Talented tenth
It appeared in The Negro Problem, a collection of essays written by leading African Americans and assembled by Booker T.
Du Bois wrote The Talented Tenth; Theodore Roosevelt was president of the United States and industrialization was skyrocketing.
He saw classical education as the pathway to bettering the Black community and as a 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, the 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.
[4]In his later life, Du Bois came to believe that leadership could arise on many levels, and grassroots efforts were also important to social change.
This revision was an attempt to democratize the thesis by forming alliances and friendships with other minority groups that also sought to better their conditions in society.
It reimagined the concept of black leadership from "The Talented Tenth" by combining racial, cultural, political, and economic ideologies.
Both "The Talented Tenth" and "The Guiding Hundredth" exhibit the idea that a plan for political action would need to be evident in order to continue to speak to large populations of black people.
"[8] The concept of the "Talented Tenth" and the responsibilities assigned to it by Du Bois have been received both positively and negatively by contemporary critics.
Positively, some argue that current generations of college-educated African Americans abide by Du Bois' prescriptions by sacrificing their personal interests to lead and better their communities.
On the other hand, some argue that current generations of college educated African Americans should not abide by Du Bois' prescriptions, and should indeed pursue their own private interest.
Advocates of Du Bois' ideals believe that African Americans have lost sight of the importance of uplifting their communities.
[2] Therefore, these advocates believe that modern-day members of the "Talented Tenth" should still bear responsibility to use their education to help the African American community, which continues to suffer the effects of racial discrimination.
Furthermore, many of Du Bois' original texts, including The Talented Tenth, receive feminist criticism for exclusively using the word "man", as if only African American men could seek out a college education.
