Presents the results of a survey of readers' opinions about African Americans who made the greatest contributions to American society during the 20th century. Martin Luther King, Jr., received the most votes by a large margin, followed by Thurgood Marshall, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Malcolm X. Discusses survey results by various categories. (SM)

Discusses Alain Locke's 1925 text, "The New Negro," which offered the world the first comprehensive look at black literary and cultural achievements as seen through the eyes of African Americans, and which launched the Harlem Renaissance. Compares Locke with W.E.B. Du Bois and notes that Locke's contributors were nearly anyone who had…

The African American literary tradition was really created to demonstrate that persons of African descent were able to create literature. Exploring the history of African American literature shows the continuing tension between private expression through literature and the political uses made of black literature. (SLD)

Suggests that acting white and ignorant is the silent killer of educational aspirations for urban blacks, comparing current public figures that appear ridiculous and ignorant (gangster rappers) to Stepin Fetchit of the 1950s. Nineteenth-century blacks never elevated ignorance or vulgarity as aspects of liberation. It is important to determine how…

This chronology details major steps in the history of African Americans in higher education. The time line begins with the 1763 birth of the first African American to study at Princeton and marks the establishment of historically black colleges and universities as highlights. Notable African American educators are listed. (SLD)

Provides comments from several black scholars on the importance of W. E. B. Du Bois's "The Philadelphia Negro" for today. They reply to the following questions: why is "The Philadelphia Negro" part of the canon of black literature? and what does it say today of relevance to blacks and the nation as a whole? (GR)

Presents statistics on the progress of African Americans in U.S. institutions of higher education, discussing the following: the black/white higher-education equality issue, statistics measuring the state of racial inequality, African-American doctoral degrees at an all-time high, the pay scale of faculty at black colleges and universities, and…

Identifies those African Americans currently holding endowed chairs in American universities. The article also provides some facts about African Americans, endowed chairs, and schools in which black-held endowed chairs predominate. (GLR)

Profiles a group of contemporary black feminist scholars to highlight the diverse nature of black feminist theory and scholarship. The women include Hazel Carby, Yale University; Cathy Cohen, Yale University; Angela Davis, University of California Santa Cruz; Paula Giddings, Duke University; bell hooks, City College of New York; Joy James, Brown…

Historically black colleges and universities remain an important source for the undergraduate and law school educations of African-American lawyers and judges, but it is no longer the case that the majority of African American lawyers are educated at the historically black schools. (SLD)

For the past 35 years, U.S. Blacks on average have been three times as likely as Whites to live below the poverty line. A large factor in the overall black poverty gap is the huge number of black children being raised in poverty. However, but the poverty gap shrinks when college-educated blacks are compared to college-educated whites. (SM)

Argues that, as a movement, Afrocentrism is a clever but essentially simple-minded hustle that, in its desire to have the power to define, often justifies low-quality scholarship. Its central failure is the failure to recognize what African Americans have done to realize the truest meanings of democratic possibility. (SLD)

Reveals that blacks are not achieving doctoral degrees in the hard sciences: only 222 doctorates were awarded to blacks out of 20,726 doctorates awarded in these science disciplines. Relates the histories of the first blacks to earn doctorates in the hard sciences during the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. (GR)

Presents a collection of articles on the black experience in postsecondary education, including issues regarding black achievement, black faculty, enrollment, politics and racism, black status in Ivy League schools, and affirmative action. The black experience at several specific colleges, including Wharton, UCLA, Kean College, Howard College, and…

Presents a collection of articles on current issues related to African Americans in higher education. Some of the topics include the following: Congressional opponents of educational opportunities for blacks, the harm in college rankings, important news events of the 20th century, black faculty, actions of white supremacists, aspirations of…