W.E.B. Du Bois' Talented Tenth in Pictures
- Thread starter QueEx
- Start date
Saw this book a few years ago, regret not buying it.
Where did some of us go wrong? Du Bois wanted to convey to the world that we are not just poor people, We are productive hard working people. People who have a reverence for education. Aspiring doctors who could not be educated in the states because of their skin color would travel abroad to follow their dreams. It was hip to be an intellectual, now the role seems reversed.
All they wanted was an opportunity, that some of us have chosen to take for granted. When I see photos like this I'm reminded that "everyone" has a story.
How could we get this back?
Where did some of us go wrong? Du Bois wanted to convey to the world that we are not just poor people, We are productive hard working people. People who have a reverence for education. Aspiring doctors who could not be educated in the states because of their skin color would travel abroad to follow their dreams. It was hip to be an intellectual, now the role seems reversed.
All they wanted was an opportunity, that some of us have chosen to take for granted. When I see photos like this I'm reminded that "everyone" has a story.
How could we get this back?
K
kwazdog
Guest
.
Acur said:
I don't usually quote "Wikipedia" for anything, but it has a pretty good summary regarding the notion of the Talented 10th:
The Talented Tenth was an influential essay written by W. E. B. Du Bois and published in September 1903. It appeared in The Negro Problem, a collection of essays written by leading African Americans.[1]
The phrase "talented tenth" originated in 1896 among Northern white liberals, specifically the American Baptist Missionary Home Society. They had the goal of establishing black colleges to train Negro teachers and elites.
Du Bois used the term "the talented tenth" to describe the likelihood of one in ten black men becoming leaders of their race in the world, through methods such as continuing their education, writing books, or becoming directly involved in social change. He strongly believed that blacks needed a classical education to be able to reach their potential, rather than the industrial education promoted by such people as Booker T. Washington and some white philanthropists. He saw such an education as the basis for what, in the 20th century, would be known as public intellectuals:
The phrase "talented tenth" originated in 1896 among Northern white liberals, specifically the American Baptist Missionary Home Society. They had the goal of establishing black colleges to train Negro teachers and elites.
Du Bois used the term "the talented tenth" to describe the likelihood of one in ten black men becoming leaders of their race in the world, through methods such as continuing their education, writing books, or becoming directly involved in social change. He strongly believed that blacks needed a classical education to be able to reach their potential, rather than the industrial education promoted by such people as Booker T. Washington and some white philanthropists. He saw such an education as the basis for what, in the 20th century, would be known as public intellectuals:
Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools — intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the world that was and is, and of the relation of men to it — this is the curriculum of that Higher Education which must underlie true life. On this foundation we may build bread winning, skill of hand and quickness of brain, with never a fear lest the child and man mistake the means of living for the object of life.[2]
In his later life, W.E.B. Du Bois came to believe that leadership could arise from many levels, and grassroots efforts were also important to social change. His stepson David Du Bois tried to publicize those views, writing in 1972: "Dr. Du Bois’ conviction that it’s those who suffered most and have the least to lose that we should look to for our steadfast, dependable and uncompromising leadership."[3]
Citations were omitted, but you can find them here, with the original article on the Wiki site: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Talented_Tenth
QueEx
Didn't see one dark skin person out of those pictures. Dubois was okay but if we had followed Booker T Washington's philosophy and later Garvey we would have thriving communities all over this country. I like his ideas I just find it unfortunate that he spent alot of his energy tearing down Washington and then Garvey. I think his ideas were less practical. You have to crawl before you can walk.
The problem with DuBois is that he represented the falling ladder of black culture....you rise up and make it then shit on the rest of the race as if you are better......
And like you said...most of these folks were mix breed kids of slave masters and slaves....so they had a leg up on the field hands....
Another home-run. It would be cool to have a board centered around black art in pictures.
Must read for anyone that hasnt read it.
Props!
Props!
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I couldn't have said it better. C/S 1000%
Both of you brothers are so right. I truly believed in Washington'd principles. Having said that, lets not miss what Du'Bois was attempting to convey to the world.
You have a doctor, well we have Ben Carson
You have Rockefeller, well we have Madam C J Walker
You have a scientist, well we have Grover Washington Carver
We are not shiftless lazy people, we are resourceful and we believe in a strong family unit. Allow me to compete and these are the results.
James Brown didn't write "I'm black and I'm proud" for the black movement. He did it because of the crime and poverty he witnessed throughout his travels. He wanted us to see we are better than that and to be proud of who we are.
I agree.