W.E.B. Dubois

I’m taking part in a book club at our Reclamation Project office on Thursday nights. We’re making our way through W.E.B. Dubois’ The Souls of Black Folk. It’s challenging reading. I often have to slow down and reread passages, and some of the references to Greek mythology are lost on me.

The book was published in 1903, and he writes that, "The problem of the Twentieth Century is the problem of the color-line." 

I’ve learned a great deal from the book about the reconstruction period after the Civil War, information that I last read a couple of pages about in high school. Back then, the War was usually the focus of study, and a little information about carpet baggers is all I remember of the aftermath.

After my reading this week, I wonder…

If only there had been another way for slavery to come to an end. War left the South poor and hostile to the newly freed.

If only there could have been some effort at reconciliation like South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission after the end of apartheid.

If only long-term measures could have been put into place for help and support and infrastructure.

If only those freed had been given something to start out with—40 acres, a mule, and maybe even an apology. It would have been so very little.

I wonder the same thing about other groups who endure long-term oppression. We expect instant turnaround and success when the oppression stops, when in reality, the scars are long-lasting, and sometimes passed down through the generations. It was true of Irish immigrants fleeing persecution and famine in the 1800s and the Congolese who survived King Leopold’s brutal reign in the 1900s. It was true of those rescued from concentration camps. It is true of the oppressed in Syria, Central African Republic, North Korea and it is true for the young girl rescued from sex-trafficking.

So today I pray for for the oppressed and those coming out from under oppression. Whether the action of lending a hand is on the part of governments, churches, non-profits, or individuals, may it be wise and long-term and lead to wholeness of individuals and communities.