The
emancipation of Black folk in the United States appeared as a victory of equal
freedoms and opportunities, but alas, the underlying negative ideals associated
with racial discrepancies was already branded in the American mindset. Instead
of cultural acknowledgement and a shared kinship in a land derived from new
beginnings, the only message received by black Americans was,
“How does
it feel to be a problem?”
W.E.B.
Dubois addresses this issue in an attempt to implore fellow Americans to find a
sense of “human brotherhood.” I took the Root of Blues course last quarter and
developed a deeper understanding of how powerful African culture is and how it
can drastically influence a society it comes in contact with. Blues music and
later jazz broke down the timely societal norms because white people were mesmerized
and enticed by black culture. White Americans were sharing in and embracing
black culture without even realizing it. This is one mere example of the undeniable
power African culture possesses.
W.E.B.
Dubois stresses that both cultures have a lot to offer each other and that
further prosperity can be obtained for everyone if the new ideal is to coexist without
"half-hesitant feelings".
One quote
from the reading that really stood out to me, detailing precisely a socio-problematic
occurrence that is still congruent with conditions black Americans face today
states, “To be a poor man is hard, but to be a poor race in a land of dollars
is the very bottom of hardship.”
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