The Talented Tenth Society
W.E.B. Du Bois focused on the idea of education, intertwined with a heightened sense of morality, as the pathway to develop a leadership class of Black Americans during Reconstruction. Du Bois believed that the top intellectuals and artists of the race had a responsibility to use their talents and earned positions in society to elevate the race in social and economic standing.
"The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men," he wrote in his 1903 essay, The Talented Tenth. "If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make technical skill the object of education, we may possess artisans but not, in nature, men. Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools—intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the world that was and is, and of the relation of men to it."
Du Bois was, at the time, a professor at Atlanta University—the first Black graduate institution in the U.S. While most schools established to educate free and freed Blacks in the country focused around specific vocations (mostly farming, seminary, teaching, and nursing), Atlanta University and neighboring Clark College were in the business of training thinkers in the liberal arts. The colleges merged on 1988 to form Clark Atlanta University.
This idea of a responsibility to cultivate a Black leadership class founded as much on talent as on character undergirds our programmatic work. Join us in our journey to develop the next generation of leaders!
"The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by its exceptional men," he wrote in his 1903 essay, The Talented Tenth. "If we make money the object of man-training, we shall develop money-makers but not necessarily men; if we make technical skill the object of education, we may possess artisans but not, in nature, men. Men we shall have only as we make manhood the object of the work of the schools—intelligence, broad sympathy, knowledge of the world that was and is, and of the relation of men to it."
Du Bois was, at the time, a professor at Atlanta University—the first Black graduate institution in the U.S. While most schools established to educate free and freed Blacks in the country focused around specific vocations (mostly farming, seminary, teaching, and nursing), Atlanta University and neighboring Clark College were in the business of training thinkers in the liberal arts. The colleges merged on 1988 to form Clark Atlanta University.
This idea of a responsibility to cultivate a Black leadership class founded as much on talent as on character undergirds our programmatic work. Join us in our journey to develop the next generation of leaders!
Teen societies
Designed to affirm Black teens in their identities and expose them to a bevy of social experiences, as well as academic and career pathways, our young men's and young women's societies are the Talented Tenth Society's flagship programs. Click the image below to read or download our program booklet.
AppLications for the first cohort are now open!
Black Student Union
As part of our work with the Black Pfamilies Network, we partner as sponsors of the Black Student Union. The Black Student Union is led by young people who work to fill social and academic voids in their schools and come together to build community for Black students across the city.
Events
Teens Speak: Black Lives Matter - February 23 For more information or to register visit the Black Pfamilies Network event page.
