Short summary
Key points
Black Americans are generally seen as a problem by their white counterparts
Du Bois first realized that society considered him a problem when he was in elementary school. It was a part of the school tradition for boys and girls in each class to share cards with one another during certain periods in the academic session.
One year, a new female student had enrolled, and when it was time to exchange cards, this girl peremptorily rejected Du Bois’ card. It then occurred to him that he was different from his white classmates and that he had been shut out of their world by a vast “Veil.” Afterward, Du Bois held the people on the other side of the view in contempt and made it his primary goal to be better than the whites at most things in life.
He experienced tremendous joy whenever he earned better grades or performed better in physical activities than the other children. However, Du Bois’ contempt faded within several years as it dawned on him that the white students had better opportunities and greater advantages than he did.