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You are here: Home / History / How many African Americans were in college in the early 1900s?

How many African Americans were in college in the early 1900s?

April 15, 2020 by Karen Hill

Between 1900 and 1909, there were about 1,600 black college graduates.

By 1915 that total had risen to more than 5,300. W. E. B. Du Bois referred to these college-educated blacks as the “Talented Tenth,” although they made up much less than one-tenth of the African American population, which totaled about ten and a half million by 1920.

Du Bois believe that African Americans would be “saved” by this small educated black elite.

About 2,000 blacks attended college in 1917.

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Filed Under: History

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

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