“Thus all art is propaganda and ever must be, despite the wailing of the purists. I stand in utter shamelessness and say that whatever art I have for writing has been used always for propaganda for gaining the right of black folk to love and enjoy. I do not care a damn for any art that is not used for propaganda. But I do care when propaganda is confined to one side while the other is stripped and silent.” ~Du Bois
I love pretty statements–the ones people cross stitch on pillows and turn into wall art. I love them more when they’re powerful and even more so when they’re true. Du Bois’ statement that “all art is propaganda” is awesome in that it has all three of these qualities.
I don’t know about the rest of my age demographic, but I don’t usually look at the world around me, at the paintings, pictures, and books, and think, “Wow, look at these modern pieces of propaganda,” but perhaps I should. Creators create with a purpose in mind. Art has a reason for existing, and it is meant to be seen or read by others; it is meant to change the viewer in some way.
One of my favorite quotes is by author Cassandra Clare. She says, “One must always be careful of books and what’s inside them, for words have the power to change us.” I couldn’t agree more.
Du Bois is saying that art and literature should all be created with the intent to inspire, to catalyze something, and anything created that does not have didactic purpose is useless to him.
It is, however, the last sentence in the quote above that makes this quote relevant to our African American Literature class. He says that propaganda, art and literature, are “confined to one side” while the other side is “stripped and silent.”
For so long, many people–a whole country–did everything they could to repress and ignore and discredit and shame African American Literature and art. White propaganda was the only acceptable propaganda; therefore, only the white political point of view was circulated. Only the white political point of view was doing the influencing. The African American point of view was forced into silence.
And yet, black authors and creators like Du Bois took this repression as a challenge, one they were determined to overcome. They produced their own propaganda and influenced the readers and viewers whether they wanted to be influenced or not. That, after all, is often the effect of propaganda.
My Thoughts on African American Literature 
Great quote by Cassandra Clare. Books are dangerous, and authors can weaponize their power in productive and uplifting ways. You make an important point about last line of the Du Bois’s statement. When art only serves one group and silences another, then artists have a duty to fight that silence and create art that serves an ideological purpose. I think this is still true today as we use stories to build awareness of all people and experiences.
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