WEB Dubois was an 18th century black scholar who would make his mark on society not only with his scholarly achievements but with the words he would write for the African American community which would give them the power to continue fighting for their rights. Among some of his most powerful writings was “The Sorrow Songs” from The Souls of Black Folk which he wrote in 1903. In this article, I will argue that Dubois's epigraph from “The Sorrow Songs” was a piece that would restore hope and strength to the African American community. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay William Edward Burghardt, "WEB" Dubois was born on February 23, 1868. Growing up in Massachusetts, he had experienced the better side of life as if his community were integrated. This allowed him to reach his full potential in society as he could go to school and receive an education just like others in his community. He began to continue his studies when he decided to attend Harvard. After leaving Harvard, he would be the first African American to earn a doctorate. He took his degrees and many accomplishments with him as he traveled to Atlanta University. From here Dubois not only created the NAACP, but became the leader of the Niagara Movement. Together with the NAACP, the Niagara Movement would be a very important factor in African American society. This is why Dubois' words would have so much power and receive recognition from African American society. Dubois' words resonated in the spirits of African Americans, especially when he wrote "The Sorrow Songs." This epigraph would pose the question that many African Americans probably would have liked to ask the white community as well: "Would America have been America without the Negro people?" He opened his statement by asking a similar question that made the reader think more, he asked “Your country? How did it get yours? Before the pilgrims landed we were here.” In this question he asks the white man how the country they claim as his can be considered such when African Americans were there before them. He went on to speak of the gifts his people have given to these lands, even though they would not be appreciated by the white man nor would they be allowed to thrive in this land as long as the white man oppressed them. The first gift he spoke of was the gift of story and song. Dubois spoke of how they killed this gift because of their "ill-harmonized and unmelodious land" that did not allow the talent of storytelling and singing to prevail because with the elements against it, the gift would never grow to become appreciated. The next gift his people gave to the white man was the sweat and strength they used to build this nation by hand. Dubois wrote: “…the gift of sweat and strength to repel the wilderness, conquer the soil and lay the foundation of this vast economic empire two hundred years sooner than your feeble hands could have done it.” This is where he talks about the effort and hard work that the African American people put into the land. It was they who even took the initiative to provide them with the foundations of the land that the white man would end up stealing almost two hundred years later. The last gift he would talk about was the gift of the Spirit. When it came to the Spirit, Dubois felt as if he had been taken for granted by the white man. He wrote "...fire and blood, prayer and sacrifice, have poured out upon this people, and have found peace only in the altars of the God of the right." and steal their land, also shed some light on how they deserved to be treated equally because they were equal.