On The Talented Tenth...

"You misjudge us because you do not know us." - W.E.B. DuBois

This one will probably be a long one. Just some forewarning...

I have never been one to encourage elitism, to feel as though I am better than another as a person, to judge others based on something trivial, or to look down upon others upon a pedestal of any kind. Yet, I am a self-described "Uppity Negro" and sometimes like to think that I am a part of DuBois' dream of The Talented Tenth.

Let me explain the seeming discrepancy here...

As a student of African-American Studies, I have had a longstanding affair with DuBois. I have loved him since I've known of him. I believe he was one of the best voices emerging from the Black community. He had a plan for the American Negro, and yet we have fallen away from the desired outcome of bettering ourselves by using each other. In the essay that serves as the inspiration for my blog title, DuBois describes the advancement of the Negro through the liberal education of what he deemed "The Talented Tenth". These are the leaders of the Black community who would lead the way to both equality and success for the race.

I know what you're thinking, and yes, you're right, that does sound a little bit...elitist, right? But hear me out.

DuBois did not place this onus on a group of American Negros because the race could only produce this many successes. He applied this idea to every race, each needing the education, ingenuity, and talent of a select few. DuBois desired to create a race of "men" as opposed to the race of laborers desired by Booker T. Washington.

I genuinely have nothing against manual labor or blue-collar work. It's what America was built up with. But I do have a problem with a political leader saying that a group of people attempting to shake of the stigma of slavery should turn to whatever employment available "just to get by". Washington attempted to appease the concerns of White America through his message of "cast down your bucket where you are" and that something that rubs me the wrong way.

No, I'm not that militant...I don't think.

Seriously though, I have nothing against people. I love people. People are what make life fun most of the time. Yet, I cannot help but cringe when people believe that racism does not exist today, that everything in the past should stay in the past, that we have made it to some magical "color blind" place in the world. I don't think we have, but I also don't go on a hunt for "The Man", seeking little instances of racism just because I can. A wise person once told me that if you look hard enough for something, you'll find it. And who really wants to go knocking on the door of racism?

So where does that put the uppity brown skinned, afro having, soul loving, neo-Pan-Africanist like me?

Well, it puts me in the position to try to do what hasn't quite been fulfilled yet in the Black community. Globally folks, not just here in these parts. See, I believe there's something to this idea of Black unity, but I don't want anyone hitting me up looking for a Marcus Garvey type... I'm more of a one-love-flower-child, not a let's-all-get-back-on-the-boat-person.

Because I can't swim that well just yet. Oh, and I don't think it's cool to just try to export all the non-African Black people to Africa and displace millions of people... We all saw how well that went in the Middle East.

But there is a need for improvement around the world. And I don't think this is limited to Black people, either. But we have something of a special case here in the United States. We just elected our first Black President. We have a Black First Family, which makes me think of the first families that walked this planet...

They started in Africa. A lot of knowledge has come from the epicenter of the proverbial Motherland. History has not been kind to her, but the good thing is that we aren't out of time. I'm going to use my talents as best I can to better what I was given. Along the way, I've chosen to go the route of the scholar/intellectual because I'm not the craftsperson or the engineer. We are all needed, but some of us won't answer the call.

So what do you think? Will you be a part of that fraction that changes things for the better?

"Men of America, the problem is plain before you. Here is a race transplanted through the criminal foolishness of your fathers. Whether you like it or not the millions are here, and here they will remain. If you do not lift them up, they will pull you down. Education and work are the levers to uplift a people. Work alone will not do it unless inspired by the right ideals and guided by intelligence. Education must not simply teach work it must teach Life. The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people. No others can do this work and Negro colleges must train men for it. The Negro race, like all other races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men."