"In the metropolis of the modern world, in this the closing year of the Nineteenth Century, there has been assembled a Congress of men and women of African blood, to deliberate solemnly upon the present situation and outlook of the darker races of mankind. The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color line, the question as to how far differences of race, which show themselves chiefly in the color of the skin and the texture of the hair, are going to be made, hereafter, the basis of denying to over half the world the right of sharing to their utmost ability the opportunities and privileges of modern civilization."

     Let me for a moment recapitulate. In the life of advancing peoples there must go on simultaneously a struggle for existence, accumulation of wealth, education of the young, and a development in culture and the higher things of life. The more backward the nation the larger sum of effort goes into the struggle for existence; the more forward the nation the larger and broader is the life of the spirit. For guidance, in taking these steps in civilization, the nation looks to four sources: the precepts of parents, the sight of seers, the opinion of the majority and the traditions of the past.  [Par.37]

    The fact of racial antipathy is as old as the interaction of people with one another. But the history of the centuries is the history of the discovery of the human soul and in every age the curse of the average person was his own narrowness, his blindness toward the riches that surrounded him, the notion that his own narrow heart and his small mind are the measure and borders of the universe. Above all in our days we do not want to forget the trivial observation that even in the nooks and alleys, and under threadbare clothing, lay hidden riches and depths of human life that we will perhaps never experience in ourselves.
    In the struggle for his human rights the American Negro relies above all on the feeling of justice in the civilized world. We are no barbarians or heathen, we are educable and our education is increasing; our economic abilities have proven themselves. We too want to have our chance in life. Whoever wants to get acquainted with our living conditions, be welcome; we demand nothing other than that one gets acquainted with us honestly and face to face, and does not judge us according to hearsay or according to the verdict of our despisers.

 Joseph Fracchia [department page] offers us a nicely rendered translation; he appends several translator's endnotes that amplify or clarify several aspects of the original DuBoisian text. The translation is contained within a special issue of the New Centennial Review on Du Bois that is edited by Nahum Dimitri Chandler. Other pieces in this issue are written by Nahum D. Chandler, Hortense J. Spillers, Nicole A. Waligora-Davis, Rebecka Rutledge Fisher, Karen E. Fields, and Jeremy W. Pope. The entire issue and individual articles can be purchased either in print form or else in downloadable PDF files. For purchases one would need first to use the "Table of Contents" drop-down menu list located on the navigation bar and select "Volume 6, Number 3 (2006)". After the contents of that particular issue are displayed, one then can make purchase choices.

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