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Book Review of The Souls of Black Folk

The Souls of Black Folk
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The Souls of Black Folk is at once a pivotal historical document, a revealing sociological study, and a literary work of unqualified excellence. In The Souls of Black Folk, W.E.B. DuBois gives evidence for the tragic plight of the Negro in the Black Belt, analyzes the effects of the Freedman's Bureau, explores the plaintive rhythms of Negro religion, and agonizes over the torment of Black double-consciousness. But the continuing power of this book comes not from its prophecy or its poetry, but from the reverberating explosion of DuBois' confrontation with Booker T. Washington. The Souls of Black Folk is a manifesto for revolution, immediateism and resistance now.