HW 3/3

Rough draft assignment 1

A year subsequent to the infamous Plessy v. Ferguson Supreme Court case, W.E.B. Du Bois had written an essay that had articulated his own personal recollections of the inferiority he had felt growing up as an African American in a predominantly white America. Mixed with emotion and assertiveness, Du Bois’s essay is geared toward the aftermath of the Plessy V. Ferguson case. Although it was never explicitly proclaimed by Du Bois that his essay was a response to the case itself, it still shined light on how the court’s ruling lead to more stringent laws pertaining to the separation of blacks and whites, which ultimately stamped a badge of inferiority to the black race and fed the negative idea of double-consciousness. As Jim Crow laws became stricter and prejudices were growing stronger by the day, an essay like Du Bois’s seemed to be a last cry for help, almost like an emotional plea for coalescence amongst the two races. Furthermore, glorified scientist and anatomists of the 19^th century (such as Samuel Morton and Etienne Serres) had successfully brainwashed the minds of millions of people with their theories of why races were inferior to one another. With that being said, it was vital for a man of Du Bois’s educated and political status to sway those who were either, convincing the world of such scientific fallacies, or those who were striving to reinforce the restrictions on Jim Crow laws in order to promote equality and dismantle the sanction of second class citizenship in the United States.

Reason 1. His essay is emotional. A scholar could easily write a run of the mill essay that states the main points of why he believes that America is going in the wrong direction in terms of second class citizenship, instead Du Bois chooses to use personal references and sympathy to open the eyes of his audience.

Reason 2. Being an educated black man fortifies his voice. If it was black man who was uneducated and had poor diction, his audience would most likely look passed him. Also, at the time, many people were convinced of the fallacies that scientist and anatomists were theorizing. It would take an educated man (being black is a plus in this) to convince those people (fence sitters) of a contradictory belief.

Reason 3. Du Bois was politically affiliated. Although he didn’t establish the NAACP until 1909, his political ideals and influence stuck with him prior to becoming a political leader. This helped give his essay credibility when discussing anything referencing equal but separate and Jim Crow laws and/or second-class citizenship.