The Talented Tenth is a concept most famously espoused by African American educator and writer W.E.B. Du Bois. Articulated in his 1903 article The Negro Problem, it states, “The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men. The problem of education, then among Negroes must first of all deal with the Talented Tenth; it is the problem of developing the best of this race that they may guide the mass away from the contamination and death of the worst, in their own and other races.”
These individuals comprising the Talented Tenth, such as doctors, teachers, lawyers, ministers, and professionals, would contribute to the uplift of the entire race as they disseminated their knowledge. This was a reality all throughout American history, Du Bois explained: “from the very first it has been the educated and intelligent of the Negro people that have led and elevated the mass, and the sole obstacles that nullified and retarded their efforts were slavery and race prejudice.”
The ideal education, Du Bois argued, was a classical liberal arts one; an overemphasis on trade schools would, he believed, perpetually doom the black race to second-class citizenship. However, he did believe that industrial and technical schools were also important if they went beyond mere teaching of skills. He explained, “I am an earnest advocate of manual training and trade teaching for black boys, and for white boys, too. I believe that next to the founding of Negro colleges the most valuable addition to Negro education since the war has been industrial training for black boys. Nevertheless, I insist that the object of all true education is not to make men carpenters, it is to make carpenters men…”
Charles Chesnutt’s works, especially “The Wife of His Youth,” exemplify aspects of the Talented Tenth idea. Mr. Ryder and the Blue Veins perfectly encapsulate the lifestyle, ethos, and prejudices found in Du Bois’s piece.
To conclude, the concept was and is not without its critics. American Passages sums up these views thusly: “While Du Bois intended his plan to benefit all African Americans, the theory of the Talented Tenth has obvious problematic implications. The elevation of an elite segment of African American society with special access to opportunities and resources would create sharp distinctions and classes within the community as a whole, and the belief that only a small group has the potential to make important contributions is profoundly anti-democratic.”
