History is usually written by those who belong to the higher classes of society, which has led to a very white ethnocentric version of history. In “Criteria of Negro Art” Dubois talks about the way blacks are not fully represented in history, even when they played important roles. He uses the example of the conquest of German East Africa, where thousands of Africans fought for the Allies, far outnumbering white soldiers. However, whenever this event is even referenced, only credit is given to England and Belgium for conquering the land. The thousands of blacks from East, West and Southern Africa, Nigeria and the Nile Valley and the West Indies are not given the credit they rightly deserve. Through the use of art, however, Du Bois believes that these manipulations of truth can be corrected. Art is used as propaganda to match supporters of righteous goodness and truth with beauty that can be used to rid the world of the ugliness that has distorted people's lives. “Criteria of Negro Art” is a discourse with a very idealistic scope, but it is also based on very painful realities of the position that African Americans had in society. Two disheartening examples are used by Du Bois to highlight the chains that still held African Americans despite having freed themselves from slavery many years earlier. In one example Du Bois talks about two sisters, one black and one white, where the white sister is getting married and the black sister wishes to attend the wedding. Their mother denies the black sister's request and the black sister goes to her room and kills herself. Du Bois in this example is highlighting widely held social views of the inferior status of blacks based solely on skin color. They are sisters who most likely shared a common upbringing, belong to the same economic class and have the same religion/values ​​and