This kind of freedom, he maintained, was not inconsistent with
self-organization for self-advancement. He wanted to see the
Afro-American community develop control over its own churches,
schools, social clubs, and businesses. This was not, DuBois
insisted, a surrender to segregation. He believed that a
community which controlled its own basic institutions was in a
better position to make its own decisions and work for its own
advancement. This solidarity and cooperation was necessary to
achieve significant change resulting in an integrated society.
Indirectly, he admitted that this was a shift away from his
concept of "the talented tenth." The assumption that an educated
and cultured elite would be accepted within white society had
proved to be erroneous. To the contrary, he noted, whites often
feared educated blacks as much or more than uneducated ones. "The
talented tenth" had not even gained token acceptance. Therefore
DuBois shifted to a concept of a group solidarity instead of an
elite leadership. This concept of group cooperation must not be
confused with that of Washington.
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