Du Bois and Double Consciousness

I will build the case why the double consciousness that Du Bois discusses is also a “double sword.” Restated, the concept of double consciousness, as described by Du Bois, can work either negatively or positively. Ultimately, the argument is incomplete although that does not diminish its profoundness. Its profoundness can be found in the discourses and discussions that have been held in its behalf for the past century.

The negativism of double consciousness centers on racism and power. As stated in my previous blog racism centers on the issue of people judging people by the color of their skin. Over the past three hundred (+) years in the United States the white race has had the power and set the rules. As Du Bois correctly observed the clever or astute black person was forced to judge his actions by two sets of motives: his own as a black person and by what the white person was thinking or expecting. Often this was a matter of survival. The black person had to make a decision that was within the framework of the white race’s power game. Those rules have changed enormously, simply by the election of a black president. While this election was of incredible importance in the power struggle, it did not immediately level the playing field. However, it should help the black person to make decisions based on issues other than the color of one’s skin.

There is a positive side of the double consciousness issue and one that Du Bois does not adequately address. Double consciousness states that one strives to understand or think of the motives/desires of the person with whom he/she is engaging. When taken outside the context of race people who succeed at this are called intuitive. It is very advantageous to develop the intuitive ability to understand one’s opponent, whether it is in the classroom debating, in a boardroom negotiation, at the Cabinet level in White House discussions, or as one approaches a battlefield foe. In today’s world we may call this “getting inside an opponent’s head.” It seems many people have lost the ability to approach a debate or discussion and think about where the other person is coming from. If we understand the other person’s point of view or thought process, we can much more successfully put forth our own perspective.

One can easily project that the black person who has long been forced (because of racism) to approach discussions, debates, and decision making by understanding his opponent may ultimately have an advantage once the power struggle of racism diminishes. The centuries of double consciousness that were necessary for survival would leave the black person in an advantageous position…if racism can be removed or greatly diminished from the equation.

In this construct the double consciousness concept of Du Bois is incomplete. Du Bois states the black man is conflicted because he has to frame all questions of being black versus American (white) in the power struggle framework. As the power of race diminishes, freedom returns to making decisions not based on this framework. However, I would contend that the black race would gain an advantage by maintaining the double consciousness concept of thought: being intuitive or insightful in approaching life’s problems. We are not there yet, and it is possible that Du Bois could not envision the day when the black man would be free to think without race forefront in his mind. However, I doubt he could have foreseen a black president elected in the United States. Things do change.