call & response

The articles contained in this second annual issue of Call and Response: The Scholarly Journal of the National Black Graduate Student Association represent the best in emergent interdisciplinary approaches to issues that affect contemporary African-American communities. In the area of education, Dorothy Hines’ work considers the effects and ramifications of current public policy mandates on the education of young African-American males, a greatly underserved national population. Robert Palmer and Adriel Hilton’s joint effort provides an alternative approach to understanding the manners and modes of African-American male resistance to popular stereotypes of “acting white” through an examination of the cultural benefits of historically Black colleges and universities. And Tina Ligon’s historical piece on African-American women educators and institution-builders reminds us that the record of racial uplift and resistance through education is long-standing within African-American communities.

Crystal Thomas’ work moves outside of the space of university and the public school system to provide a provocative interdisciplinary interrogation of the ways in which web-based discursive representations of public housing and its residents affect the actual social location, perception and class status of those who are beneficiaries of social welfare programs. Nadja Normil’s opus on the demographics of the civilian labor force in predominantly African-American Washington, D.C. points to critical labor issues around skilled and unskilled employment opportunities for African-Americans. Her piece is even more salient given the recent election of Barack Obama, whose assent to the presidency will have many historical ramifications, including perhaps a significant impact on the political and cultural milieu of Black Washingtonians. Taken together, these oeuvres constitute a critical attempt to understand the economic opportunities available to Black working class communities and unpack the intra-racial complexities of conflicting class values.

The vast majority of articles published here were paper competition winners at the 20th Annual NBGSA Conference held in March 2008. The editorial board feels that this work offers important perspectives on issues affecting the African-American community, and highlights a group of emerging Black scholars whose research will significantly impact scholarship in and about African-American communities for decades to come.

Brittney Cooper                                              Ivan B. Turnipseed
Managing Editor                                             Associate Editor