The Black Belt

The Black Belt, like the Sun Belt refers to a specific geoprahic location. In "The Souls of Black Folk", W.E.B. Du Bois gives greater meaning to this small blackbelt area in Georgia. About the blackbelt he writes, "how curious a land this,--how full of untold story, of tragedy and laughter, and the rich legacy of human life; shadowed with a tragic past, and big with future promise!" (100). Du Bois recognizes that this area in the South is still recovering from the hardships of slavery. Although there was left a rich legacy of human life, he writes in the chapter involving the wings of Atlanta that education of the negro is necessary, as the negro is not yet civilized. Du Bois does talk about future promise. Because he puts a positive and negative spin on everything, it is unsure what the future of the country will be. In saying that future promise exists, Du Bois recognizes the potential of the negro to adapt and become a member of modern civilization. This transition is not easy because most negros were not used to making their own decisions, and dealing with the resulting consequences. In a later part of the chapter he describes the blackbelt region as a "land of rapid contrasts and of cusiosly mingled hope and pain" (103). Hope and pain is mingled. He knows that for the negro to achieve both mental and physical freedom, there is going to be a long path with many obstacles. His faith in the Negro never fades either. After looking at the farmlands, Du Bois said he felt a comfortable feeling that the Negro is rising.