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Essay Subject: Critiques W.E.B. Dubois' concept of "talented tenth" who will lead black community to prosperity, changing leadership patterns, socioeconomics, role of women.... More...

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Paper Abstract: Critiques W.E.B. Dubois' concept of "talented tenth" who will lead black community to prosperity, changing leadership patterns, socioeconomics, role of women. Paper Introduction: W. E. B. DU BOIS' TALENTED TENTH AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN LEADERSHIP This research paper summarizes the concept of African-American leadership contained in W. E. B. Du Bois' 1903 article 'The Talented Tenth' and examines its contemporary relevance in the light of the evolution of that leadership during the rest of the 20th century. Du Bois looked to an emerging educated and cultured class of African-American leaders to lift up the black masses from their deteriorating condition and status in America at the turn of the century. Du Bois' faith in education as the solution to racial discrimination and his abiding pride in his race played a seminal role in shaping the leadership of the early civil rights struggle, but they proved to be inadequate and unrealistic bases for mobilizing mass support. With their civil rights largely secured, current generations Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cornell West. In 197 one in tenAfrican-Americans attended college; in 1995 one in three (19). New York: Columbia UP, 1998.Myrdahl, Gunnar. The Promised Land The Great Black Migration and How It Changed America. While Du Bois himself strongly identified with theNegro soul, West says that he, too, "found it difficult not to view commonblack folks as 'some' degraded 'other' or 'alien'" (59). Ed. B. Hinepointed out that since the late African American women's clubs have playedimportant roles in social work and community affairs. E. According to Gates, "the size ofthe black middle class- . so that they could become "thegroup leader, the man who sets the ideals of the community where he lives,directs its thoughts and leads its social movements" (The Negro 54). W. He said "the economic problem weighed downthe black upward mobility toward economic parity that the civil rightsmovement promised but could not deliver" (382). . . Cruse said "the racial democratizationfollowing the impact of Brown [v. New York: Henry Holt, 1915, 33-75.Dubois, W. Cruse summarized the problems of African-Americans in inner-cityghettos as follows: "lower-class poverty, black-on black crime,degenerating educational facilities, incremental family pathologies,mounting teen-age pregnancy rates, paternal absenteeism" (369). "'In the Kingdom of Culture:' Black Women and the Intersection of Race, Gender, and Class." Lure and Loathing Essays on Race, Identity, and the Ambivalence of Assimilation. Showing My Color Impolite Essays on Race and Identity. New York: Knopf, 1996. B. intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledgeof the world that was and is, and of the relation of man to it" (The Negro33-34). "The Talented Tenth." The Negro Problem. E. Du Bois was not against practicaltraining, but "the object of all true education is not to make mencarpenters, it is to make carpenters men," how to "strengthen the Negro'scharacter [and] increase his knowledge" (The Negro 63 and 57). (19 3). Du Bois' faith in education as the solution toracial discrimination and his abiding pride in his race played a seminalrole in shaping the leadership of the early civil rights struggle, but theyproved to be inadequate and unrealistic bases for mobilizing mass support. . More practical leaders had to temper that idealism withpragmatism; nevertheless, the moral justification for the African Americancause in America helped forged black unity and gained white liberal supportduring the campaign for abolition of slavery and the successful civilrights movement of the 195 s and 196 s. According to Du Bois, "theproblem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line" (TheSouls, 221). According to his reading of history,"it is, ever was and ever will be from the top downward that culturefilters. .electoral politics, not community organizing" (348). . African-Americanwomen such as Ida Wells made major contributions to the NAACP and theNiagara movement founded by Du Bois. Women are likely to play an even more prominentrole in African American leadership in the future. Hnry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cornell West. "Parable of the Talents." The Future of the Race. Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Cornell West. 53-112.----------------------- 9 sometimes feelgreat difficulty in identifying themselves with the Negro masses whosespokesmen they are . The instruments of change would be "teachers and teachers ofteachers" who "must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of cultureamong their people" (The Negro 58 and 75). New York: Avon Books, 1965. B. Theprominent role played by women in organizations like the Black Caucus andcommunity groups may presage their taking an expanded leadership role inmovements for greater social activism on behalf of the African Americanunderclass. New York, Knopf, 1996.Hine, Dudley Clark. Ed. primarily because of affirmative action-has quadrupled, doubling in the 198 s alone" (xi). Race pride hasbeen translated by a significant segment of African-American leaders in acontinuum of black nationalist movements stretching from Marcus Garvey inthe 192 s through the Nation of Islam, the Black Muslims and the currentmovement led by Louis Farakhan. As Du Bois pointed out, therewere less than 3, Negro college graduates in the United States in 19 3(The Negro 66). According to Myrdahl, "the Negro upper class . Du Bois agreed with Booker Washington's emphasis on Negro self-helpbut, said Franklin, "seriously doubted his wisdom [in accepting the whiteseparate but equal doctrine] and even his integrity" (xi). Even the most effective African-Americanleader of the century, Dr. King, was criticized by Ella Baker, a directorof the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), for his"charismatic style and the patriarchal, hierarchical politics of the SCLC"(Marable xv). This grouphas legitimate complaints about continuing discrimination in employment,housing and other areas; but the greatest challenge facing African-Americanleadership is the desperate plight of the masses who have not participatedin the general prosperity and in fact have fallen further behind. Black Leadership. Don Belton. New York: Morrow, 1987.Dubois, W. New York: Avon Books, 1965.Gates, Henry Louis, Jr. Current Challenges Faced by African American Leaders As a result of the successes achieved by the civil rights movement,Page said "black people can now go anywhere they choose, as long as theycan pay the bill when they get there" (7). Boston: Beacon P, 1995. E. He identified The Talented Tenth as "the best and most capable oftheir youth [who] must be schooled . "The Sexual Diversion: Black Man/ Black Woman Debate in Context." (I Speak My Name) Black Men on Masculinity and the American Dream. Three Negro Classics. In recent decades, African American women havespoken out on these subjects. They were brutally exploited sexually as slaves.Practically all black political elites since have been male-dominated. New York: HarperCollins, 1996.West, Cornell. Plural But Equal Blacks and Minorities in America's Plural Society. . In my youth and idealism, I did not realize thatselfishness is even more natural than idealism" (The Talented TenthMemorial 161). The Talented Tenth rises and pulls all that are worth the savingup to their vantage ground" (The Negro 45). E. According toLemann, "the clear lesson of experience is that ghetto development hasn'tworked;" and most middle class African Americans are more interested in"leaving the ghettos, not improving them; with finding work in bigorganizations, not in inner-city startups; with participating in . . rather than racial democracy in economics, politics, cultureand education for blacks" (2 2). With their civil rights largely secured, current generations ofAfrican American leaders are faced with the challenge of translating middleclass gains into broader socioeconomic opportunities for African Americans.New types of African American leadership have been emerging, includingwomen, but since the assassination of Dr. Martin King in 1968, no clearpattern has as yet emerged. African-Americans have had a difficult time gaining influence among the unions,some of whom such as the construction unions, flirted with Reaganism duringthe 198 s. Leaders from DuBois, whose Talented Tenth were all men, to Farakhan with his Million ManMarch in 1995 have neglected that resource. John Hope Franklin. Du Bois' 19 3 article 'The Talented Tenth'and examines its contemporary relevance in the light of the evolution ofthat leadership during the rest of the 2 th century. New York: Harper & Row, 1944.Page, Clarence. Changing Character of African-American Leadership The leadership of the African-American community has traditionallysince emancipation been elitist in nature and has often been dominated bycharismatic figures. Marable said the number of African-Americans among black unionleaders has increased and that the percentage of African Americans, who areunion members, has increased while the percentage of white unionists hasdeclined (189). . E. Conservatives such as Thomas Sowell, Justice Clarence Thomas andothers emphasize black self-help through private initiative, much in thetradition of Washington. "Black Strivings in a Twilight Civilization." The Future of the Race. Du Bois' concept of the Talented Tenth is highly elitist, but thatwas inevitable in the context of the times. 144-154.Cruse, Harold. Du Bois' article on the Talented Tenth reflected his youthfulidealism. 1-52.Gates, Henry Louis, Jr., and Cornell West. "The Souls of Black Folk." (19 3). Boston: Beacon P, 1995.Bell, Derrick. Because of the importance of religion as a mainstayduring their sufferings, "as political leaders, the black clergy wasusually the primary spokesperson for the black community, especially duringperiods of crisis" (Marable xiii). Page said Alice Walker's novel, The ColorPurple, "portrayed black women supporting one another through the trialsand tribulations of black male brutality" (15). The basic difficulty facing African-American liberal leaders is lackof public support for expensive social welfare programs. . Inequalityof income and wealth in America have increased since the 197 s, especiallyamong urban African-Americans. Du Bois' Talented Ten Du Bois said "the Negro race, like all races, is going to saved byits exceptional men" (The Negro 33). 159-177.Early, Gerald (Ed.). Jesse Jackson who combines a blend of traditional social welfareprograms with his Rainbow Coalition, an attempt to join forces with theunions and other disadvantaged minorities such as Hispanics. New York: Random House, 1992.Marable, Manning. New York: Knopf, 1996. Three NegroClassics. It is essential to our strength" (1 8). Jackson himselfappears to be a wealthy black celebrity rather than a social crusader forthe cause of impoverished African Americans. . "The Talented Tenth Memorial Address, 1948." The Future of the Race. . The Negro upper classes largely consisted ofbusinessmen whose revenues were largely dependent on white clientele.Myrdahl commented that "in the twenty years between the two World Wars thegeneral level of the education of the American Negro has becomeconsiderably higher" (1 5). An American Dilemma Volume II The Negro Problem and American Democracy. . in private they are often the severest critics ofthe Negro masses" (7 3). New York: Penguin P, 1993. Works CitedBelton, Don (Ed.). Bell pointed out "black women bear much of black male frustration andrepressed rage" (148). 337-351.Lemann, Nicholas. B. He said that in 195 five percent of black workers were professionals or managers, but in 1995,they accounted for was more than 2 percent (19). . The key to overcoming racial discrimination and securing fullcivil rights for Negroes was education. Board of Education (1954)] ultimatelyresulted in the hastening of class stratification within the black minoritygroup . Du Bois looked to anemerging educated and cultured class of African-American leaders to lift upthe black masses from their deteriorating condition and status in Americaat the turn of the century. Conclusion: Comment on the Role of African-American Women Hine said "from the outset black women encountered an America thatdenied their humanity, debased their femininity and refused them self-possession" (337). Their training must be broad andhumanist, teaching "manhood . . Farakhan's social program is essentially conservative. New York: Knopf, 1996. Lure and Loathing Essays on Race, Identity, and the Ambivalence of Assimilation. They pioneered in opening upnursing, social work, and teaching to black women. Baker argued that it was time "to promote the development of 'group-centered leaders' rather than 'leader-centered groups'" (Marable xv). 3 9-387.Dubois, W. According to Page,"breaking the silencing of black women is not a source of weakness for theblack community. B. Although Du Bois was later to embracenotions of 'a nation within a nation' and Pan-Africanism, he was intenselypatriotic in his youth, as in his eloquent conclusion to his article on'The Souls of Black Folk' where he asserts that Negroes had as much rightas whites to claim based on their sacrifices an American birthright (387). DU BOIS' TALENTED TENTH AND AFRICAN-AMERICAN LEADERSHIP This research paper summarizes the concept of African-Americanleadership contained in W. The liberal answer is the type of black leadership personified by theRev. Franklin noted that "educational opportunities for Negroeswere quite limited, with segregated schools in the South suffering fromwanton discrimination in the allocation of public funds and with strugglingdenominational schools inadequately supported by their Northernbenefactors" (vii). Reactionaries point to the bogus findings of theBell Curve which allegedly demonstrate that blacks and other minorities dopoorly on IQ tests reflecting genetic defects which no social programs canremedy. Women more than proportionately tookadvantage of educational opportunities. The Future of the Race. In commenting in 1948, he said "I assumed that with knowledge,sacrifice would follow. New York: Penguin P, 1993.Franklin, John Hope. (I Speak My Name) Black Men on Masculinity and The American Dream. Yet he observed that relatively few Negroescould be considered well off by 1944: "the Negro middle and upper classesare more than proportionately smaller than the lower class" (691). 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