William Edward Burghardt Dubois was no stranger to the understanding of “a rites of passage” or “coming of age”. In fact he dedicated his entire thesis on double consciousness to educate blacks, as well as whites, about such a socially genetic transformation.

At the turn of the century whites in America did not recognize the distinct cultural heritage that Blacks contributed to the United States. For Blacks to receive recognition they had to lose their distinct identity and adopt the dominant social system which denied their own. Since whites were not willing to freely extend unconditional recognition, thereby reconciling the Black double-consciousness, African-Americans had to resist assimilation or face the threat of losing their true heritage. If this were this to happen, the unique message of the Black experience would go

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