DOUBLE-CONSCIOUSNESS

           Double consciousness is a concept that W.E.B. DuBois addressed in his book The Souls of Black Folk.  DuBois spoke on this struggle of the self-identity of the black man and black woman. In his book he writes,

It is a peculiar sensation, this double consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in an amused contempt and pity.  One ever feels his twoness an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. 

What I feel W.E.B. DuBois is saying about double consciousness is the affect that it had on the black men and women in American society.  This double consciousness didn’t allow black men and black women to truly identify with themselves because they were at a constant struggle of trying to stay true to their own unique identity but still conform to the white American society that already didn’t see black men and black women as equals to themselves. 

         During this time in history blacks are free citizens, no longer enslaved to slave owners, so there is a desire for blacks in America to finally be accepted into society as equal citizens and to have the fair opportunity to better themselves from their previous enslaved state of living that they were not very far away removed from and blacks wanted to accomplish this without having to change themselves to be accepted by the white American society but to be able to be a Negro and still be treated as an American.   DuBois expresses this desire when he wrote,

The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife-this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.  In his merging he wishes neither of the older selves to be lost.  He would not Africanize America, for America has too much to teach the world and Africa.”  He simply wishes to make it possible for a man to be both a Negro and an American, without being cursed and spit upon by his fellows, without having the doors of Opportunity closed roughly in his face.  

 In this quote, DuBois was expressing the desire for blacks to be able to just be their true selves in front of society without their identity being criticized, and to be allowed the same opportunities that would be available if they were white.
           Double consciousness still exists in many black men and women today in 2014.  It is also supported consciously and sub-consciously by the American society.  There is a sense of alienation that exists in many blacks from the American society and the feeling of unacceptance that most blacks feel in society that is caused by the subliminal rejection of black culture.  An example of subliminal rejection by American society is the notion that black people’s hair in it’s natural state isn’t accepted in a professional setting.  Dreadlocks, which is a unique way to style one’s hair that is deeply rooted in African culture is very often rejected in American society, which results in many black women and black men being hindered in gaining employment and other opportunities because of their decision to express the roots of their culture.  For most blacks with a double conscious this triggers the other conscious in black men and women to reject their true identity against their wishes to conform to the societies standards so they can get the approval they’re seeking.   

Although double-consciousness is being addressed by W.E.B. DuBois about the double-consciousness of blacks, it can also apply to any type of person adapting to a new society.  It’s time for more people to be able to embrace their cultural identity, and be able to have acceptance in society without being hindered from progress.  In an online article, the author writes,

As I began to work on this project, I was drawn to W.E.B. DuBois’s concept of

double-consciousness for its power to describe a dilemma that I experience in my life day after day as an immigrant in the United States, and that is constantly echoed by my family and friends. Living between two worlds, struggling between two identities that at times seem to be mutually exclusive, are also ways in which immigrants describe how they feel about their experiences and their different personal and social identities. (Upegui-Hernandez 2009) link to this article here>  http://www.academia.edu/2021330/Double-Consciousness_A_Journey_through_the_Multiplicity_of_Personal_and_Social_Selves_in_the_Context_of_Migration