TY - GEN T1 - The Relevance and Redefining of Du Bois's Talented Tenth: Two Centuries Later T2 - Redefining Du Bois's Talented Tenth AU - King, L'Monique AB - In 1903, philosopher and scholar William Edward Burghardt “W.E.B.” Du Bois expanded upon the concept of “Talented Tenth,” a term coined in an essay [circa 1896] by Reverend Henry Lyman Morehouse, minister and member of American Baptist Home Mission Society (ABHMS). Garnering greater attention, Du Bois’s essay on Negro education, entitled “The Talented Tenth,” focused on a segment of the entire American Negro population instead of Morehouse’s inspiration of a fraction of the men of Augusta Institute (later renamed Morehouse College). From its conception, Du Bois’s essay would be scrutinized for its practicality and perceived endorsement of elitism while conversely being used as a prescription for the success of Negro America. The ensuing era of change has taken African Americans from a past of American chattel slavery to a present of Harvard graduate Barak Obama’s momentous and unprecedented second inauguration as President of the United States on Martin Luther King Day (1/21/2013). This paper examines the relevance and necessity of applying Du Bois’s theory at the time it was written as well as within a current and more modern-day context in order to gain better insight and perspective on how applicable the “Talented Tenth” theory is today to fostering Black achievement. KW - Redefining KW - African Americans KW - Abolishionist KW - Harvard University KW - Black Culture KW - President Obama KW - WEB Du Bois KW - Martin Luther King Jr KW - Masses KW - Antebellum KW - Dr. Benjamin Carson KW - Brooks-Higginbotham KW - J. Turner KW - Black History KW - UNCC KW - Talented Tenth KW - Tavis Smiley KW - L'Monique KW - Henry L. Morehouse KW - Education KW - The Past KW - Slavery KW - Knowledge KW - Du Bois KW - Today KW - Black Community KW - Progress KW - Allies KW - Morehouse KW - Empowerment KW - Cornel West PY - 2022 PB - unav JO - Papers & Publications IS - 1 VL - 2 ER -