The books in this section are usually hardcover and in decent condition, though we'll sometimes offer hard-to-find books in lesser condition at a reduced price. Though we often put images of the book with their original dust jackets, the copies here won't always (or even often) have them. If that is important to you, please call ahead or say so in the order comments!
"Du Bois's body lay in an open coffin which had been placed inside a makeshift African but. He was surrounded by all the traditional symbols which are always present at the burial of an African chief, but consistent with his politics be was dressed in a suit which the Chinese leaders wear.
Every one passed the coffin quietly: all looked in; a few prayed; a Muslim leader chanted a prayer in Arabic; a Ghanaian woman put a flower on his chest; a few cried; most were silent. I finally stood before him. I counted the lines in his face and recalled his smile of a few days past."
With these words Leslie Lacy creates a picture of the funeral of W. E. B. Du Bois: the heat of the day, the grief of the mourners, the magnitude of this revered leader. Throughout the book the author, who knew Dr. Du Bois in Ghana, develops an Intimate connection between the reader and Du Bois. The Old Man, as he was called by the Afro-American colony in Ghana, emerges as a statesman who steadfastly insisted that the black man accept nothing less than his full rights as an American.
Through an evaluation of Du Bois's writings and teachings, and with much personal reflection and comment, Mr. Lacy shows the reader the relevance of Du Bois to the present-day black movement. More than a retelling of the events of Du Bois's life, this book presents a critical examination of his beliefs and the truth of his prophecy that "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line."
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