Various Editions of W. E. B. Du Bois, The Philadelphia Negro, 1899–2007

W. E. B. Du Bois

In 1899 W. E. B. Du Bois published his monumental and groundbreaking study The Philadelphia Negro. After a year of intensive research on the Black population of Philadelphia, this 500+ page book broke new ground in the burgeoning field of sociology. The book has been republished a number of times over the years, each an occasion for a new editor to frame the book with their introductory comments. Here is a brief survey of these various editions of the book

Anti-Wokeness, “Feminism,” and Head-coverings

There’s a quote floating around the internet that is attributed to R. C. Sproul which encapsulates one of the problems with the modern “head covering movement”:

The wearing of fabric head coverings in worship was universally the practice of Christian women until the twentieth century. What happened? Did we suddenly find some biblical truth to which the saints for thousands of years were blind? Or were our biblical views of women gradually eroded by the modern feminist movement that has infiltrated the Church.

Head Covering: A Forgotton Christian Practice for Modern Times

This quote is all over the place. It’s been posted on Facebook. It’s on “A-Z Quotes.” It’s been featured on a number of blogposts, and at one point, it was apparently featured on the front page of headcoveringmovement.com (“Ladies: R. C. Sproul Says COVER YOUR HEADS!!!!!!!!!!”). The lead article at the Head Covering Movement Website right now is a link to a Youtube video that includes this quote (“What About Head Coverings?” [32:43]). It’s even been published in a book (Jeremy Gardiner, Head Covering: A Forgotten Christian Practice for Modern Times (2016)).

Here’s the problem: I’m pretty sure R. C. Sproul never said that quote, and more substantively, the claim at the heart of the quote itself is historically inaccurate.