Dubois

Dubois thought the main problem of America was the problem of race. As a matter of fact, he referred to it as the “race problem.” In the beginning of his prominence, he believed that the talented tenth could lead the African American population to social equality, armed only with education and righteousness. He thought that this would solve the race problem. Later he realized that dealing with racism also meant taking a stand against the often-violent forms of oppression practiced by white America. Self-defense and agitation, which included everyone as opposed to ten percent, became Dubois’s position on how to deal with problems of race.
W.E.B. Dubois thought that a black person could never have just one identity. African Americans are neither simply black, nor simply American, but both. He explains this by pointing out that African Americans don’t have the privilege of defining themselves by what they perceive themselves to be, which is most likely American. African A...