in the Talented Tenth we trust?: achieving aspiration(s), bridging the gap, and setting the table

Abstract

Within the past twenty-five years, especially as it pertains to the workforce landscape, there has been increasing discourse on the value of a liberal arts education. As a demographic, Black students—in comparison to their white counterparts nationwide—matriculate at an disturbingly 42% clip. Despite that for over one-third of that same period, the disparity gap between the two has increased. The Greater Social Problem (DuBois 1898) lies within the post-achievement of these degrees, where an ‘across-the-board' examination of the representation of Black people in the workforce do not align. Drawing on a collection of personal narratives and experiences from both Black students of Haverford College's class of 2020 and Black alumni, I seek to interrogate ‘Black Aspiration' and utilize it as the central vessel—a perspective lens—in my analysis of W.E.B DuBois's Talented Tenth theory. How does Black Aspiration shape the "Black Experience" and contribute to the creation of the ontological archive of an aspiring peoples? Essentially, this thesis is a three-piece composition; one part is an introduction of DuBois's theory and a mild critique of education (as an institution), another part consists of autoethnographic and ethnographic components respectively, and the last part is a conclusive analysis; focused on redefining DuBois's original theory.