The Conservation of Races
by W. E. B. Du Bois is a seminal essay first delivered in 1897 before the American Negro Academy. In this influential work, Du Bois explores the meaning and importance of racial identity, challenging prevailing notions of race while emphasizing the cultural, historical, and moral contributions of African-descended peoples to human civilization.
Arguing that race is not merely a physical distinction but a social and spiritual one, Du Bois calls for the preservation and development of racial ideals as a means of collective progress and empowerment. His essay laid the intellectual groundwork for modern Pan-Africanism and the civil rights movement.
Profound and visionary,
remains one of Du Bois's most powerful statements on identity, unity, and the role of race in shaping human destiny.