Product Description
John Ogbu has studied minority education from a comparative perspective for over 30 years. The study reported in this book--jointly sponsored by the community and the school district in Shaker Heights, Ohio--focuses on the academic performance of Black American students. Not only do these students perform less well than White students at every social class level, but also less well than immigrant minority students, including Black immigrant students. Furthermore, both middle-class Black students in suburban school districts, as well as poor Black students in inner-city schools are not doing well. Ogbu's analysis draws on data from observations, formal and informal interviews, and statistical and other data. He offers strong empirical evidence to support the cross-class existence of the problem.


The book is organized in four parts:

*Part I provides a description of the twin problems the study addresses--the gap between Black and White students in school performance and the low academic engagement of Black students; a review of conventional explanations; an alternative perspective; and the framework for the study.

*Part II is an analysis of societal and school factors contributing to the problem, including race relations, Pygmalion or internalized White beliefs and expectations, levelling or tracking, the roles of teachers, counselors, and discipline.

*Community factors--the focus of this study--are discussed in Part III. These include the educational impact of opportunity structure, collective identity, cultural and language or dialect frame of reference in schooling, peer pressures, and the role of the family. This research focus does not mean exonerating the system and blaming minorities, nor does it mean neglecting school and society factors. Rather, Ogbu argues, the role of community forces should be incorporated into the discussion of the academic achievement gap by researchers, theoreticians, policymakers, educators, and minorities themselves who genuinely want to improve the academic achievement of African American children and other minorities.

*In Part IV, Ogbu presents a summary of the study's findings on community forces and offers recommendations--some of which are for the school system and some for the Black community.


Black American Students in an Affluent Suburb: A Study of Academic Disengagement is an important book for a wide range of researchers, professionals, and students, particularly in the areas of Black education, minority education, comparative and international education, sociology of education, educational anthropology, educational policy, teacher education, and applied anthropology.
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Customer Reviews (9)

A must read for any parent, student or educator
This is probably the most important text concerning black achievement or lack thereof since Booker T. Washington's Up from Slavery. Dr.Ogbu simply lays out data and without biting his tongue, constructively offers the black community the issue, the problems and solutions. This should be mandatory freshman high school reading material for many of our students.

No Excuses
I am a Shaker graduate and a minority who now has a child in the Shaker school system; Dr Ogbu's study is right on target. Certainly it does not help to be poor, discriminated against etc., but the telling factor in academic performance is the attitude and work ethic children bring to the classroom. This is of course shaped by parents and also pop culture.

Now that more than 70% of African American children are born out of wedlock is symptomatic of the state of the African American home.

Dr Ogbu's study caused a monstrous flap in our affluent, largely liberal community. For those that are curious, Shaker spends more than $13,600 per student in a medium cost of living area, and the mediam family income is over $63,000. Integration is not the issue, money spent per child is not the issue, attitude and academic performance is. Too bad, more minority parents have not heeded the warning.

Disengagement
I found this book to be truly insightful.The author provided interesting information that was gained through observation, focus groups, and one-on-one interviews of just how disengaged affluent African American high school students are from the educational process.The author underscores the fact that the challenges facing African American and educations goes beyond economics.

Andy & Daria's Review
We read this book as a requirement for a Human Issues seminar about the acheivement gap that exists across the United States.Because the book is structured as a action research project, the content of the text was highly academic, which made it somewhat difficult to read.
The strongest part of Ogbu's book was in the direct testimonials of the students, teachers and community members of Shaker Heights. Shaker Heights's community was very interesting because the issue of socio-economic status was eliminated and a gap between whites and blacks still existed.

Of particular interest was Ogbu's classification of two types of minorities observed in Shaker Heights; voluntary and involuntary.Voluntary minorites come from other countries to find the "American Dream", therefore doing whatever it takes to succeed in the traditional schooling system.Involuntary minorities, such as the Black community in Shaker Heights, have trouble integrating into the traditional system for many reasons based on their history of slavery.

Ogbu does a good job of balancing the viewpoints of all the players in the acheivement gap and offers suggestions for programs to close the gap.

An excellent analysis of Black student disengagement
Prof. Ogbu has provided an excellent and very convincing (to me, at least) demonstration of black student disengagement as a major driver in causing the black/white education gap.It is unfortunate that his death prevents him from providing us with insights as to how our society might more effectively address the problem of disengagement.In one respect the Shaker Heights community he studied is fortunate in that it is not impacted by some of the other major drivers (poverty, teachers' expectations, disfunctional families, etc.) that tend to widen and complicate the black/white education gap in other communities that are not so high on the socio-economic scale. ... Read more

Product Description

This book provides effective strategies that can be used to improve academic achievement and well-being of minority students. It examines, collectively, three cultural groups on themes related to diverse families, immigration issues, and teaching and learning. The book conceptualizes opportunities and challenges in working with minority children in the context of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. It is a must-have reference for anyone who works with children.

Product Description
During the past two decades, the aims and the nature of war have changed completely. Today, American soldiers on the ground typically operate in small, self-contained units with well-defined goals that require a high degree of training and risk. This book offers a look at the realities of that warfare, and the lives and deaths of the soldiers who fight it. American Soldier draws upon the extensive literature that has emerged in recent years describing episodes of warfare in places ranging from Somalia, Haiti, and Colombia to Afghanistan and Iraq. Mark Bowden in Black Hawk Down gives a gripping blow-by-blow account of action on the ground in Somalia while Martin Stanton, an officer in the first U.S. army unit to arrive, describes the army’s "squalid and puzzling little failure" in Somalia on Five Dollars a Day. CIA agent Robert Baer tells of his twenty-plus years in counter-terrorist espionage in the Middle East in See No Evil, Peter Maas reports from Bosnia on the insanity of modern war in Love Thy Neighbor: A Story of War, and Air Force pilot Scott O’Grady describes the terror of being shot down in Bosnia. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Disappointing
This book had some good stories, but lacked the stories advertised by the title, hense the warning, don't judge a book by it's cover!I first thought that a new title would be appropriate, but the stories themselves do not belong in the same book.I've read some of the stories in other books.

Rename this book
Only a couple of the stories were from Iraq and Afghanistan.Rename the book to "Mostly Vietnam Stories with a Few Current Ones and Some from the Gulf War" and it would automatically be more correct.

Untruth in Advertising
The subtitle of this book is "Stories of Special Forces from Iraq to Afghanistan."Why then, is over half the book taken from the Vietnam conflict?And one of the stories is by that foul-mouthed self-promoting braggart, Richard Marcenko, a name that makes real navy seals wince in embarassment.

There is not one original story in the entire book, and it's the only book I've ever purchased only to realize that I'd read it already.Each article is some re-hashed part of another book that most SF fans will have already read.

Very disappointing.

A very good read -
The first 3/4 of this book are 5-star, but it slips a bit toward the end when it dredges up Vietnam stories (one of which is fiction).Couple things to realize - first, it's not 368 pages - it's under 300.Second - it's not the stuff they advertise. Blow up the cover photo above to see what's really in there.No Peter Maas, no Stanton in Somalia, no Baer of the CIA and no Scott O'Grady, who wouldn't have belonged anyway, not being Special Forces.You get a really good article on SF in Afghanistan, a thrilling story from Desert Storm, an interesting story from Honduras, a couple of riveting reads from Haiti, and of course a chunk of Black Hawk down.But by page 172 you're back in Vietnam reading tired stuff you've seen before.It's worth buying for the first 172 pages, but given the subtitle, I wish Mr. Hardcastle had included some of what was advertised instead of the Vietnam stuff.Still and all, you won't put it down once you start - it's a two-day read and you'll enjoy it.

A broad sampling of material...
Unfortunately, most of the material here has been published prior to this book. There are a few original pieces though. The first is the only one that deals with Afghanistan("The Legend of Heavy D"). Most of the remaining originals deal with either Somalia or Vietnam...There was one particularly interesting piece about Green Berets training terrorists in Libya that I'd never heard of before in any of my extensive USSOF research. I got it to add to my SF library, but it's not essential. If you haven't read Mark Bowden, Eric Haney and Robert Baer's books (all excellent) this will provide you with some good samples ^_^ ... Read more

Product Description

"Politics in the Pews probes the internal dynamics of political decision making within the Black church."
---William E. Nelson, Jr., Research Professor, Department of African American and African Studies, Ohio State University

As Eric McDaniel demonstrates in his study of Black congregations in the U.S., a church's activism results from complex negotiations between the pastor and the congregation. The church's traditions, its institutional organization, and its cultural traditions influence the choice to make politics part of the church's mission. The needs of the local community and opportunities to vote, lobby, campaign, or protest are also significant factors.

By probing the dynamics of churches as social groups, McDaniel opens new perspectives on civil rights history and the evangelical politics of the twenty-first century. Politics in the Pews contributes to a clearer understanding of the forces that motivate any organization, religious or otherwise, to engage in politics.

Eric L. McDaniel is Assistant Professor in the Department of Government at the University of Texas at Austin.

Product Description
This study examines the leadership of three African-American women administrators in higher education, and how they have used their spirituality as a lens to lead in the academy. The central questions in this case study include: How do African-American women make meaning of their spiritual selves in their everyday leadership practices? How does their spirituality influence their work and the type of relationships they develop with others in the academy? What are the ways in which these three women have used their spirituality as a lens to lean, and how dies this leadership impact the social, cultural and political construct of a male-dominated arena? ... Read more

Product Description
The history of African American entrepreneurship has produced a number of studies of economic development on the national level, but very few have examined this growth at the local level. "Confronting the Odds" was written to bridge that gap, and Bessie House-Soremekun provides this historical analysis of African American entrepreneurship in Cleveland, Ohio, from the early 1800s to the present. Additionally, in examining these historical and current trends, House-Soremekun presents brief biographies of several successful entrepreneurs, among them George C. Fraser, best-selling author; Robert P. Madison, internationally acclaimed architect; Leroy Ozanne, founder of Ozanne Construction Company; and Rachel Y. Daniel, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Synergy International Limited, Inc. and Decision Point Marketing and Research, Inc. House-Soremekun's statistical analysis of the factors that contributed to the success of African American businesses in Cleveland is supported by extensive research, and her policy recommendations about how entrepreneurship could be stimulated through public and private programs are thought provoking."Confronting the Odds" documents life histories of business owners, compares African American male and female business owners, and offers insights into why some businesses succeed and others fail. ... Read more

Product Description
This digital document is an article from Journal of International Affairs, published by Columbia University School of International Public Affairs on March 22, 2002. The length of the article is 7171 words. The page length shown above is based on a typical 300-word page. The article is delivered in HTML format and is available in your Amazon.com Digital Locker immediately after purchase. You can view it with any web browser.

Citation Details
Title: Beyond good offices? The role of regional organizations in conflict resolution. (Regional Perspectives).
Author: Thi Hai Yen Nguyen
Publication: Journal of International Affairs (Refereed)
Date: March 22, 2002
Publisher: Columbia University School of International Public Affairs
Volume: 55Issue: 2Page: 463(23)

Distributed by Thomson Gale ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

A Study of Malcolm X We Can USE
This is a well-documented, carefully researched, thoughtfully crafted,fearlessly truthful insight into, most importantly, Malcolm X's life afterhis split from the Nation of Islam.

This was time that while he continuedto build principled international relationships between himself as thelegitimate representative of the colonized Africans inside current U.S. andAfrican heads of state and other key persons; and began to develop astrategy for the liberation of ALL peoples, based on principledrelationships among them.

This book exposes the misinformation andsuppression of information perpetrated by the dominant culture, includingthe "left" still clinging to its position of a "loyalopposition" to U.S. colonialism and imperialism.

Check it out! ... Read more

Product Description
Religion under Bureaucracy is an innovative study of religion and politics in the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu which focuses on the relationship between the state and the central religious institution of the area, the Hindu temple. Religion, politics, economy and culture intersect in the temple and Tamil Nadu has 52,000 in all, many richly endowed with land and prominent locally as sources of patronage and economic and political power. Dr Presley examines the institutional challenge that Hindu temples have presented to the developing South Indian state over the last century and a half and the ways in which a government publicly committed to non-intervention in religious matters has come to involve itself deeply in temple life - establishing a presence in temple management, regulating the use of the temple's material and symbolic resources and, beyond this, seeking to control many details of Hindu organisation, economy and worship. ... Read more

Product Description
Traces the history of American foreign missions of all dinominations. Following a historical survey of the missionary activities, the author gives the biographies and works of 29 men and women missionaries. Includes numerous portraits. ... Read more

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Many people were elated when Supreme Court Chief Justice Earl Warren delivered Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka in May 1954, the ruling that struck down state-sponsored racial segregation in America's public schools.Thurgood Marshall, chief attorney for the black families that launched the litigation, exclaimed later, "I was so happy, I was numb."The novelist Ralph Ellison wrote, "another battle of the Civil War has been won.The rest is up to us and I'm very glad. What a wonderful world of possibilities are unfolded for the children!"
Here, in a concise, compelling narrative, Bancroft Prize-winning historian James T. Patterson takes readers through the dramatic case and its fifty-year aftermath.A wide range of characters animates the story, from the little-known African-Americans who dared to challenge Jim Crow with lawsuits (at great personal cost); to Thurgood Marshall, who later became a Justice himself; to Earl Warren, who shepherded a fractured Court to a unanimous decision.Others include segregationist politicians like Governor Orval Faubus of Arkansas; Presidents Eisenhower, Johnson, and Nixon; and controversial Supreme Court justices such as William Rehnquist and Clarence Thomas.
Most Americans still see Brown as a triumph--but was it?Patterson shrewdly explores the provocative questions that still swirl around the case.Could the Court--or President Eisenhower--have done more to ensure compliance with Brown?Did the decision touch off the modern civil rights movement?How useful are court-ordered busing and affirmative action against racial segregation?To what extent has racial mixing affected the academic achievement of black children? Where indeed do we go from here to realize the expectations of Marshall, Ellison, and others in 1954?Amazon.com Review
In one of the most explosive legal decisions of the century, Brown v. the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the U.S. Supreme Court declared that racial segregation in America's public schools was unconstitutional. The chief attorney for the African American families who initiated the legal challenge was Thurgood Marshall, who later became the first black person to serve as a Supreme Court Justice. In this brief, detailed book, historian James Patterson reconstructs the complex history of the watershed 1954 case, from its legal precursors to its troubling legacy. "To be sure, Brown called for changes that the Court itself could not enforce," he writes. "In time, however, some of those changes came to pass, even in schools, those most highly sensitive of institutions."

Patterson outlines the stories of several influential pre-Brown cases and details the thinking and exploits of the legal minds involved with Brown, including Marshall and Chief Justice Earl Warren. He also follows the various responses to the decision by those most affected by it, including bigoted Arkansas governor Orval Faubus as well as President Dwight Eisenhower. More than a simple chronology, Brown v. Board of Education raises many questions about America's unfinished business of truly democratizing its educational system once and for all. Both instructive and disturbing, this book calls for us to question whether we will turn back the clock or demand movement forward. --Eugene Holley Jr. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

A great start to understanding the legacy of Brown v. Board of Education
James Patterson adds an excellent addition to the Pivotal moments in American history series with Brown v. Board of Education. This book explores the results of Brown and how it shaped civil rights in the post Brown era. While of course focusing primarily on schools, Patterson also takes a look at how Brown emboldened groups like the NAACP, caused the rise of the more militant civil rights group by the failure to implement Brown and shows how Brown changed the views of those who went through it.The book does not just end with Brown II but goes on to look at the busing cases and the efforts of several legislatures to implement plans to uphold school desegregation.It examines the tactics of extremist white southerners to keep schools segregated and posits some interesting ideas about how Brown changed urbanization and may (at least in the south) have encouraged a second wave of white migration to the suburbs.Overall though it is a thorough analysis of the post actions that the Brown decision derived.

My one complaint about this book and the reason for the four stars is that it says very little about the actual arguments of the case. While providing a background of the key players in the case there is little information about the oral and written arguments presented to the Supreme Court.That being said given that the series tries to give the most amount of information in the shortest number of pages possible I would bump it to 4.5 stars.

Fast Shipping and great book!!
Book arrived in great condition and arrived quickly. I recommend this book to anyone interested in race or the Brown v. Board of Education Case.

A terrific and thorough review of Brown et al.
James T. Patterson's Brown v. Board of Education is an exceedingly well researched historical work on the pivotal cases faced on all judicial levels in the 1950s, 60s, 70s and 80s regarding segregation in our nation's schools.Professor Patterson masterfully writes on not just the legal implications of the landmark decision(s) in Brown but also in regard to their social impact.He puts into a greater racial and societal context not only the meaning of Brown but also the strategies of Thurgood Marshall and his associates in deciding to bring before the Court when many other challenges to Jim Crow could have been argued with much legal and moral merit.

Patterson tirelessly, but interestingly, cites case after case and puts each before the reader in the context of a broader societal consequence.He dispassionately argues the merit and challenges of desegregation as society was changing at a precipitous rate with "white flight" from our urban centers to affluence and the ability to "avoid" integration with the availability of private schools obviously not covered by Brown or the 14th Amendment.A theme seemingly in most, if not all, of Patterson's writings on the American 20th Century is the effect of expectations of the populous.Indeed his wonderful contribution to the Oxford Series of United States History is entitled "Grand Expectations".It is interesting how he weaves that theme into this much more specific narrative."This is another way of reiterating an essential truth about Brown: so many larger postwar forces- rising expectations and restlessness among blacks; slowly changing white attitudes about racial segregation; the Cold War, which left Jim Crow America vulnerable to the charge of hypocrisy when it claimed to lead the Free World - were impelling the nation townard liberalization of its racial practices.

This is a great book and is part of the Oxford Series of Pivotal Moments in American History.To state the utter obvious, the reader should be aware that this "moment" is still very much ongoing and, as such, this book is much broader, out of intellectual necessity, than one, or really two, Supreme Court decisions.

Desegregation and Brown v. Board - worth the read
This is really a must read book for anyone interested in the issues surround desegregation and the efforts by Thurgood Marshall and others to end such practices in America's schools.It also is a very vivid reminder that courts and lawsuits can only go so far, and in the end it is people and their institutions that must be changed as well.Did Brown achieve all that it was hoped that it would - the author argues that it didn't, but that it did lay the foundation for tremendous change in racial relations during the last century. The author also helps to place the decision of Brown in context with other legal and political events that help the reader understand what was the source of resistence in various parts of the US to school desegregation and subsequent busing endeavors.Well worth reading and keeping on your shelves.

America's Second Revolution
Patterson succeeds in writing a very different book than Kruger's unequaled "Simple Justice."While Simple Justice told the story of how Brown v. Board of Education came to be, Paterson asks whether Brown should have been.

After giving a brief history of Brown (covering, in summary fashion, much of the ground covered by Kruger), Patterson examines the aftermath of Brown.The question Patterson addresses throughout the book is whether Brown marked a step forward in civil rights.

Patterson successfully debunks the argument that Brown was a step backwards.As he says, anyone who thinks that the country was better off before Brown had better buy a two way ticket if he wants to go back in time, because he will want to turn right around and come back.Before Brown, most black children were educated in tarpaper shacks, by grossly underpaid teachers, with no supplies, and even less respect.

Did Brown solve all problems?Of course not.As Patterson notes, what Brown does do is prove that there are limits to the power of the courts to accomplish social change.However, the Supreme Court did set an unequivocal moral tone, which set the stage for the civil rights movement, which (building on the constitutional foundation built by Brown) changed the world we all live in.

Has racism ended?No.But no one should expect any Supreme Court decision (or even a series of decisions spanning less than 25 years) to undo the racial history of this country which had taken 400 years to build.The real shame is that beginning in the late 70's, the courts, Congress, and the President have all worked to reverse the moral tone set in Brown.Unfortunately, they have succeeded all too well.But one can not fairly blame that on the Supreme Court's decision in Brown.

A thought provoking book which should be read by anyone who is interested in the history of race relations in the second half of the 20th Century. ... Read more

Product Description
The first book solely devoted to the subject of black fraternity hazing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

Excellent
This book, though limited in its breadth addresses some fundamentals, that surprisingly has little to do with hazing but African American male psyche. I give kudos to the author for taking the risks, and for amazon, for being one of the only places to get this book. Though full, this book is small enough not to be overwhelming.

Nice book
Before becoming apart of an organization one must have a real view of themselves in order to accept the POSITIVE (there is negative) change that some of these organizations have to offer.I appreciate this book because it gave me the basis to converse about change and being better role models.We come from different backgrounds and to be able to meshpersonalities for the greater good of the community is a wonderful thing.Although I disagree with physical hazing to the extent of pain one should beeducated on the benefits of physical wellness (one could do push ups and be a leader of a group which in turn may give him/her the tools necessary to being a leader in their community.Nevertheless, it was a nice book.

Son at an HBCU loved the book!
My son loaned the book to several friends and they all commented on how well the information about Black Fraternities was presented... timeless.Makes me proud of the jouney that we are on and the accomplishments made.

Black Haze
This book is more than just stories about violence through fraternity hazing, it's also an insightful look at the history of Black America and how these organizations played an important role.I recommend this book to all those that are interested in the history of Black culture and its progression from post disenfranchisement to today.

Brave Book But Foggy Answers
I am such a big fan of the movie "Stomp the Yard," but when asking Greeks about the movie, there was an immediate lash at how the movie was not accurate as to how Greek life really is.I was told that people who were Greeks or who knew anything about Greek life would understand how "stupid" the movie was, so I got curious. In undergrad, I thought about pledging into one particular sorority, but after seeing only ONE Kappa member cross at my school (when there were initially at least 30) and a neophyte having his crutches snatched away from him and Omega members demanding that he hop before he crossed, I quickly changed my mind.I firmly believe in the logo "Slap me and I'll slap you back" and there was absolutely no way I was just going to let someone beat the hell out of me to join their organization.But after speaking with a very dear relative of mine about joining a sorority, I tried to understand the good parts about Greek life.Sadly, the more she told me, the more I concluded that it was not for me.And then I found this book while searching online for material to change my mind about pledging in the graduate chapter.

There is not a doubt in my mind that I absolutely will never pledge now.The horror stories in the Appendix were so utterly evil to the point where I was begging this book to fiction.But as I know from watching the few experiences at my own alma mater and seeing Greeks go offline so many times, I'm sure they aren't.I'd spoken with Greeks BEFORE I read this book, so much of what the author left out, I knew and REALLY wanted him to reveal, but being a Greek, I knew he wouldn't.

Pros: The author was brave to even write this book, considering he is a Kappa. I thought he should be commended for that, specifically the anecdote about the pledge whose butt was split.Jones takes on an analytical look at the process of pledging; tries to come to some conclusion as to why pledging has increased and become more brutal; why black men feel like they have to have a right of passage through gangs, violence, Greeks, the military, African tradition, etc; and discuss some of the history of hierarchy within these organizations.The author gave readers a more detailed view of why pledging and hazing have become intertwined and why it is so difficult to get other Greeks to stop.I was satisfied that he did point out that a lot of these crazy traditions come from those of the military, and from the family member I spoke with who also agreed on that, it was good to know that he did understand the history of how it is being passed down. Overall, it was very well-written and definitely interesting throughout.

Cons: Jones has a habit of repeating the same points over and over again.He repeatedly made comments about the rights of passage and how Greeks didn't feel "paper" members were real.I went through a couple chapters like "Didn't I read this already?"I wanted him to bring up new points but he seemed to rely on those few that he felt strongly about.If I were a high authority member of the Greeks, after reading this book, I still wouldn't really know how to make hazing stop but keep the pledging tightknit so it wouldn't be just hit-happy folks having the time of their lives during the pledging process.He does make a statement about "paper" members becoming high ranking members, but obviously from the gist of this book, the Greeks do not respect them, so it seems all but impossible for a "paper" member to reach the top.Blaming the lack of punishment on predominantly white universities still does not excuse the black authority members who KNOW things are going on.To say that the white universities need to come down harder says nothing to the BLACK people who are letting it go on.I was looking for a way for the author to explain how potential pledge members could respect an organization without any physical contact, but it seems that the author is a little confused about that as well.

Final thoughts: I'm SO glad I never pledged.This book along with my own unofficial interviews tells me it's just not worth it.I have a blood brother, and he never had to beat me up to make me feel like I love him dearly and would protect him from any harm.Comraderie and trust are much more powerful than a paddle or a skillet to the face. ... Read more

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Customer Reviews (1)

Pioneering and imaginative
Thoroughly researched and thoughtfully argued.Political science perspective.As somebody who has written about African American fraternal societies, I am impressed. And envious that I had not thought to search Ebay for rare black lodge materials as did Theda Skocpol and her associates. ... Read more

Product Description
Dr. Park explores the experience of 73 black and 24 white Americans who served as missionaries of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the colony-turned-republic of Liberia prior to 1875.Tracing their social background, motivations, minds, and work, this book contributes to restoring the first generation of missionaries to their rightful place in history providing a fuller understanding of the early American Protestant missionary enterprise. A rich and original study, this compelling book brings to light a disillusioned experiment of biracial missionary labors that were expected to carry the beliefs and cultural values of 19th century white Americans to the black continent of Africa. ... Read more

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Education, like electricity, needs a conduit, a teacher, through which to transmit its power-- i.e., the discovery and continuity of information, knowledge, wisdom, experience, and culture.Through the stories and experiences of eight successful teacher-transmitters, The Dreamkeepers keeps hope alive for educating young African Americans.

--ReverAnd Jesse L. Jackson, president and founder, National Rainbow Coalition

In this beautifully written book Ladson-Billings illustrates the inspiring influence of a select group of teachers who keep the dreams alive for African American students.

?Henry M. Levin, David Jacks professor of Higher Education, Stanford University

Ladson-Billing's portraits, interwoven with personal reflections, challenge readers to envision intellectually rigorous and culturally relevant classrooms that have the power to improve the lives of not just African American students but all children.

... Read more

Customer Reviews (42)

Black is only a color Yet it is not just a color
The book is one of the best ethnographic studies I've read based on African Americans so far.Ladson-Billings goes even as far to say that some people "reduce research findings to individual idiosyncracies" (p. 14) implying that there is a bigger picture that is not observed enough.This statement is kudos from a quality researcher!What tends to turn me off from the book is a particular part of the study itself and some of the results discussed of the ethnographic comparisons.In one portion of the study, she compares an inexperienced WM teacher in a more suburban, better off school, to an experienced BF teacher in a poor, urban district.(We will assume experienced is "5+ years experience" which I believe is what was implied for this term for this particular text.)I felt the comparison was more apples to oranges rather than being able to generalize a broad statement about how culture does or does not matter.

The tone of the book gets to the point where it feels like only the black race is in need, but any minority in any country has different sets of needs.While I would not expect each of these needs to be researched in one such book, in at least one or a few cases, blacks and latinos are lumped together.What about Asians, Muslims, minority races in foreign countries, or possibly even subsets or "subsets" or the races?

Her Appendix A and Appendix B help enhance the book.People whom also stood out to Ladson-Billings, but whom could not be included in the meat of the book itself were added.This was a wonderful idea!

What I like about this book is that is gives one ideas on how to work with a population where the black culture takes over.One thing I don't like is that the tone makes is sound like these cases are definitely common and not necessarily exceptionally hard to enact.For instance, choosing to not follow the curriculum guideline to battle with administration and risk your job this way is a teacher's choice or a group's choice, but the book's tone seems to imply that it is a duty for a teacher to do something like this.Also, inviting students to one's home and giving out a personal cell phone number- while I think this is a great idea, I think in too many cases, this kind of contact would be abused and not used properly.This books asks all teachers to give away their livelihoods in the sense that a future population will benefit that could otherwise affect you and others later on in life.While this is an understandable request, I don't consider it a fair request.Sometimes, I sense the book makes it seem like we can all be dreamkeepers, and this is not fair or true.The people who are described as dreamkeepers deserve their titles every bit, but they made these sacrifices within their own lives because they felt it was the right thing to do and they were in a situation where they could make it work.A person who does not produce results or have a certain amount of authority or good networking, even if that person does all the right things to become like one of the dreamkeepers described, doesn't necessarily mean they can keep their jobs or easily find another one.Read this book with a lot of heart, but a lot of caution too!!

There's a book in which I can't remember the title, but I think it has the words "cultural crisis" in the title and it points out an interesting racist situation described in a suburb of PA involving a policeman, researcher, and a visitor.In another example, it points out Asians and how even though they are stereotyped as the "successful" ones, most of your CEOs are not Asians (for now?)The book was copyrighted 2005 at the time I read it.Books like the one I'm trying to describe help support why the dreamkeeper book is a bit off for me.

Inspirational work!
Although this book focuses on a familiar theme in educational circles, that of how to reach African-American children in school, it focuses on a variety of areas where educators should pay attention.It does not conclude that only African-American teachers can teach African-American children.On the contrary, author Gladson-Billings highlights teachers from different ethnic backgrounds.Her thesis is not revolutionary, but challenging - teachers need to teach in culturally relevant ways.This book is a good compliment to worksby Sonia Nieto andLisa Delpit.New and old teachers can appreciate this work!

Great Book
I have not had a chance to read this yet it is for one of my secondary education classes.

The Dreamkeepers
Bought for Grad class but would buy anyway. Classic book dealing with teaching African American Children.This book will open your eyes. Highly recommend to all teachers!

Great book for new teacher in urban schools
This is great book to research some of the best teaching practices for working with young African American students. I used this book as part of my teaching program and ordered this copy for my teaching resource library. ... Read more

Product Description
This work is a political investigation into the historical and ideological foundations of black education. It situates black education within the context of America's rise to corporate-industrial power in the latter half of the 19th century and the first part of the 20th century. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

White Architects of Black Education
Excellentand well written. A collection item for university level instruction and home library.

From a Survivor
William Watkins pointedly and proudly explains how people other than the African Americans have guided the principles of Black education in the United States from the Reconstruction era to post World War II. Whether these people acting philanthropically as John D. Rockefeller or as "evil geniuses" (Chapter 6), they have shaped Black education then and some would argue for all time.

In his writing, Watkins shows that there is a view of the history of American education that does not come from the larger culture. Watkins view is from the "other side of the fence" that is not written by the victors but rather a survivor. This view is equally important as it establishes the fact there are always two sides to every story. "History is made by people in struggle" (p.179).

Generalizations tend to pervade Watkins' writings as the use of the words "few" and "many" are consistent. But this is understandable considering little or no empirical research was being conducted regarding Black education during this time period.

Pointing to the past for blaming is not the purpose of Watkins in his book, but rather an enlightenment of the history presented by a survivor of slavery, segregation and racial inequalities that have existed for generations. Truly, Watkins has offered a view of history in which we can reflect upon and use to help guide a new generation of architects.

White Architects
William H. Watkins writes about the power of education and how it "can be used both to oppress and to liberate." (pg.1) Watkins shares with us how research and science in the last century validated the belief that Whites were the superior race. This belief has played a great role in the development of the school system and curriculum we have today in America. The "White Architects" have used the school system to keep races of people oppressed. He clearly defines who the architects were and the role they played in orchestrating the school system we have today.

I believe that in order to see more success among minority students in schools today we have to restructure the whole school system. Watkins book strengthens my belief. He states "public education was product of historically, politically, and socially constructed ideas." These ideas need to be updated and remade to include all races equally.

The White Architects of Black Education
Mr. Watkins walks us through an historical and turbulent era of education that continues to have ramifications in our present educational system.Watkins journey through the maze of black education exposes the political and socioeconomic influences of the dominnant and affluent white culture of the north.He reveals to the reader the influences of the corporate magnets of the north who wanted cheap labor and subserivent workers. They used their philanthropy and the educational system to imposed their own philosophy of education on the black population;while promoting subserivent lifestyles for those who participated.Mr Watkins is able to convince the reader about the political and economic hold that the corporate world imposes on the black population and the disregard these men had for how the black population wanted their education to progress.
Mr. Watkins continues to show us the need for continued political and socieconomic justice for all people and warns us of the continued influence that corporate America has on all of us.

A New Foundation for an Old School Structure
William H. Watkins is subtle in his story of the "white architects" who developed Black education beginning in 1865, just at the end of the Civil War.Watkins shocks you with his "scientific racism" platform that he explains"presented human difference as the rational for inequality" and that it "can be understood as an ideological and political issue" (pg. 39).The reader senses a calm attitude about the author as he speaks of the Philanthropists, beginning with John D. Rockefeller, Sr, who was most concerned about "shaping the new industrial social order" (pg. 133) than he was for providing a useful education. "The Rockefeller group demonstrated how gift giving could shape education and public policy" (pg. 134).In their support of Black education, by 1964,the General Education Board (GEB) spent more than $3.2 million dollars in gifts to support Black education.This captivating book begins with a forward written by Robin D.G. Kelley who reflects that she learned one lesson from Watkins, "If we are to create new models of pedagogy and intellectual work and become architects of our own education, then we cannot simply repair the structures that have been passed down to us.We need to dismantle the old architecture so that we might begin anew" (pg. xiii).Why don't the school reformers who mandate educational laws experience such an awakening? ... Read more