionaire benefactor who takes him all around France and Spain and Belgium and only asks him to play piano in return--for 15 months.
Then, he goes to the South for a visit and moves back to New York and spends a week taking a dream job and becoming a wealthy property owner.
3. As fiction of that era: it's not really the greatest that I've read. And it's not really because of the somewhat clunky prose of that era: "O Pioneers" (Willa Cather) has resonances to this, but it was a good read.
Some things about the book are just weird
1. Not a single character in this book has a name. (And I would have to say that this book is a precursor of Ralph Ellison's 581 page work about an unnamed protagonist speculating about race.)
2. I do have mixed race family on both sides--and I really don't believe that there's anywhere near as much soul searching as is done in this book. Some people just go and live with black people and marry and have children in a matter of fact way. Other people do the same with white people. (We had an entire white branch of the family that none of us had ever met and who were only tracked down by my uncle because of personal curiosity.)
I just don't know was it necessary to write an entire book to tell us something that everybody already knows. There are so many light-skinned/mixed race black people in the United states, they have to have come from somewhere. And, in certain regions of the country (Kentucky/Louisiana) mixed race marriages happened frequently and in a matter of fact way.
But, this author uses his protagonist to whine about having sold his birthright for a mess of pottage (p. 511)Ìý â€� even though there's no reason that he could not have taken his quadroon (octoroon?) children to live around black people if he really felt that he was missing out on that much.
4. Unnamed Protagonist is so nice looking, but does not have a partner for almost all of the book. And when he refers to his interest, it's using these really feminine terms/perspective. (Hearts leaping into throats all over the place!)
5. There is no sense of time. All of these events happened in the brief ragtime era, but for the protagonist to do all that he did... He would have to have lived to be 95 years old even before his marriage.
** Most of Johnson's philosophical observations come in the last 25 or so pages of the book.
There really is nothing new under the sun, and a lot of these silly ideas that a number of black people have go back at least a century.
1. I do know that at some point, there was a black American fascination with Paris. (Josephine Baker,Ìý James Baldwin et al).
2. There are resonances of the "Black Egypt" theory.Ìý (Cheikh Anta Diop. George G.M. James, et. al).
3. Lots of obsessive speculation about "the race question" with the idea that: (a)once the definitions/classifications/categories are hashed out, then Nirvana will come and (b) if you pass it over to some leadership then it is over and done with and they will solve every problem and (c) NO attention to a concrete educational/economic strategy. (WEB Dubois, Malcolm X, et al)
4. Lots of hostility to Anglo-Saxon/American society. (p. 482). "Can you name a single one of the great fundamental and original intellectual achievements which have raised man in the scale of civilization that may be credited to the Anglo-Saxon?"
5. These self-styled leaders of black people actually have quite a bit of disgust for the people that they lead--for instance, Unnamed Protagonist can't even eat the food that these other black people eat. And he can't even live in the same accommodations that they do every day. At the revival meeting that he attended the Negro Spirituals were known to every single person there � except him. (p. 486, Unnamed Protagonist quotes "The Souls of Black Folk," and DuBois was the quintessential black person who wants to be a leader but doesn't actually live around/socialize with any black people.)
6. There is that subset of white people who love the Abstract Negro, but don't actually live around/socialize with any of them nor have a particular fondness for any specific ones. There is that subset of white people who do not like the Abstract Negro, but they do have fondness for many in particular. (This book was written not too long after Reconstruction, and so those people correspond roughly to "Northerners" and "Southerners." About 120 years/6th generations later, it is the same thing. But, the distinction is more between insulated suburban/ academic types versus people who live in the real world.)
7. Black people have been having "revival meetings" (they are referred to as "big meetings") and using the expression "your arm's too short to box with Gd" (the subject of a countless number of plays) for a LONG time.
Interesting point: Unnamed Protagonist gives us numbers that make us believe that two years of University education was the equivalent of 10 weeks of salary.
Good quote: "It's no disgrace to be black, but it's often very inconvenient." (p.479) Verdict: Not recommended. Save your time/money
April 21, 2020
"Up from Slavery" by Booker T. Washington should be read by every resident of these United States.
So should "The Souls of Black Folks," by W.E.B. Du Bois.
My youthful impression of the latter was spoiled by knowledge that he became a communist. In fact, he moved to Ghana in his late years, a country dominated by a communist belief system.
But long before that he attended Harvard, where he was the first black student to earn a doctorate, following which he became a professor of history, sociology, and economics at Atlanta University.
Much of "The Souls of Black Folks" is about what he found, what he saw, and what he felt in Georgia, especially around Albany.
There is no way to exaggerate what I saw in his exposition: Mr. Du Bois is one of the most brilliant writers these United States have produced!
No one I've read has or had a better grasp of language, and no one I've read has expressed his thoughts so beautifully. This work is absolutely magnificent, and is a must read. Please.
Dr. Washington's autobiography is so inspiring � yet so frustrating: With all the positive responses he got, with all the praise and progress that he was able to note at the time, just before and just after the turn of the 20th century, what the heck happened?
Lynchings increased in number, races got forcibly divided, blacks were legally denied education in some places, as well as being oppressed in other ways.
There are some beautiful scenes in "Up from Slavery" that make me want to stand and cheer: For example, when he was in a rail car and sitting with two white women who were benefactors to his Tuskegee Institute. He got nervous that the white men around them would get angry.
What actually happened was � well, you need to read "Up from Slavery" just for that scene.
In later years he was seen by some, such as the aforementioned W.E.B. Du Bois, as being too soft and too willing to keep black folks down and in poverty. NOT what I read in Dr. Washington's work and works.
Again, "Up from Slavery" and "The Souls of Black Folks" are beautiful and powerful works of art and history and sociology. Both are important.
The third entry, "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" seems to be a shocking story of a light-skinned man who can "pass for white." I sat reading dumbfounded. Then somehow discovered it's fiction.
It's awfully well written, and might even shed some light on the situation of black people of that era, but it is fiction, and needs to be read with that knowledge.
So should "The Souls of Black Folks," by W.E.B. Du Bois.
My youthful impression of the latter was spoiled by knowledge that he became a communist. In fact, he moved to Ghana in his late years, a country dominated by a communist belief system.
But long before that he attended Harvard, where he was the first black student to earn a doctorate, following which he became a professor of history, sociology, and economics at Atlanta University.
Much of "The Souls of Black Folks" is about what he found, what he saw, and what he felt in Georgia, especially around Albany.
There is no way to exaggerate what I saw in his exposition: Mr. Du Bois is one of the most brilliant writers these United States have produced!
No one I've read has or had a better grasp of language, and no one I've read has expressed his thoughts so beautifully. This work is absolutely magnificent, and is a must read. Please.
Dr. Washington's autobiography is so inspiring � yet so frustrating: With all the positive responses he got, with all the praise and progress that he was able to note at the time, just before and just after the turn of the 20th century, what the heck happened?
Lynchings increased in number, races got forcibly divided, blacks were legally denied education in some places, as well as being oppressed in other ways.
There are some beautiful scenes in "Up from Slavery" that make me want to stand and cheer: For example, when he was in a rail car and sitting with two white women who were benefactors to his Tuskegee Institute. He got nervous that the white men around them would get angry.
What actually happened was � well, you need to read "Up from Slavery" just for that scene.
In later years he was seen by some, such as the aforementioned W.E.B. Du Bois, as being too soft and too willing to keep black folks down and in poverty. NOT what I read in Dr. Washington's work and works.
Again, "Up from Slavery" and "The Souls of Black Folks" are beautiful and powerful works of art and history and sociology. Both are important.
The third entry, "The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man" seems to be a shocking story of a light-skinned man who can "pass for white." I sat reading dumbfounded. Then somehow discovered it's fiction.
It's awfully well written, and might even shed some light on the situation of black people of that era, but it is fiction, and needs to be read with that knowledge.
March 4, 2010
A great collection of three important historical works. These books helped shape a historical period in American history- the early 20th century. Johnson's fictional "Autobiography" is particularly interesting because of its honest appraisal of life across the "Veil" of which DuBois spoke in his work in this collection. Johnson observes society with the eyes of a sociologist, though not quite as systematically as DuBois' actual sociology. Washington's contribution is the defining tome of the African-American 'self-help' movement and along with Washington's work helped set the stage for some 70 years of legal Jim Crow segregation. Despite that mixed legacy, it is a work of some significant importance because of its philosophy of education. The three books, taken together are very effective introduction to the history of African-American life during the Nadir in American history, and are in a clear dialogue with each other.
March 13, 2011
The writings of three great men combine to give us all a three faceted perspective of a pivotal and unusual time in our country.
Learning about the Reconstruction after the Civil War as a youngster and a teen, the thought never occurred to me nor was the idea floated by any of my teachers - just what happens to a people who have been "freed" after being enslaved for generations? What are they to do? Where are they to go? What are they? Who are they - as a people, as individuals? Where do they begin?
I found this collection to be moving and enlightening. I would advise all students, all Americans to read this book at least as in introduction to the writings of these men. All three were strong, thoughtful, intelligent and insightful men. They were leaders trying themselves to understand and help their people make sense of an event that was quite frankly, cataclysmic in scope.
Outstanding read.
Learning about the Reconstruction after the Civil War as a youngster and a teen, the thought never occurred to me nor was the idea floated by any of my teachers - just what happens to a people who have been "freed" after being enslaved for generations? What are they to do? Where are they to go? What are they? Who are they - as a people, as individuals? Where do they begin?
I found this collection to be moving and enlightening. I would advise all students, all Americans to read this book at least as in introduction to the writings of these men. All three were strong, thoughtful, intelligent and insightful men. They were leaders trying themselves to understand and help their people make sense of an event that was quite frankly, cataclysmic in scope.
Outstanding read.
Read
November 20, 2015The Book I read was the "Three Negro Classics". This was a relatively cool book to read. This is far from the normal books I read, but it opened my eyes to certain things I didn't think about at all. It gave me some essential insight to many details of Booker T Washington, and W.E.B Dubios lives.
I lived everything about my book. I like how the point of view continuously shifted. One point it was Booker T talking, then the next point it was W.E.B Dubois. I think it's cool that there was more than one book, compacted into one book. The information was very clear, and straight to the point which made me appreciate the book even more.
Overall, the book "Three Negro Classics" was a great book. If you are interested in further learning of history, this is a great book to read. This book contains a plethora of facts, different perspectives and opinions. Even though it talks about slavery and the whole experience, it still pointed many positive facts.
I lived everything about my book. I like how the point of view continuously shifted. One point it was Booker T talking, then the next point it was W.E.B Dubois. I think it's cool that there was more than one book, compacted into one book. The information was very clear, and straight to the point which made me appreciate the book even more.
Overall, the book "Three Negro Classics" was a great book. If you are interested in further learning of history, this is a great book to read. This book contains a plethora of facts, different perspectives and opinions. Even though it talks about slavery and the whole experience, it still pointed many positive facts.
March 13, 2013
A great sampling of the disparate strains of African-American thought during the early 20th Century. Booker T. Washington makes a very passionate and personal case for the limited objectives that he sought. W.E.B. DuBois showed why those limits were ultimately self-defeating and offered a much broader vision. The most compelling work of the three is the "Autobiography of an ex-Colored Man," a work of fiction centered on the theme of the costs and benefits of "passing" as a Caucasian in that era.
Although it may sound trite, the lasting impression created by these works is of opportunities missed and the glacial pace of progress in racial equality in this country.
Although it may sound trite, the lasting impression created by these works is of opportunities missed and the glacial pace of progress in racial equality in this country.
May 5, 2013
Recommended by Saachi : "The Atlanta Exposition Address" from "Up from Slavery". And then "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others" from "The Souls of Black Folk".
We need more Du Boiss. A large population on the planet is surprisingly still oppressed and I have surprisingly found comfort in my own indifference.. Shame.
We need more Du Boiss. A large population on the planet is surprisingly still oppressed and I have surprisingly found comfort in my own indifference.. Shame.
December 3, 2014
Contains Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington; The Souls of Black Folks by William E. B. Dubois; and The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson. The stories presented different perspectives of life of Blacks.
April 13, 2013
I probably would have given this a higher rating but "The Souls of Black Folk" dragged me down. For me it was a more difficult read and actually after about halfway skipped to read the last story and went back later to finish it.
March 7, 2014
I realize that these stories are important in history, but they didn't quite pull me in like other non-fiction stories have in the past. Washington's autobiography was pretty good, but DuBois' writing style really bothered me, but I think I'm being nit-picky. So it was "just okay."
August 24, 2014
Good collection of writings by three prominent African Americans. All three were good reads with all three offering insight into African American life during the late 1800's. Three books three different points of view
November 21, 2007
I must have taken an ethnic studies class. I read all three negro classics. It sure opened my eyes.
Want to read
April 17, 2012I own a crumbling Fourth Printing (1968) of the 1965 edition of this book.
April 14, 2011
Where is our modern Booker T.? America needs to revisit him.
February 17, 2011
Just started Up from Slavery by Booker T. Washington and already appreciate his candor.
Want to read
May 15, 20121) Up from Slavery; Washington, Booker T.
2) The Souls of Black Folk: duBois, W.E.B.
3) The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man; Johnson, James Weldon
2) The Souls of Black Folk: duBois, W.E.B.
3) The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man; Johnson, James Weldon
July 22, 2016
Reading each of these works was enlightening. The compilation of the three books was interesting and informative
March 25, 2012
The star review should be viewed as a combination of two different reviews: 3 stars for Booker, 5 for WEB.
April 30, 2015
Pertinent to read, esp. now; racism, stereotyping, is still here. Why? I ask myself: There is American, and there is Black American. Why?
October 28, 2019
Read for personal research - found this book's contents helpful and inspiring.
A good book for the researcher and enthusiast.
A good book for the researcher and enthusiast.
November 21, 2020
Three Negro Classics. These are three seminal works in African-American literature by Booker T. Washington, W. E. B Dubois and James Weldon Johnson, renowned intellectuals during the early 20th century. Important writings, particularly if you seek to understand more about African-American history.
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I loved reading this. Almost academic. Being a Malaysian, I started with little familiarity. Thankfully, the first piece is a memoir by Washington, who wrote in a clear and neat manner. His legacy is mixed since he prioritised industrial education for his community rather than political rights. The second work is a collection of highly-essays by Dubois. I found each to be intense. Dubois was critical of Washington and knew that his people had to have power in the decision-making process of the country. This was when the Jim Crows law was passed, affirming segregation between blacks and whites. The last work is a novel by Johnson on a black man passing as a white person to protect himself and give his children more opportunities.
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There is nothing for me to review. A MUST-READ! If you read history, this is a part of it you should learn about. I find the writers' passages on identity and race to be so poignant. Some are relatable. Even in Malaysia, we seem to never be able to escape from it. Nonetheless, we must never lose hope. Perhaps, one day, race can be merely a part of who we are and not something that defines us.
.
I loved reading this. Almost academic. Being a Malaysian, I started with little familiarity. Thankfully, the first piece is a memoir by Washington, who wrote in a clear and neat manner. His legacy is mixed since he prioritised industrial education for his community rather than political rights. The second work is a collection of highly-essays by Dubois. I found each to be intense. Dubois was critical of Washington and knew that his people had to have power in the decision-making process of the country. This was when the Jim Crows law was passed, affirming segregation between blacks and whites. The last work is a novel by Johnson on a black man passing as a white person to protect himself and give his children more opportunities.
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There is nothing for me to review. A MUST-READ! If you read history, this is a part of it you should learn about. I find the writers' passages on identity and race to be so poignant. Some are relatable. Even in Malaysia, we seem to never be able to escape from it. Nonetheless, we must never lose hope. Perhaps, one day, race can be merely a part of who we are and not something that defines us.
December 23, 2021
This was an amazing book! This book was comprised of 3 different books of historical import. First, Up From Slavery by Booker T. Washington, The second The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Dubois and third The Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man by James Weldon Johnson. Each of these books provided insight into the lives of 3 distinguished African Americans. They had extremely difficult backgrounds and their stories provide knowledge of how they overcame despite those obstacles. Each story was different but, they were truly inspiring.
This is an anthology that is very important in term of providing a historical narrative that gave voice to a disenfranchised, maligned and oft forgotten people detrimental to the fabric of American history.
*Side Note*
So very thankful for the documentary about Reconstruction on PBS by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It opened my eyes to the struggles, trials and triumphs of African Americans after the Civil War.
This is an anthology that is very important in term of providing a historical narrative that gave voice to a disenfranchised, maligned and oft forgotten people detrimental to the fabric of American history.
*Side Note*
So very thankful for the documentary about Reconstruction on PBS by Henry Louis Gates, Jr. It opened my eyes to the struggles, trials and triumphs of African Americans after the Civil War.
December 28, 2019
I had read and rated Washington's inspiring classic "Up from Slavery" previously and I recommend it on a regular basis to anyone who is interested in Black history. In this book I struggled with W.E.B. DuBois. I will go back through "The Souls of Black Folk" for my own benefit. As for Johnson's book, it was well written, held my interest and added clarity to my impression/understanding on how a Black person is likely to feel about meeting me, an older white man. Johnson's life included a number of unusual and interesting turns. It's a great story and a classic.
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