{'fraction_non_alphanumeric': 0.04512820512820513, 'fraction_numerical': 0.012307692307692308, 'mean_word_length': 4.879518072289157, 'pattern_counts': {'":': 0, '<': 0, '<?xml version=': 0, '>': 0, 'https://': 0, 'lorem ipsum': 0, 'www.': 0, 'xml': 0}, 'pii_count': 0, 'substrings_counts': 0, 'word_list_counts': {'cursed_substrings.json': 0, 'profanity_word_list.json': 0, 'sexual_word_list.json': 0, 'zh_pornsignals.json': 0}}
“The Souls of White Folk” (1920–2020): a century of Peril and prophecy

ABSTRACT Published in 1920, W. E. B. Du Bois’s Darkwater: Voices from Within the Veil contains a provocative chapter entitled “The Souls of White Folk.” The chapter is a tour de force of the relationship of whiteness to the “darker world.” While explicitly addressing colonial imperialism, the first world war, and white supremacy, a close reading of the chapter reveals Du Bois’s implicit dissection of the meanings and makings of “whiteness.” Now a century removed, we hold an opportunity to revisit the “The Souls of White Folk.” I first examine the antecedents of Du Bois’s composition, with careful attention to the preliminary drafts and published articles used to construct the final chapter. Second, I gauge public reception to Darkwater, and especially “The Souls of White Folk,” in published reviews. Third, I critically examine Du Bois’s understanding of the ethno-racial category of “white.”