Worlds of Color article review
William Edward Burghardt DuBois was an influential American philosopher: a writer, theorist, economic historian, sociologist, and public critic (Morse n.d.). In his writing and tactical publication in of the article “Worlds of Color,” he offers an insight into the advancement of a critical American attitude to international race relations. Although DuBois was not an international lawyer by profession, his writings and advocacy movements form part of the development of international legal and political debates in the twenty-first century.
DuBois begins his essay by portraying a positive image of the Portuguese. He argues that racism in Portugal was minor because of the long history of racial blending in the region. Even though it was improbable for a black man to marry into a wealthy Portuguese family, DuBois was fascinated by the scenario of two Portuguese parliamentary deputies who he spotted kissing a black colleague on the floor (Dubois 1925). However, despite the positive racial attitudes in Portugal, such approaches could not be transmitted to colonial policies because of “inadequate democratic control.”
On the other hand, DuBois (1925) describes the British empire, which was defined by exploitation and hypocrisy. DuBois illustrates how he was mistreated during his visit to Sierra Leone and argues that such actions were as a result of the British “fear of any black person that had ever tasted freedom”. He asserts that the British claim of providing formal legal equality among the races was false because, from his experience and observation, they practised racial exclusion and domination.
However, Dubois (1925) proclaims that despite the ruthless nature of the Britons, the British empire was typified by contradictory inclinations that could have resulted in change, though in unclear directions. For example, DuBois describes the struggle in South Africa, where a coalition of white labour unions and Boer nationalists were against the ideas of an association that was comprised of black workers and English capital. The former group was pursuing more employment prospects while the latter was fighting to acquire cheap labour. To emphasize his point, DuBois portrays the political conflict that existed between Unionists and Liberals on the Boer war that resulted in the arousal of British public view against some of the worst colonial exploits. He asserted that the eradication of slavery in the Portuguese colony of São Thomé, whose cocoa industry was supported by British capital, was initiated from this dynamic.
DuBois (1925) further evaluated the French empire with deep and conflicted emotions. He saw the French empire to have the potential for the worst colonialist excess while on the other hand, being the best hope for humanistic reform. For DuBois, the French empire could transform the colonial relationship, and it was such notions that explained the deep-seated resentment against France by England and America. However, Dubois argued that the future of colonialism depended on the struggle for the purification of the French soul from the contaminating spirit of the British capital.
DuBois presents his ideas in an inventive way, and his political approach to the past offers an invaluable model for further studies on the topic in the modern world (Fertik and Hanses 2019). His ideas in this article thus show his relevance in the twenty-first century.
The title of the article is apt as it describes racial segregation, a problem that was not only experienced in the past but also in the modern world. Thus, Dubois article is significant today because it addresses what many would say is the real-world problem of white supremacy.
It can be argued that DuBois article on “Worlds Color” is an important historical document. The arguments brought forward provides exciting responses to the constant challenges encountered by those who seek lobby for fundamental international transformation.