Saving the Race: Conversations on Du Bois from a Collective Memoir of Souls

by Rebecca Carroll

W.E.B. Du Bois’s The Souls of Black Folk is one of the most influential books ever published in this country. In it, Du Bois wrote that “the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line,” a prophecy that is as fresh and poignant today as when it first appeared in print in 1903. Now, one hundred years after The Souls of Black Folk was first published, Saving the Race reexamines the legacy of Du Bois and his “color line” prophecy from a modern viewpoint. The author, Rebecca Carroll, a biracial woman who was reared by white parents, not only provides her own personal perspective, but she invites eighteen well-known African Americans to share their ideas and opinions about what Du Bois's classic text means today. Lalita Tademy, authorStanley Crouch, cultural critic, novelistA’Lelia Bundles, great-great-granddaughter of Madame C.J. Walker, author David Graham Du Bois, stepson of W.E.B. Du Bois, writer, teacher, activistTouré, novelist, contributing writer for Rolling Stone magazineJulian Bond, chairman of the board, NAACPThelma Golden, chief curator and deputy director for exhibitions and programs at the Studio Museum of HarlemKathleen Cleaver, former communications secretary of the Black Panther partyVernon E. Jordan, Jr., civil rights leader and lawyer Cory Booker, former New Jersey councilman, mayoral candidate, activistJewell Jackson McCabe, founder and president of the National Coalition of 100 Black WomenDerrick Bell, professor of law, New York UniversityElizabeth Alexander, poet and writerClarence Major, author, poet, artistTerence Blanchard, horn player, film composerReverend Dr. James Forbes, senior minister of Riverside Church, New YorkPatricia Smith, poetLeAlan Jones, author The result is an insightful and illuminating collection of interviews both provocative and inspiring. Saving the Race paints a fascinating, complicated, and colorful portrait about the “souls of black folk” in twenty-first century America.

228 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 8, 2004

About the author

Rebecca Carroll is host of the podcast Come Through with Rebecca Carroll, and a cultural critic at WNYC where she also develops and produces a broad array of multi-platform content, and hosts live event series in The Greene Space. Rebecca is a former critic at large for the Los Angeles Times, and her personal essays, cultural commentary, profiles and opinion pieces have appeared in The Atlantic, The New York Times, The Guardian, Essence, New York magazine, Ebony, and Esquire, among other publications. She is the author of several interview-based books about race and blackness in America, including the award-winning Sugar in the Raw: Voices of Young Black Girls in America. She lives in Brooklyn with her husband and son.

Reviews

[Badly Drawn Girl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Saving the Race is a wonderful contemporary exploration of W.E.B. Du Bois' most famous book "The Souls of Black Folk", which was written in 1903. Rebecca Carroll divides the book into 18 chapters, each one based on a different quote from the "The Souls of Black Folk." She introduces the quote with an essay relating it to her life. She is the product of a white mother, black father but was adopted by a white couple and raised in a predominantly white environment. After sharing her unique perspective, she hands off the quote to another African American for his/her opinion. The guest writers range from politician Cory Booker who experienced vicious attacks against his legitimacy as a black man from certain members of the black community during a heated race for a mayoral position in New Jersey, to Kathleen Cleaver, ex-wife of Elridge Cleaver and former Black Panther Party member. Other writers include Vernon E Jordon, Jr, Toure, Patricia Smith, and W.E.B. Du Bois' stepson David Graham Du Bois as well as many others.

Since the age of 16 when I was first learned about W.E.B. Du Bois I've considered him my personal hero. He may not seem like a normal choice for a middle class white teenage girl to make, but the more I learned about him, the more I was in awe. He was so ahead of his time, we are still trying to catch up. So I came to this book with some hesitancy. It's always hard to be open-minded about other people's critiques of a body of work when you feel passionately about it but I was pleasantly surprised. This is a thought provoking book that offers up a wide variety of viewpoints. It's a wonderful starting point for more in depth exploration of "The Souls of Black Folk" and is ripe for further discussion.

Hopefully it will also motivate people to pick up the original book and read it for themselves. Anything that brings new readers to Du Bois gets a thumbs up from me. I was very impressed with this book, from the diversity presented to the topics covered. This is a wonderful book for those interested in the continuing issue of racism in America.