--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Negro race, like all races, is going…" description: "\"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 ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_best_the-negro-race-like-all-races-is-going-t_2490702.png" --- # The Negro race, like all races, is going to be saved by… ![“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…” quote by W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_best_the-negro-race-like-all-races-is-going-t_2490702.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_best_the-negro-race-like-all-races-is-going-t_2490702.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3e1/w-e-b-du-bois-2240_best_the-negro-race-like-all-races-is-going-t_2490702.png) > “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.” [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. He argues that a small, educated elite must lead the Black community out of oppression. **In simple terms:** Educated leaders should guide the race. Key Takeaway Invest in education for community leadership. Themes education leadership racial uplift Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social When to use this quote - school curricula - scholarship programs - community mentorship Key Concepts talent development social hierarchy Questions to Reflect On - Who decides who is “talented”? - Can leadership be shared more broadly? A Different Perspective Relying on a few may ignore broader grassroots needs. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Death](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/death/) [Education](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/education/) [Men](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men/) [Race](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/race/) [Racism](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/racism/) ## Related quotes > [Billions of dollars have been lost to the Negro race within the last fifty years through disloyalty on the part of successful Negroes, who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/billions-of-dollars-have-been-lost-to-the-negro-race-within-the-last/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [So the Negro race has continued, and today is the day of the Negro as far as the world is concerned. They have influenced…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-jeffs/so-the-negro-race-has-continued-and-today-is-the-day-of-the-negro-as/) [Warren Jeffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-jeffs/) > [If a white man falls off a chair drunk, it's just a drunk. If a Negro does, it's the whole damn Negro race.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-cosby/if-a-white-man-falls-off-a-chair-drunk-it-s-just-a-drunk-if-a-negro/) [Bill Cosby](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-cosby/) > [“I have found in my dealings with the Negro race — and I believe that the same is true of all races that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/booker-t-washington/i-have-found-in-my-dealings-with-the-negro-race-and-i-believe-that/) [Booker T. Washington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/booker-t-washington/) > [And it is to rock the soul and lead the person to immorality, corruption - to forget their prayers, to forget their God. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-jeffs/and-it-is-to-rock-the-soul-and-lead-the-person-to-immorality/) [Warren Jeffs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-jeffs/) > [It now appears that the negro race is, more than any other, susceptible of rapid civilization. The emancipation is observed, in the islands, to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/it-now-appears-that-the-negro-race-is-more-than-any-other-susceptible/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [At no time within the last five-hundred years can one point to a single instance of the Negro as a race of haters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcus-garvey/at-no-time-within-the-last-five-hundred-years-can-one-point-to-a/) [Marcus Garvey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcus-garvey/) > [The Talented Tenth of the Negro race must be made leaders of thought and missionaries of culture among their people.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-talented-tenth-of-the-negro-race-must-be-made-leaders-of-thought/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As a race, the Negroes are not lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-a-race-the-negroes-are-not-lazy/) [W. E. B. 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The problem is that in the search for wholeness all too many…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-luther-king-jr/the-negro-is-the-child-of-two-cultures-africa-and-america-the-problem/) [Martin Luther King, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-luther-king-jr/) > [NEGRO :; Member of a subgroup of the human race who hails, or whose ancestors hailed, from a chunk of land nicknamed not by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-brunner/negro-member-of-a-subgroup-of-the-human-race-who-hails-or-whose/) [John Brunner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-brunner/) > [“It was awful to be Negro and have no control over my life. It was brutal to be young and already trained to sit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/it-was-awful-to-be-negro-and-have-no-control-over-my-life-it-was-2/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [Some negroes lie, some are immoral, some negro men are not be trusted around women - black and white. But this is a truth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harper-lee/some-negroes-lie-some-are-immoral-some-negro-men-are-not-be-trusted/) [Harper Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harper-lee/) ## More by W. E. B. Du Bois > [So often do you see collegians enter life with high resolve and lofty purpose and then watch them shrink and shrink to sordid, selfish,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/so-often-do-you-see-collegians-enter-life-with-high-resolve-and-lofty/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As a race, the Negroes are not lazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-a-race-the-negroes-are-not-lazy/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [If there is anybody in this land who thoroughly believes that the meek shall inherit the earth they have not often let their presence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/if-there-is-anybody-in-this-land-who-thoroughly-believes-that-the/) [W. E. 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Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [The ruling of men is the effort to direct the individual actions of many persons toward some end. This end theoretically should be the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/the-ruling-of-men-is-the-effort-to-direct-the-individual-actions-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [Education is that whole system of human training within and without the school house walls, which molds and develops men.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/education-is-that-whole-system-of-human-training-within-and-without/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [As Negro voting increased, Congress got an improved sense of hearing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/as-negro-voting-increased-congress-got-an-improved-sense-of-hearing/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [From the day of its birth, the anomaly of slavery plagued a nation which asserted the equality of all men, and sought to derive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/from-the-day-of-its-birth-the-anomaly-of-slavery-plagued-a-nation/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It is the stars, it is the ancient stars, it is the young and everlasting stars!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/it-is-the-stars-it-is-the-ancient-stars-it-is-the-young-and/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) > [It is a peculiar sensation, this double-consciousness, this sense of always looking at one's self through the eyes of others, of measuring one's soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-e-b-du-bois/it-is-a-peculiar-sensation-this-double-consciousness-this-sense-of/) [W. E. B. Du Bois](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-e-b-du-bois/) [Explore all 177 W. E. 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