What is Double Consciousness?

How can it make you a better person?

In 1903, American sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois introduced a concept about the African Americans’ ability to view events from both the African identity and the American identity in his book The Souls of Black Folk.

He called it Double Consciousness.

“It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others, of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused contempt and pity. One ever feels his two-ness, — an American, a Negro; two souls, two thoughts, two unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength alone keeps it from being torn asunder. The history of the American Negro is the history of this strife — this longing to attain self-conscious manhood, to merge his double self into a better and truer self.”

What Du Bois is saying here is that minorities can view their community through the eyes of other communities as well as their own.

They split their souls into two and see social issues from both lenses, which causes them to struggle with their identity. Are they American or are they this other ethnic group?

For example, if there was a mass shooting, many black people would hope that it wasn’t a black person who committed the crime because they know, based on history and social trends, that non-Black Americans will blame it on the Black community and culture.

But at the same time, if it were a Black person who did the crime, they would wonder what factors led the suspect to do it. They would wonder if it was the community or society or family that led them to do it or if this individual was troubled.

How can understanding the Double Consciousness make you a better person?

Understanding the concept of the Double Consciousness can make you a better person because it shows you the thought process that visible minorities go through as they face social issues.

This can make you more empathetic towards them because you’ll understand that their beliefs and behaviours are influenced by societal and cultural factors and the community’s shared history.

So, keep this in mind the next time you step out into the world.

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