The Souls Of Black Folks - 1486 Words

Thoughts and emotions are derived from our own sense of consciousness, or our own self-awareness. It is what comes to shape our identities. Some of us have one conciseness, but many of us have two. This is because many of us have suffered at the hands of others. Not suffering that comes from physical touch. This is suffering that comes from psychological abuse. The kind of suffering that grinds our mind and makes us question who we are. I, like most, have always felt I was living two lives, and I never really knew why. I now believe most of us live different lives because of knowledge. We have the unaware life without certain knowledge, and we have people in our lives who fit into our unaware identity with us. Then, we have our†¦show more content†¦Second sight gives the oppressed the distinct vantage point from which to see dominant subjectivities and their relations to others (Medina, 2004, p. 96). Society has ignored this ‘gift’ by continuing to structure these relations in a hierarchy based on power and privilege. Without possibilities of freedom, oppression takes hold. DuBois contends this dynamic can destroy the hopes and dreams of many. Racism at the Level of Perception Our skin carries stereotypes, which causes racism at the level of perception. The way we think through things, we think of qualities and link those qualities to the white race. The way we think of things, even unconsciously, is a racial way of thinking. DuBois defines race as a separation of humans into distinct groups. These groups voluntarily and involuntarily strive together to accomplish ideas of life. Physical traits both define each group and differentiate each of them from other groups into ranks. In Fanon’s, The Fact of Blackness, he illustrates these points in several anecdotes by describing personal interactions with whites and his inner dialogue about those interactions. According to Fanon, all African Americans have had at least two life-altering experiences. First, the moment they realized they were Black. Then, the moment when they realized being Black was a problem. Like DuBois, many African Americans can tell you the exact moment at which both of these experiences took place. More than