What does Du Bois mean by the fact that every African American “ever feels his twoness”?

Du Bois uses “twoness” to describe the divided identity African Americans experience: they are both Black and American, with ties to African heritage while living in a society that often excludes them. This matches the choice that they feel like both Americans and Africans. The phrase does not mean they feel both free and enslaved people, since Du Bois is describing identity, not two legal statuses.

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