Transatlantic souls of black folks: W.E.B. du Bois and indigenous African religion

Abstract

This paper explores the problems oh humanity, divinity, and transatlantic continuity in Du Bois' historical writings about Africa. Tracing the shifts in his representations of indigenous African religion from 1915 to 1947, with some surprising effects, the author hopes to revisit the challenges he raised for our thinking about the role of religion not only in our representations of the past but also in our projects for the future.