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.
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.
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.
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.
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
As one can see, Washington and DuBois played a tremendous role in creating the atmosphere which took African Americans into the Harlem Renaissance era. Without them, particularly DuBois, the movement for cultural identity would have lacked essential inspiration and foundation. We hope that we have provided our readers with information that shows this.
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.
Education was a key to a diverse and cultural society. DuBois is a well-respected intellectual. and leaders, working to reach goals of education and peaceful resolutions. between the races and classes. DuBois felt that the black leadership, of Booker T. Washington, was too.
During the late 19th and early 20th century, racial injustice was very prominent and even wildly accepted in the South. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois were two of the most renowned “pioneers in the [search] for African-American equality in America” (Washington, DuBois, and the Black Future). Washington was “born a slave” who highly believed in the concept of “separate but equal,” meaning that “we can be as [distant] as the fingers, yet one as the hand in all things essential to mutual progress” (Washington 1042). DuBois was a victim of many “racial problems before his years as a student” and disagreed with Washington’s point of view, which led
When talking about the history of African-Americans at the turn of the twentieth century, two notable names cannot be left out; Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois. They were both African-American leaders in the late 1800’s to early 1900’s, fighting for social justice, education and civil rights for slaves, and both stressed education. This was a time when blacks were segregated and discriminated against. Both these men had a vision to free blacks from this oppression. While they came from different backgrounds, Washington coming from a plantation in Virginia where he was a slave, and Du Bois coming from a free home in Massachusetts, they both experienced the heavy oppression blacks were under in this Post-Civil War society. Booker T. Washington and W.E.B Du Bois were both pioneers in striving to obtain equality for blacks, yet their ways of achieving this equality were completely different. W.E.B Du Bois is the more celebrated figure today since he had the better method because it didn’t give the whites any power, and his method was intended to achieve a more noble goal than Washington’s.
W.E.B. DuBois attempted to tell African Americans what they should learn throughout schooling. He thought academics were of the utmost importance in order for African Americans to exist socially in society. Through academic schooling, he thought that 10 percent of the African American society would succeed and move on to become doctors, lawyers, politicians, etc.; they were called “the talented ten.” The subject material that would advance their learning would consist of the “trivium” and the “quadrivium.” The...
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.
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
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.
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