Where did Du Bois first learn that he was black and therefore different?

In his first essay, .Du Bois cites that there is one question that most white people want to ask black men. This question is always: "how does it feel like to be a problem?" (Du Bois, Page 7) While nobody ever directly asks this question, they often skirt around it and make it known that it is what they wish to know.

Du Bois' first realization that he was a "problem" was when he was in elementary school. Du Bois attended an integrated school in Massachusetts, and one year, a new student had enrolled. As part of a class project, students were supposed to share cards with one another. This girl, however, would not accept Du Bois' card.

This was when he realized he was different, and when he decided that he would dedicate himself to being better than whites at most things in life in order to be superior. Instead of sitting by and letting himself succumb to the injustices of the Veil, he decided he would pursue education that would empower him.