Salvaging "Academic Disaster Areas": The Black College Response to Christopher Jencks and David Riesman's 1967 Harvard Educational Review Article

In 1967, the Harvard Educational Review published an article entitled "The American Negro College" by Christopher Jencks and David Riesman. The article dealt a stinging blow to Black colleges—labeling them "academic disaster areas." Using a historical methodology, I show the strategic ways in which Black college leaders and the United Negro College Fund responded, highlighting their attempts to salvage the image of Black colleges.