A white woman goes into an upscale shop to look at clothes. She is excited to see that there is a sale and gathers a huge pile o
f clothes to take into the dressing room. An African American woman goes into the store and is also excited about the sale but hesitates to take too many clothes into the dressing room because she is afraid the staff will accuse her of shoplifting. W. E. B. Du Bois would say that the African American woman has:
Double consciousness is an internal conflict that occurs in someone who belongs in a group considered to be subordinate (a group with less authority than the other group ) due to oppression.
An African women is facing a dilemma because she knows what black people are associated with in an oppressive society .
She may have clean record and good intentions of buying the same amount of clothes just like the white woman but because of her colour the owner may think otherwise or the peoplen in the shop may think otherwise .
The fact that she may also be considered as a person who will not afford those clothes , will have an impact on the situation if she takes the same amount of clothes to fit .
