Double consciousness: a sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of others. Two views: how you look at yourself and how others look at you.

Double consciousness was used by WEB Dubois in his 1903 work The Souls of Black Folk. The idea was that for black people at that time, they needed to be aware that they are, in a sense, two projections of themselves. They are who they are, and then they are who outsiders; in this instance, white people see them. The historical context here is important. It’s 1903, post-reconstruction, FDR is in office, Orville Wright pilots the first successful heavier-than-air flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Bing Crosby is born, Crayola Crayons are made and sold for 5 cents, Coco Cola removes cocaine as a key ingredient in their formula, the Progressive Era will continue for another 17 years, and the stock market will crash in 26 years causing the Great Depression. We also see forced segregation, lynching as a popular scare tactic and form of vigilante punishment, race riots, housing shortages, and unemployment in urban areas. In 11 short years, the beginning of WWI. 

In the early 1900s, black people were still regarded as less. White supremacists were angry, and it showed whether through outright violence or other disenfranchisements like voter suppression, segregation, and housing and employment discrimination (doesn’t sound much different than today, huh?). During this time, there were two ideas about how black people could survive in this climate. One: learn a skill or trade, take up a vocation. The idea was to carve out a niche in the economy. The other idea was higher education. WEB Dubois opposed the former because he felt it was too narrowly focused. In comes the creation of the NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Jump ahead to 1954 Brown v. Board of Education, the case that overturned Plessy v. Ferguson that said separate but equal segregation of blacks and whites was legal as long as the facilities were equal. Nearly six decades later, black children are afforded the same educational rights as white children. This should make it easier to gain access to higher education and live a better life in this country, right? Wrong. In 1955 Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat on a public bus, which incites the Montgomery Bus Boycott. 1957 we have the Little Rock Nine—1961 federal protection for Freedom Riders. The Civil Rights Act of 1964 is passed in another effort to end racial discrimination. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 was passed to ensure black people would have no barriers to exercising their right to vote. 1965 the Higher Education Act is passed. In 1966 the minimum wage is increased for the second time during the decade. It seems like a lot of progress is being made! 1968 Martin Luther King Jr is assassinated. Meanwhile, the Vietnam War rages on where the rate of blacks dying in combat is higher than whites. Black soldiers were fighting a war on two fronts communism in Vietnam and racism at home.

Cut to 2019 we have seen the most diverse class sworn into the 116^th Congress, including the most women ever (103 women, to be exact); Marsai Martin is Hollywood’s youngest producer, Lori Lightfoot becomes the first black openly gay female mayor of Chicago, Missy Elliot is inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame as the first female hip hop artist inductee, Michelle Obama’s memoir Becoming sells over 10 million copies to become the most successful memoir ever, California’s “CROWN Act” bans workplace discrimination of natural hair, Simone Biles is the most decorated gymnast in the world male or female. The US women’s soccer team wins the World Cup. But wait, there’s more: there is a bigot and misogynist in the white house, estimated student loan debt is 1.5 trillion dollars with students of color carrying 85% more debt than their white counterparts, there have been 22 school shootings and counting, Flint, Michigan still doesn’t have clean water, climate change is real and isn’t slowing down, Toni Morrison and Diahann Carroll have died, women make 79 cents to a man’s dollar, black woman make 69 cents, and Facebook (Meta) is slowly but surely on a quest for world domination.

My, my, my, how far we’ve come, or have we? Today we are fighting privilege, assimilation, and discrimination harder than ever. Why do I say that? Because getting shot and killed by police is the leading cause of death for black males in America, ICE, and immigrant detainment centers are modern-day concentration camps; 46% of American men believe the gender pay gap is made up, and in 2020 over five decades after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 I am still the only person of color in my office.

Dubois said the problem of the 20^th century is the problem of the color line. Another century has come, and here we sit in the ever-growing aftermath of unarmed black people being killed by police. I guess you can’t call it aftermath until the event has passed; protests for black lives erupt around the world, growing unrest about race relations in America is at an all-time high, and a call to action is set forth to non-black people to be an ally, activist, and agitator. It seems as though the color line has not only endured but has grown thicker. Why, a century later, is this still our problem? People have continued to gloss over racism as something we can do away with if everyone will just love one another. It’s not that simple, and therein lies the problem. Racism is complex. Racism has been ingrained in our country from even before its founding. This country was built, raised, and thrives on racism. Double consciousness is a defense mechanism to combat what our history is made of. Double consciousness is a coping mechanism for what is entrenched in our society. Double consciousness is why all the black kids sit together in the cafeteria.

How far have we come?      

How far indeed. I wrote this piece in 2020 when the world was burning. Covid-19 was killing thousands weekly, some were wearing masks; most were not, DEI became the new buzzword, and just four months later on January 6th, 2021, an insurrection would take place in our nation’s capital. In 2022, the Supreme Court would go after a woman’s right to choose, and in 2023 it ended affirmative action in college admissions. It’s 2024, an election year. The same bigot and misogynist is running for President with a plan to dismantle and disenfranchise the country as we know it. That plan is called Project 2025.

If you know someone or if you use or have used Medicaid, Social Security, or food assistance programs; you are in danger.

If you know someone who is or you are a union worker or come from a union family; you are in danger.

If you are an educator or know an educator; you are in danger.

If you know someone who has health issues, you have health issues, or you value the choices you have for health insurance; you are in danger.

If you are a non-citizen or know a non-citizen; you are in danger.

If you value freedom of speech and expression; you are in danger.

If you are a member of any marginalized minority group; you are in danger.

If you are a woman; you are in danger.

What can you do? Vote. Educate yourself and go to the polls in November. Every vote counts. Why do you think they are working so hard to make it so you can’t vote. Your Vote is your Voice.