Will the Talented Tenth Please Stand Up

In the wake of Katrina, all of the analysis of what went wrong, and the commentary from the talking heads, I've had the opportunity to think (how dangerous), and marinate on some things. Would the conditions of those blacks in New Orleans after the storm been to the extent that they were if there existed true black leadership. In other words, if Martin and Malcolm were living, would things have been as bad as there were, in terms of the lack of organization, financial support and execution of a solid plan to get those folk out of there? I wonder. Both men had the amazing power to unite and mobilize the masses to action. Picture, immediately after the storm, either gentlemen, calling a press conference and requesting assistance from any and all. As I watched the press conference, I could see myself, dropping the remote, rising from the couch, calling my posse, and hitting the road to answer the call. No disrespect to Jesse, Al or Louis, but they do not have that type of power or following. This leads to my next thought, will there ever be any true leadership in the black community? Will there ever be a uniting of black people for a common cause, or have we been divided and conquered already? Just wondering, what if?

In 1903, W.E.B. DuBois, wrote The Talented Tenth. Below are a few excerpts from it, and my commentary. What do you think? "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." First, I do not think DuBois intended to exclude women from the equation. Today, there is no doubt that women are doing the damn thing and are likely a great majority within the talented tenth. It is his contention that those educated blacks will be the ones to take charge and lead. How do we identify these educated individuals? How do we charge them with such a mission? Must they accept such a challenge? How many people have you talked with regarding Katrina who said they were angry because they felt helpless in their desire to help? "If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men;" Is it safe to say that today, those who have been educated, have forgotten about the charge because they are consumed with their own desire to come up? "The Talented Tenth rises and pulls all that are worth the saving up to their vantage ground. This is the history of human progress; and the two historic mistakes which have hindered that progress were the thinking first that no more could ever rise save the few already risen; or second, that it would better the uprisen to pull the risen down." I need not even comment. Re-read that and marinate on it a bit..... "All men cannot go to college but some men must; every isolated group or nation must have its yeast," This was in 1903, are you the first to attend college, graduate from college, or attend graduate school in your family "illustrate vividly the function of the college-bred Negro. He is, as he ought to be, the group leader, the man who sets the ideals of the community where he lives, directs its thoughts and heads its social movements. It need hardly be argued that the Negro people need social leadership more than most groups; that they have no traditions to fall back upon, no long established customs, no strong family ties, no well defined social classes. All these things must be slowly and painfully evolved." These educated individuals are not answering the call. Ever lose your cell phone, and it's on vibrate, so you call it from the house phone, you can hear it vibrating, but you just can't figure out where it is coming from so you can answer it. This may not be the best example, but I know you get my point. We see how f'd up things are in the black community, but I assert, most folk don't even know e where the start. Could this why the Talented Tenth have been silent? "The preacher was, even before the war, the group leader of the Negroes, and the church their greatest social institution. Naturally this preacher was ignorant and often immoral, and the problem of replacing the older type by better educated men has been a difficult one." Damn, was he in Memphis when he wrote this. We got three churches on every four corners, and the communities are still f'd up. " 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." If you do not lift them up, they will pull you down....what! Senseless black on black crime occurring everyday in this country. I must again add my disclaimer that it must be saved by both exceptional men and women, no doubt. So when does the movement start? When will the Talented Tenth Step up? I'm waiting.......

If you want to read The Talented Tenth in its entirety, http://teachingamericanhistory.org/library/index.asp?document=174