The Future of the Race

I have said it before but for give me, I am a West Reader. This was the first West/Gates piece I read when I was in high school. It started my love for social science learning. The book not only is a piece of great insight on DuBois' "The Talented Tenth and Guidging Hundreth" but follows up on the topic with more indepth information on leadership in the African American race. Reading it once will leave you stuck, in order to really get a real of what the words mean you must read it over and over and study it to see what DuBois was saying years ago and how West and Gates assists him in showing the need for leadership in the African American race.

In two visionary essays on the modern validity of W.E.B. Du Bois' "The Talented Tenth," Professors Gates and West have collaborated on a book that will enlighten anyone interested in race relations in America for years to come. To summarize "The Future of the Race" does not do it justice. Suffice it to say that the scholarship of these "three" learned men elevates the topic of race to higher ground. If you are looking for an easy read, or easy answers to racial issues, this book is not for you. On the other hand, if you dare to examine your own feelings about racism, I can't think of a better way to begin than by reading this book. I disagree with the reviewer from Chapel Hill who described the book as the "patter' of "public intellectuals." It's too easy to dismiss scholarly works as a product of academia, but thanks to intellectual giants like Du Bois, the essays of Gates and West have been made possible. Thank you, professors.

This book picks apart the ideas of the most influential black scholar of the 20th century, W. E. B. DuBois. Gates and West talk of about the situation in black America and how black Americans should go about changing the poverty stricken race through DuBois' idea of the talented tenth. The Talented Tenth is the idea that the top 10% of a race will help save the rest of the race. West and Gates show how this idea can be a solution to many problems in the black community but they also talk of the problems that occur within the talented tenth. In this landmark publication, West and Gates, the top black modern scholars, come together to create a powerful book that lays out the truth for blacks in America.

I've always enjoyed reading and listening to Cornel West, his ideas and observations are honest, regardless of public reaction. Maybe I enjoyed the book because I didn't compare the authors to Du Bois, I took them for who they are, modern day intellectuals. I found even the preface intriguing. There's a powerful observation in the preface that has been sitting heavily on my heart, "Being a leader does not necessarily mean being loved; loving ones community means daring to risk estrangement and alienation from that very community..." This is something we deal with on a daily basis in the black community, we're afraid to do the right thing because we're preoccupied with "keeping it real." Like I said, I appreciate the honesty from both authors and I would suggest this book to anyone interested in the present state of Black America. (But don't solely look to them to nurse the ills that plague our community, just meditate on their observations, the answers come when we put our heads together). Thanks.

I have not even read the entire book; instead, I've studied it, and boy... Is there ever a lot to 'study'. Now in my freshman year of college, I realize the importance of having blacks becoming more educated, because surely, there is power in education. If you leave yourself open to ask many questions about the book, much can be learned. From the meaning of the title, to interpretations of the cover (on which we've spent more than a week), to what the pictures on the back of the book could represent. These are just a few of many topics that can be spoken about, without even getting inside the cover. If I can ask as many questions as I have about the cover of the book, then surely, reading the book would catch any person's attention.