Issued by the American Negro Academy in 1897, this address by the young W. E. B. Du Bois asks what race means and what Black Americans owe to themselves. He argues that races are historical and spiritual groupings, each with a message for humanity, and urges organised effort in education, culture and self-respect rather than assimilation that erases identity.
A short, foundational essay in African American thought, written six years before The Souls of Black Folk. Download the free EPUB.