The Talented Tenth

The most important theme in “The Talented Tenth” is educational policy. In 1903 the legacy of slavery and aftermath of the Civil War still dominated African American life, especially since many African Americans (such as Booker T. Washington) were former slaves. African Americans had, for the most part, been denied education of any kind until after 1865. In Du Bois’s time, education was seen by virtually all Black people as a vital element in the improvement of their condition. Several African American colleges were founded in the years after the Civil War, but the number of students and graduates lagged what was needed to lead African Americans to full participation in American society. Du Bois’s views on this issue echo previous examinations of the role of education, most directly that of Henry Lyman Morehouse and the American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS). Morehouse’s treatment of this issue was published under the same title “The Talented Tenth” in 1896. He argues that only the college education of the most talented African Americans will produce an improvement in Black social reality. Such well-educated persons will naturally assume leadership roles in society. This theme is announced in the title, the first sentence, and the last sentence of Du Bois’s essay.