Read the excerpt from The Souls of Black Folk by W. E. B. Du Bois. Third, while it is a great truth to say that the Negro must strive and strive mightily to help himself, it is equally true that unless his striving be not simply seconded, but rather aroused and encouraged, by the initiative of the richer and wiser environing group, he cannot hope for great success. In his failure to realize and impress this last point, Mr. Washington is especially to be criticised. His doctrine has tended to make the whites, North and South, shift the burden of the Negro problem to the Negro’s shoulders and stand aside as critical and rather pessimistic spectators; when in fact the burden belongs to the nation, and the hands of none of us are clean if we bend not our energies to righting these great wrongs. What is the author’s main claim?
Answer
A
Black citizens need to work hard to be successful.
B
White citizens are too judgmental to be helpful to Black citizens.
C
Black citizens must not expect wealthy government officials to support and encourage them.
D
Washington is wrong to place all responsibility on Black citizens and dismiss the responsibility of White citizens.
Explanation
Du Bois agrees that Black people must strive to help themselves, but argues that their efforts also need support and encouragement from the more powerful group. He criticizes Washington’s doctrine for letting White people shift the burden onto Black people and act as spectators. Du Bois’s main claim is that White citizens and the nation also share responsibility for correcting these wrongs, which is choice D.
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