What explains the persistent gap in college retention between white American college students and those who are members of ethnic minority groups? Some argue that a large part of the answer is campus racial climate: a negative climate disproportionately harms minority students and leads to worse outcomes. Existing theory provides some basis for…

Traces the history and underlying causes of health care discrimination and deprivation for Blacks compared with other Americans. This disparity is a result of policymakers' attempt to frame the problem in nonracial terms, physicians' attitudes, and scientific myths about Black inferiority. Calls for an elimination of institutional racism in health…

Examines Black and White differences in income, returns to education, employment, unemployment, housing conditions, and business ownership. Suggests that modest gains in Black economic prospects during the 1960s and 1970s are now being eroded and need to be sustained through Blacks' individual competence, group solidarity, and institutional…

Presents a critical assessment of two major schools of thought in the human sciences relative to the mythology of race: logical positivism and social realism. It argues that the science that supports racist arguments must be questioned. An alternative science that socially empowers the oppressed is proposed. (GR)

Shifting focus from typical data and information about the status of educational achievement in the United States and about gaps in achievement among the nation's students, this report undertakes investigation of less-frequently-asked questions. As required by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), educators are continuously monitoring whether more…

Defines the theory of the Afrocentric conception, and comments on Afrocentric research methodology. The Afrocentric conception is likely to succeed if it constructs a particularist theory in contrast to cross-cultural relativism and because it relies on the methodology of the absolute rather than the comparative. (SLD)

The infant mortality rate in the District of Columbia is higher than that for any other state. This high rate stems from the great number of infants born seriously underweight and reflects the area's high percentage of births to impoverished black women. Efforts to reduce the mortality rate have centered around the medical treatment approach,…

This monograph compares foster care systems of New York City and the southern region of New Jersey, focusing on each system's impact on the foster care experiences of Black, Hispanic, and White Children. Recognizing that minority children move through foster care systems at a slower pace than do White children, the report first attempts to…

New barriers to equal educational opportunity, including cuts in federal student aid and a lessened commitment to affirmative action, have diminished the impact of progress made in the education of Blacks. Furthermore, improvements in Black achievement, school attendance, and graduation rates are offset by disproportionately higher rates for…