Published: 2023
Author: W. E. B. Du Bois & Paul Peart-Smith
Illustrator: Paul Peart-Smith Editors: Paul Buhle & Herb Boyd
Introduction: Jonathan Scott Holloway
Genres: History, Graphic Novels, Nonfiction, African American, Social Justice, Race
Audience (Grade Levels): Grades 11-12, Adult
Number of Stars: 5 Stars
Goodreads Link: W. E. B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk: A Graphic Interpretation
Triggers: Violence, graphic historical images of lynching, sexual harassment
Review By: Gina Iorio
Publisher’s Summary:
“The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line.” These were the prescient words of W. E. B. Du Bois’s influential 1903 book The Souls of Black Folk. The preeminent Black intellectual of his generation, Du Bois wrote about the trauma of seeing the Reconstruction era’s promise of racial equality cruelly dashed by the rise of white supremacist terror and Jim Crow laws. Yet he also argued for the value of African American cultural traditions and provided inspiration for countless civil rights leaders who followed him. Now artist Paul Peart-Smith offers the first graphic adaptation of Du Bois’s seminal work.
Peart-Smith’s graphic adaptation provides historical and cultural contexts that bring to life the world behind Du Bois’s words. Readers will get a deeper understanding of the cultural debates The Souls of Black Folk engaged in, with more background on figures like Booker T. Washington, the advocate of black economic uplift, and the Pan-Africanist minister Alexander Crummell. This beautifully illustrated book vividly conveys the continuing legacy of The Souls of Black Folk, effectively updating it for the era of the 1619 Project and Black Lives Matter.
Review:
First, I must say I was given a preview of this graphic novel (58 pages) and was not given access to the complete story. However, what I read was enough for me to give an honest review.
W.E.B Du Bois Souls of Black Folks: A Graphic Interpretation is an amazing book that I hope will be brought into our school’s curriculum. The images add depth and help to draw the reader into Du Bois’s story. The introduction gives the background on Du Bois’s life, thoughts, and writings. Each chapter begins with an essay on Du Bois’s writing and after the introduction we have the graphic novel interpretation. I like how the essays give background information into what the students will be reading next and help them understand the content. At times the vocabulary can be difficult, but it should not stop anyone from reading this graphic novel. There are images such as lynching in this graphic novel that might be difficult for some readers. I highly recommend this book on what I was able to read. I think this would be an amazing text to teach in our classrooms. I will be buying a copy for our library.
Classroom & Curricular Connections:
- U.S. History / African American Studies (Reconstruction & Jim Crow): This graphic text serves as an extraordinary modern vehicle for analyzing the aftermath of the Civil War, the short-lived promises of the Reconstruction era, and the rise of white supremacist terror and Jim Crow laws. The integration of opening essays with comic panels provides critical historical context for understanding Du Bois’s foundational concept of the “color line”.
- English Language Arts / Social Philosophy (Ideological Debates): The book details the prominent intellectual and cultural debates of the early 20th century. Teachers can use this text to structurally compare and contrast W.E.B. Du Bois’s philosophies with Booker T. Washington’s advocacy for economic uplift and Alexander Crummell’s Pan-Africanism, encouraging students to evaluate how these strategies continue to influence modern civil rights movements like Black Lives Matter.
Extension Activity / Library Application:
- “Visualizing Philosophy” Graphic Analysis: Leveraging the reviewer’s praise of how Peart-Smith’s imagery adds depth to complex historical text, host a classroom activity focusing on “double consciousness”. Have students select a specific quote from Du Bois’s original text and analyze how the graphic novel translates his complex academic vocabulary and philosophical theories into accessible, emotionally resonant sequential art.
- Historical Context Contextual Essay Writing: Inspired by the book’s format of placing introductory essays before graphic chapters, have students practice historical scaffolding. Assign groups a specific contemporary social justice event or document (such as the 1619 Project), and task them with writing a brief explanatory background essay designed to guide a peer through a graphic or visual exhibit of that event.
Diversity & Representation:
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This graphic novel strongly champions diversity, equity, and inclusion by adapting one of the most seminal works of Black literature and intellectual thought in American history. By honoring African American cultural traditions and bringing authentic Black voices to the forefront, the narrative directly examines systemic racism. While it contains difficult and painful historical truths—including imagery of lynching—it provides an uncompromising, vital look at Black resilience, agency, and intellectual resistance.
Readalikes:
- March (Trilogy) by John Lewis, Andrew Aydin, and Nate Powell
- The Souls of Black Folk (Original Text) by W.E.B. Du Bois
- Stamped from the Beginning: A Graphic History of Racist Ideas in America by Ibram X. Kendi and Joel Christian Gill
