The Talented Tenth, By Booker T. Washington

These occupations included: “blacksmithing, wheelwrighting, carpentering, printing and building, shoe and harness making, [and] masonry” (Document G). He did not want the Blacks to have to perform slave-like work as it was grueling and was not really a life. Washington states that “no time is wasted on dead languages or superfluous studies of any kind. What is practical, what will best fit these young people for the work of life” (Document G). By saying this, Washington would settle for whatever trade job the Blacks were able to be hired for, just as long as the whites and Blacks were guaranteed the same privileges. Although he was appealing to both races, Washington had many critics saying that by going with his philosophy of gradually gaining social equality for Blacks, he allowed white supremacy to be present in society for a longer amount of time, which was not ideal. One critic remarks in Document H that “he [Washington] knows by sad experience that industrial education will not stand him in place of political, civil and intellectual liberty” (Document H). By saying this, the critic believed that Washington was not fighting for Blacks to receive a higher education because he himself knew that the highest possible placement for Blacks that wanted a form of education was in a trade school. In addition, he exclaimed that by attending these trade schools,

The school system in the country districts of the South is a disgrace and in few towns and cities are Negro schools what ought to be...and...when we call for education we mean real education,” he effectively made his audience view the logic in his claim about racial equality with a specific emphasis on the education of adults and more specifically children (DuBois 2). Mr. DuBois, being the well-educated man that he was, understood that by presenting his claim of educational importance in a logically and sound way, his audience would be exponentially more likely to agree with his view and act on his cause, which is exactly what transpired after his speech. In Mr. Washington’s attempt to persuade his audience in favor of educating the African American population, he chose to appeal to his perverse audience 's sense of desire and ambition. He stated that by “casting down [their] bucket among many people, helping and encouraging them as [they] are doing on these grounds, and to education of head, hand, and heart, [they] will find that [African Americans] will buy [their] surplus land, make blossom the waste of places in [their] fields, and run [their] factories” (Washington 2). In stating his claim the way he did, he hoped that his audience, which was comprised primarily of white, land-owning southerners, would realize the possible economic benefits that would result from educating the black population, and that their innate desire for material wealth would drive them to

DuBois stresses the importance of education amongst the black race. He believes that African Americans should be educated in order to guide and

W.E.B. DuBois, a black intellectual believed that Washington's strategy would only serve to perpetuate white oppression. DuBois initially advocated for Washington's strategy, however he grew to find it unacceptable as he became more outspoken about racial injustice. DuBois campaigned for a civil rights agenda and argued that educated blacks could accomplish social change. With the belief that African Americans should work together to battle inequality DuBois helped found the NAACP. DuBois was not content with attempting to gain an economic foothold; he wanted absolute equality in all aspects of life. DuBois believed that Washington "devalued the study of liberal arts, and ignored the economic exploitation of the black masses. He believed that "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.' [which] 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." He believed that the economic and political issues facing African Americans could be solved if the most talented ten

Anna Julia Cooper, bell hooks, and Patricia Hill Collins as each intellectual carries (or carried) on the work of the Talented Tenth. This research will include a discussion of Cooper's educational work as well as her speaking career; in both areas she advocated equal education opportunities for Black women. The central concern of DuBois' theory, his advocacy for education and the creation of an upper class of Blacks, was thus promoted by Cooper through these vehicles. I will demonstrate that Collins and hooks, educators as well as members of a contemporary Talented Tenth, are

It was not abnormal for an ex slave to continue to live on the same plantation he’d spent his life farming. These plantations were the only homes most slaves knew and thus were a safety zone despite the mistreatment many had received there. Though they spent the beginning of their free lives in the same places they spent the end of their slave lives, nearly every freedman’s life was changed by their new rights. The most important of these changes was the education the freedman could now receive. Rumored to be the biggest most important aspect of civilization, education was the ultimate goal to the slaves. The law that prohibited the education of slaves only increased their thirst for knowledge. When they finally were taught professionally, they took it more seriously than many of their white counterparts. Education was not simply a pastime or a necessary evil to the Freedman, but an object to be yearned for, and treasured when

Everyone has a contribution in this world to make, even African Americans. DuBois continually stressed this to his fellow black community in his book The Souls of Black Folk. What they learn in schools will help the students determine what they will do further in life. If they choose to be the “talented ten” and choose academics, the black world will need them. African Americans need other African Americans to fill all occupations that a white man would. “Who

“Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome”. Brooker T. Washington was born into slavery on April 5,1856 in Hale, Ford Virginia. Brooker T. Washington mother was a black plantation cook, while his father was a white man who he did not know. During the 19th century slaves were not able to receive the same rights as whites by going to school in gain an education. At age 9, Brooker T. Washington and other slaves in the south was set free due to the emancipation proclamation. After, analyzing “Up from Slavery” by Brooker T. Washington, one can argue that Washington advocate for blacks gaining an education to learn a trade to stay under white supremacy of labor.

Racial discrimination, political, social and economic inequality during the late 19th century and early 20th century led various leaders within the black community to rise up and address the appalling circumstances that African Americans were forced to endure. Among these leaders were Booker T. Washington and W.E.B. DuBois whom possessed analogous desires as it pertained to the advancement and upliftment of the black race. While both individuals were fighting for the same cause and purpose they embraced contrary ideologies and approaches to African American struggle. In Booker T. Washington’s book “Up from Slavery” African Americans were encouraged to be passive and focus on vocational education whereas in W.E.B. DuBois book “The Souls of Black Folk”, African Americans were encouraged to fight for their merited rights and focus on academic education. However, although Washington was convinced that his ideologies would sincerely uplift the black race, they actually proved to be detrimental, leaving DuBois ideology to be the most reasonable and appropriate solution for the advancement of the black race.

In “struggle for an education,” Booker T. Washington shows his determination to get an education. “I remembered only that I was on fire constantly with one ambition.” Going to Hampton, this thought with him day and night. “By walking, begging for rides both

The extent to how much Washington desired for the blacks to respect and seek ways of being productive members of society by applying industrial knowledge as part of their day-to-day occupation is clear from his works. This concept applies to today's society in many ways. For sure, much importance has been put on the requirement for young people to concentrate on procuring professional educations, even to the degree of this act being a detriment to their born abilities and gifts. It must be comprehended that there are numerous ways of becoming a gainful individual in our society, and these ways must be considered. As such, training should not just be considered as an instrument of empowering one to become educated in the areas of science, arithmetic, writing and reading, but also as an apparatus for encouraging the profitability of human

Washington prioritized economic and educational advancement over political and social equality. For instance, Washington turned down the opportunity to speak to a canvass about the interests of the city. The aesthetic and dignity of labor intrigued Washington. As a leader of the Tuskegee Institute, Washington’s desire to educate African American community in the direction of industrial services was an accomplishment to him. Political and social equality was not his desire and felt his desire to educate was for other purposes. Washington taught a group of Indians and a night school for poor people, to increase the ambition for people to gain an education. During slavery, Washington believed African Americans gained more skills than white people.

Although this passage provides a less direct approach in addressing the power of education, the text still contains critical information about the complex legacy of slavery. Malcolm notes the destruction of slave history through brainwashing African Americans themselves has been an effective way of enforcing white privilege. Similarly, DuBois articulates the “bright ideals of the past..” were not wrong but “over-simple and incomplete, - the fond imaginings of the other world which does not know and does not want to know our power.” Both DuBois and Malcolm emphasize on a hidden part of a grand story that has been lost to the degradation of black culture and the rise of white privilege. The fear that the knowledge will hold too much power, too much information fueled the common incentive to keep these slaves ignorant.

The Talented Tenth was believe that if the top 10% the best and brightest African Americans could be afforded the opportunity to receive higher education then through their education and establishment of success would create the trickledown effect and advances the other 90% of the race to gain knowledge. Du Bois concept was a belief that the strong should survive and only those who are willing and able should be trained, educated and pulled up to the next level. However, he believed that leadership could arise at any level and the grassroots efforts would lead to social change. As the educated became fathers and mothers they would be able to influence not only their children but their communities. Du Bois states “Education

Booker T. Washington was born a slave in Franklin County, Virginia, in 1856 and was a social advocate for the industrial education of Blacks after slavery, which he thought that it would lead to economic change in Black communities and bring them upward mobility in America. In one of Washington’s most famous autobiographies Up From Slavery, he tells his life story of when he was educated in Hampton University and when he was a teacher at Tuskegee. In this document analysis of Booker T. Washington’s autobiography Up From Slavery, Washington experiences the obstacles Blacks have at receiving an education like the poverty they face in their communities and the inefficient resources to build schools, which leads to his ideology of advocating for an industrial education for Blacks because he believes that an industrial education will free Blacks from poverty in the United States.