Chapter 11, "The Souls of Black Folk" Summary and Analysis

Du Bois and Washington exchange letters soothing each other about their differences over education. The political situation between the two powerful black leaders matters a great deal, according to Lewis, because money is being distributed to African American schools in a new way. The Slater Fund and Peabody money have been folded into something called the Southern Education Board (SEB) and more money is going in the General Education Board, or GEB, started by Rockefeller. There are no significant government programs to help African American education. The big contributors to these GEB and SEB want to help blacks but also fear giving too much anxiety to Southern whites.

William Baldwin and Robert Ogden become chairmen of the GEB. Baldwin actually believes black people cannot be taught much beyond the...