Published 40 years after the Emancipation Proclamation, The Souls of Black Folk by WEB Du Bois details the struggle and conflict that black Americans still endure. The ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments provided a glimmer of hope for racial equality, only to run into further problems. Jim Crow laws and the Plessy v. Ferguson ruling nullified much of what the amendments stood for, and the struggle continued for black Americans. Although racial discrimination limits many of the features of equality for blacks, Du Bois suggests that the Negro community, as a whole, plays a significant role in the struggle for racial equality; the struggle is not based exclusively on politics, hence the 'Negro problem' (12). Du Bois's solution to the "Negro problem" contrasts with that of Booker T. Washington. I believe Du Bois shows more foresight and development in his plans for education and enlightenment, rather than in Washington's strategy for economic and industrial domination. Even after the 13th Amendment guaranteed freedom to black Americans, Du Bois believes that a certain "Negro" problem still exists in America, especially in the South. In his chapters “Of the Black Belt” and “Of the Quest of the Golden Fleece,” Du Bois chronicles the conditions and mentality of blacks living in cities and densely populated areas of the South, particularly Dougherty, Georgia. In these chapters, Du Bois admits that part of the reason for the poor living conditions was the lack of available labor soon after emancipation (95), but more importantly, Du Bois makes a social connection to the hardships that blacks are experiencing living. Take, for example, the issue of the poor living conditions of blacks in the South: there are four main causes of paper and financial growth. We can analyze the "Negro problem" in many different ways. We briefly examined what Du Bois thought the "Negro problem" was and how Du Bois' solution compares to the ideas of Booker T. Washington in his Atlanta speech. I prefer Du Bois's recommendations to Washington's, especially regarding the aspect and role that education plays in the struggle for equality and the future success of Negroes in America. Even today racism is still widespread, but the "nigger problem" has definitely improved since the publication of Souls, and I am convinced that through higher education, whites and blacks will be able to understand the meaning of equality. Works Cited Du Bois, W.E.B., Henry Louis Gates, and Terri Hume. Oliver. The Souls of Black People: Authoritative Text, Contexts, Criticism. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999. Print.