Sammy Davis and Carl Rowan on the "Double Consciousness" of African Americans Analytical Essay by scribbler

The paper looks at Sammy Davis' article, "Why I Became a Jew," where he recounted the thought processes and spiritual experiences that led to his surprising conversion to Judaism, and discusses how he overcame his sense of separation and resolved the difficulty of Du Bois' "double consciousness" by finding historical and spiritual common ground with a similarly marginalized ethnic group. The paper then examines Carl Rowan's article, "What White People Ask about Negroes," and contrasts his approach to that of Davis. The paper explains that instead of rising above the veil like Davis had, Rowan confronted the divide head on, and sought to destroy it by creating a true foundation of knowledge and understanding between whites and blacks. The paper notes the difference between Davis' successful resolution of his racial double identity through his conversion to Judaism and Rowan's frustrated attempt to create a change in social attitudes by dispelling misunderstandings, and posits that one cannot hope to destroy as an individual the stereotypes by which society defines you; one can only rise above those stereotypes as Davis did.