A Message for Humanity

Abstract

Abstract This chapter challenges long-standing and conventional notions about the meaning Du Bois gave to his concept of the Talented Tenth. He borrowed this concept and embraced it as a conceptual framework for his peculiar vision of Black cultural self-realization. In general, cultural self-realization meant the recognition and stewardship of the philosophical, literary, and aesthetic values made evident in Black folk culture. Unfortunately, scholars and pundits alike conflated Du Bois’s Talented Tenth concept with his general philosophy of Black education. Over time it became commonplace to contrast Du Bois’s Talented Tenth concept against Booker T. Washington’s industrial education philosophy, always maintaining that Washington envisioned industrial education for the masses while Du Bois advocated liberal education for a select few. This essay, while paying brief attention to Du Bois’s philosophy of general education, aims primarily at restoring the meaning Du Bois gave to his concept of the Talented Tenth to its proper historical context: his lifelong struggle to achieve Black cultural equality.