Tonia NguyenThe Souls of Black FolkPublished in the early twentieth century, The Souls of Black Folk by WEB Du Bois explores the lives of African Americans after the Civil War and their fight for civil liberties in the following decades. The Souls of Black Folk is a collection of essays written by Du Bois that, in particular, examines and explains “the problem of the twentieth century…the color line” and the “veil” behind which African Americans live (Du Bois 9 ). Du Bois explains the “color line problem” through the perspective of African Americans, exploring life in America through his eyes, as well as those of other African Americans, and exploring how the color line creates a veil, which in turn creates a double consciousness in African Americans; the veil that Du Bois describes in his work is a metaphor or symbol of the disconnection of African Americans in a white-dominated society; Du Bois further argues that the way African Americans should address the color line should not be modeled after the ideals of Booker T. Washington and that they should expand their education; the color line has been a problem in America for too long, but it still exists today. The “color line” described in detail by Du Bois in his work is essentially the segregation of races: it is the line between skin colors that separates the inhabitants of America, it is the line drawn in the sand that separates African Americans from whites Americans. Du Bois explains the “color line” through the perspective of African Americans: life behind “a vast veil.” (9; 2). Throughout his work, Du Bois writes about his own experiences and those of other African Americans in a nation full of prejudice, including his time as a teacher “...middle of paper......there are schools, neighborhoods and cities that thrive with people of color and only a small fraction of whites. It may be people's choice, or it may just be a coincidence, but segregation continues to exist. There are no "whites only" signs or schools segregated by law, but there is a thin color line. WEB Du Bois' collection of essays and writings constitute The Souls of Black Folk, a piece that chronicles the color line and the veil. Du Bois writes about his own experiences, the lives of other African Americans, and their attempts to break the color line. As Du Bois mentions several times in his work, “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line” (9). The color line created more than enough problems for African Americans throughout the twentieth century, forcing them to act and progress as a people in order to be seen as human beings..