The Gift of Black Folk

William Edward Burghardt (W.E.B.) Du Bois describes the contributions that Americans of African heritage have made to the development of the United States in this book. It was first published in 1924. The author popularized the phrase The Talented Tenth in 1903, six years after becoming a professor at Clark University in Atlanta. This ten percent of what was then termed the "Negro" population consisted of educated men and women who would strive to improve the lives of their less sophisticated brethren.. W.E.B. Du Bois was well educated, the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard. The Talented Tenth has now expanded beyond the halfway mark. He later modified this elitist strategy to recognize that higher education is not prerequisite for effective leadership. The Gift of Black Folk: The Negroes in the Making of America brieflychronicles the lives of scores of African Americans who were mostly denied the benefits of a university education. Despite this, African American culture is intrinsic to American culture, as is the popular culture of most of world.

The Knights of Columbus sponsored the publication of this work. Catholics were experiencing discrimination in the early twentieth century. Later in this century a Catholic was elected president of the United States. Early in the twenty-first century an African American occupied the Oval Office. Irish-Americans have assimilated to the point where they may all now be regarded as lace-curtain Irish. Black Americans, however, continue to be subjected to discrimination and abuse. There is no rational explanation for this national division based on the "color line" (a term invented by Du Bois). The Gift of Black Folk continues to enlighten those who choose to invest the time it takes to read it. For far too many it will remain a closed book, for they cherish their prejudices and misconceptions.

Dettagli