Book Review: The Future Of The Race

The Future Of The Race

Stars: 5/5

I recommend that if you are planning to read, or have recently read, W.E.B. Du Bois's 1903 essay `The Talented Tenth', that you also follow through and read `The Future Of The Race'. I, myself, landed on this book after reading The Talented Tenth (Illustrated). `The Future Of The Race', published in 1996, is a collection of essays by two of the foremost leading black public intellectuals: Henry Louis Gates, Jr. and Cornel West. The compositions by Gates and West specifically address W.E.B. Du Bois and `The Talented Tenth' and offer a more contemporary perspective on Du Bois's call for Black intelligentsia to be the leaders of the race. Dr. West would probably state that his critique of Du Bois at the turn of the 20th Century is out of respect, admiration and love; however, he does not hesitate in underscoring the areas where Du Bois is lacking:

"The grand example of Du Bois remains problematic principally owing to his inadequate interpretation of the human condition and his inability to immerse himself fully in the rich cultural currents of black everyday life." (p. 55)

In the essay, `The Parable of the Talents', Gates interjects his own collegiate life experiences to provide the framework to the notion that so much diversity (socioeconomic, cultural, class, etc...) exists within African-American community that just the intelligent tenth of same group would find it difficult to satisfy Du Bois's request to `save the Negro race':

"As economic differences increase, the need to maintain the appearance of cultural and ideological conformity also increases. But it is these fake masks of conformity that disguise how very vast black class differentials really are. And no amount of kinte cloth or Kwanzaa celebrations will change this." (p. 37).

For convenience and reference, both 'The Talented Tenth' and Du Bois's own critique some 45 years later, `The Talented Tenth Memorial Address', is located in the book's appendix. A great all-in-one book for readers.


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