1. Please discuss what was considered the “Talented Tenth” in detail and provide a succinct and thorough review of what W.E.B. DuBois meant by the “Talented Tenth” and its relevance to the advancement of intellect among Blacks in specific, and for society in general? [Worth 10 points].
Question rises “What exactly is the talented tenth?” When W.E.B. DuBois created the talented tenth he was referring to the top ten percent of leaders among the African American culture. DuBois believed that a huge part of learning and progression came from those individuals who chose to give back exactly what they knew. W.E.B. DuBois held the top ten percent responsible for developing the absolute best of their race. By doing so, these leaders would guide the Mass apart from the contamination and death of the worst. DuBois also believed that as human, we should only make or teach exactly who we are or what we know. To elaborate, if we have a skill of making money, then our object of training other individuals should be to create and produce money makers. If technical skill happened to be the object of education, then perhaps we should posses’ artisans. This teaching method was a productive way for Black Americans to lift up the standing of each other. W.E.B. DuBois had concerns on the focus of black education; he felt as though the focus may have been too technical or vocational.
Dubois’s talented tenth had three main goals; first he wanted to show that leadership could actually rise in the black community. Secondly, he wanted to show how those black men could be educated and developed; and thirdly, DuBois wanted to show their relation to the Negro problem. (Du Bois, 1903)
George, R. (2011). Sociological theory (Eighth ed.). New York: McGraw Hil...
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...cause it is believed that majority of the people in society will conduct theirself based on what they believe and not just based on what is objectively true (Anderson, Taylor, 2009).
With that being said, society is believed to be socially built thru a variety of things that human interpret. When we interpret the behavior of someone in our society it is these views that help us create and form bonds or act differently. In the article “The color of crime”, violent and interracial crimes were important and antagonizing crimes that concerned the people in America. However, it was potryed that majority of these crimes that were being committed were committed by the people of color.
Anderson, M.L. and Taylor, H.F. (2009). Sociology: The Essentials. Belmont, CA: Thomson Wadsworth.
George, R. (2011). Sociological theory (Eighth ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Both Washington and DuBois wanted the same thing for blacks—first-class citizenship—but their methods for obtaining it differed. Because of the interest in immediate goals contained in Washington’s economic approach, Whites did not realize that he anticipated the complete acceptance and integration of Negroes into American life. He believed blacks, starting with so little, would have to begin at the bottom and work up gradually to achieve positions of power and responsibility before they could demand equal citizenship—even if it meant temporarily assuming a position of inferiority. DuBois understood Washington’s program, but believed that it was not the solution to the “race problem.” Blacks should study the liberal arts, and have the same rights as white citizens.
W.E.B. DuBois was an educator, writer, scholar, civil rights activist, Pan-Africanist, and later in his life a communist, whose life goal was to gain equal rights for all African Americans around the world. DuBois’ writings were mostly forgotten till the late 1960s, because of his involvement in communism and his absence during the civil rights movement in America. Even though his writings were temporarily forgotten because of his tarnished reputation, his legacy has since been restored allowing for his writings to be reprinted becoming a major influence for both academics and activists. DuBois’ accomplishments include his part in the creation of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and his support for the civil rights movement advocating for equal social and economic rights for all African Americans. His accomplishments and efforts in order to gain equal treatment for African Americans outweigh his shortcomings and failures.
While growing up in the midst of a restrictive world, education becomes the rubicon between a guileless soul and adulthood. In the excerpt from W.E.B. Du Bois’ The Souls of Black Folk, Du Bois provides a roadmap for African Americans to discover and understand themselves through the pursuit of knowledge, self-awareness, and authenticity. The excerpt is a significant part of the essay because it also speaks for the modern day pursuit of knowledge, self-awareness, and authenticity, an indispensable path into finding one’s self.
When it all comes down to it, one of the greatest intellectual battles U.S. history was the legendary disagreement between Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois. This intellectual debate sparked the interest of the Northerners as well as the racist whites that occupied the south. This debate was simply about how the blacks, who just gained freedom from slavery, should exist in America with the white majority. Even though Washington and DuBois stood on opposite sides of the fence they both agreed on one thing, that it was a time for a change in the treatment of African Americans. I chose his topic to write about because I strongly agree with both of the men’s ideas but there is some things about their views that I don’t agree with. Their ideas and views are the things that will be addressed in this essay.
While DuBois respected Booker T. Washington and his accomplishments, he did not. felt that blacks needed political power to protect what they had and what they earned. DuBois called for a new plan of action. He felt that the The greatest enemy of blacks was not necessarily whites but it was the ignorance of the whites concerning the capabilities of the black race. DuBois's answer was to encourage the development of black youth in America.
Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were very important African American leaders in the United States during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. They both felt strongly that African Americans should not be treated unequally in terms of education and civil rights. They had strong beliefs that education was important for the African American community and stressed that educating African Americans would lead them into obtaining government positions, possibly resulting in social change. Although Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois had similar goals to achieve racial equality in the United States, they had strongly opposing approaches in improving the lives of the black population. Washington was a conservative activist who felt that the subordination to white leaders was crucial for African Americans in becoming successful and gaining political power. On the other hand, Du Bois took a radical approach and voiced his opinion through public literature and protest, making it clear that racial discrimination and segregation were intolerable. The opposing ideas of these African American leaders are illustrated in Du Bois’ short story, “Of the Coming of John”, where Du Bois implies his opposition to Washington’s ideas. He shows that the subordination of educated black individuals does not result in gaining respect or equality from the white community. In fact, he suggests that subordination would lead the black community to be further oppressed by whites. However contrasting their views might have been, Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois were significant influential black leaders of their time, who changed the role of the black community in America.
These driven African American leaders are the “talented tenth” meaning the top ten percent of the African American population who are all successful college educated men who are looking at the long-term view of where the role of Black Americans is going to be in the nation. These “talented tenth” share in DuBois’s belief that “education is that whole system of human training within and without house walls, which molds and develops men.” That in order to gain equality the Black community in the country needs to pursue the holistic education, that caters to the mind, body and soul of the African American student, and prepares black leaders. Ultimately this means that in a time of booming industrialization in America, it is imperative that for African Americans that, “True education is not to make men carpenters, it is to make carpenters men.” This is so important to Dubois because he understands that the White man’s view of progression in an industrialized America is no different then the pro-slavery America of the nineteenth century. When DuBois returned to his schoolhouse in Tennessee, several years after leaving to pursue his own higher education, he returned to find his “log schoolhouse was gone. In its place
DuBois, W.E.B. The Autobiography of W.E.B. DuBois: A Soliloquy on Viewing My Life From the Last Decade of Its First Century. New York: International Publishers Co., Inc., 1968.
Like Washington, Dubois agreed that “blacks” needed to become economically independent and find civil equality. However, W.E.B Dubois was offended at racial injustice and inequality. Du Bois understood Washington’s program, but believed this wasn’t the solution Unlike Washington, he demanded that African Americans should immediately have the right to vote, equal rights, and be granted equal educational opportunities. WEB Dubois wanted educational reform in a way that fulfilled requirements for African American students. WEB Du Bois declared African American demands through his “Declaration of the Principles of the Niagara Movement,” in which he demanded social equality.
“If there is anybody in this land who thoroughly believes that the meek shall inherit the earth they have not often let their presence be known” (Du Bois). This is a quote from African American rights activists W.E.B. Du Bois. It’s a good example of how he views the situation at this time, and how he works mentally as a rights activist. This was a very dangerous time for the African American population in America. During this time period, there were two very well-known men who protested for rights for the African American community. Their names were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Du Bois. Both had very different views, but were both doing it as a way to help the African American community. However, for this time period, W.E.B. Du Bois’ philosophies
“It should come as no surprise that Washington’s historical conflict culminated as a struggle between him and DuBois” (Gibson III 66). To say the least, both men were very active in the upbringing of African-Americans, but their differences in displaying out the solution was what brought them apart. Washington wanted the education system to enforce industrial teachings that started at lower economic power, while DuBois had more abstract ideas of equality and voting for African-Americans. Washington was conservative in the matter of African-American inclusion into society, hoping that given enough time and progress, people would learn to accept them, rather than fight for social power like what DuBois stood for. Despite Washington’s program that appealed to White-Americans, he was involved in politics and spoke about the disfranchisement of African-Americans. His idea of easing tensions with the superior gathered him more publicity, as to DuBois’s plan of protesting. As a result, DuBois’s idea became more prominent as it branches into what we know now as the civil rights movement. Historically, Washington and DuBois has made a name for themselves, through their intentions for the good will of African-Americans, and that is something that will always hold true in these two notorious
Two of the most influential people in shaping the social and political agenda of African Americans were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. Dubois, both early twentieth century writers. While many of their goals were the same, the two men approached the problems facing African Americans in very different ways. This page is designed to show how these two distinct thinkers and writers shaped one movement, as well as political debate for years afterward.
Throughout his essay, Du Bois challenged Booker T. Washington’s policy of racial accommodation and gradualism. In this article Du Bois discusses many issues he believes he sees
The sympathetic humanist might bristle at first, but would eventually concur. For it's hard to argue with poverty. At the time the novel was published (1912), America held very few opportunities for the Negro population. Some of the more successful black men, men with money and street savvy, were often porters for the railroads. In other words the best a young black man might hope for was a position serving whites on trains. Our protagonist--while not adverse to hard work, as evidenced by his cigar rolling apprenticeship in Jacksonville--is an artist and a scholar. His ambitions are immense considering the situation. And thanks to his fair skinned complexion, he is able to realize many, if not all, of them.
History is usually written by those in 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 that Blacks are not fully represented in history, even when they have played major 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 referred too only credit is given to England and Belgium for conquering the land. The thousands of Blacks from East, West and South Africa, from Nigeria and the Valley of the Nile, and from the West Indies aren’t given the credit they rightfully deserve. Through the use of art, however, Du Bois believes that these manipulations of the truth can be turned right. Art is used as propaganda that champions for the rightful