The most striking thing about this well-known passage is the fact that this was the first time a word had been given to describe how African Americans felt in America; always thinking with a double consciousness because of the Eurocentric society that surrounded them. DuBois described how, even from his boyhood, he had been thrust into a realm of how he saw himself and how white society perceived him. Being judged, punished, and ridiculed by white America could have broken DuBois, but it made him realize his true potential. In the forethought DuBois talked about having “come to the central problem of training men for life” (v), the disparity between two worlds and the “Veil” which separates them. This phrase stuck with me as I continued with
