In Memory Of; The Souls of Black Folk: 1 of 5 Series
the legacy of the Freedman's Bureau, in Of The Dawn Of Freedom. He sets the stage of the American scene during the Civil War and the Nation's need to address the issue of its Negro citizens. Du Bois lays forth the atmosphere which lead to the Emancipation Proclamation and the creation of what would become the Freedman's Bureau. His in-depth analysis of the issues encountered by a government agency tasked with the greatest challenge to face a nation and how that agency would inevitably cause its own demise was truly thought provoking.
The Nation failed to recognize the true possibilities that a fully functional Freedmen's Bureau could have played in forming a healthier nation after the war. Had it been given the full political, legal, and financial foundation it needed...and honest, fair and reasonable staff...it might not have taken another 100 years for the African American citizens of this nation to reach a point where we can try to pretend we are equal citizens.
Du Bois explains:
The passing of a great human institution before its work is done, like the untimely passing of a single soul, but leaves a legacy of striving for other men. The legacy of the Freedmen's Bureau is the heavy heritage of this generation. Today, when new and vaster problems are destined to strain every fiber of the national mind and soul, would it not be well to count this legacy honestly and carefully? For this much all men know: despite compromise, war, and struggle, the Negro is not free." W.E.B. Du Bois
Further review Of The Dawn Of Freedom can be access at: http://www.bartleby.com/114/2.html and the Suite101 article at: http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/1159...
~~~
Look for next month series of review...In Memory of The Souls of Black Folk: 1 of 5 series.
Latest Articles