W.E.B. Dubois : Black Folk have two Souls W.E.B. Dubois , America's foremost philosopher and Black philosopher was famous for his idea that Black People have TWO souls- one Black and one WHITE . Let me repeat : To be a Black American is to be both Black AND WHITE. Black people have to learn white ways to survive, get work, get service , etc. as it is the dominant manner. White people have only a white "soul". To be Black , they need to gain a Black "soul" in the sense of culture and language, music, food, extended family .