⁵ The term, "the Veil" is one DuBois uses on a few occasions in this article and throughout his book, "The Souls of Black Folk." It is a complex, multi-layered metaphor that seems to distill the essence of DuBois' vision of black-white relations.
   I will not attempt the daunting task of defining this complex concept. However, the metaphor can be partially understood by considering what happens when a veil is placed between two people -- or two groups of people. It acts as a curtain to divide one group from another and to keep secrets hidden from view. Also, when members of one group look at the other through a veil, their vision tends to be obscured and distorted.
   In this passage, DuBois feels happy with his teaching position and accepted by the white teacher and the school commissioner. But "then fell the awful shadow of the Veil" at the moment DuBois sees the reintroduction of the race barrier. He realizes he must eat dinner alone after the other two have finished.