One of the Most Important Books on Civil Rights Race and Freedom Ever Written. A groundbreaking challenge to white supremacy. The New York Times A classic work of American literature AfricanAmerican history and sociology by W. E. B. Du Bois The Souls of Black Folk is a monumental collection of essays that examines race and racism in America during the early 1900s and prior. Du Bois derived much of the books content from his own personal experience as an AfricanAmerican living during these tum