Synopses & Reviews
The Black Caucus of the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) was founded in 1973 to address concerns about the portrayal of Black children in scientific research, the lack of participation of ethnic minority members in the governance structure of SRCD, and the perceived need for a mutual support system for minority scholars aspiring to productive careers in the child development field. In this monograph, early members of the Caucus describe its history through the first 25 years, 1973-97, in 15 chapters distributed among sections on Caucus history, teaching and mentoring, publications and research-related issues, and supportive academic institutions. The volume celebrates the accomplishments of the Caucus while also revisiting challenges that have arisen both internally and through membership in the SRCD parent organization. Key thematic issues include: cultural deficit versus cultural difference; linkages between poverty, race, and empowerment; advocacy versus objectivity in scientific research; and how the cultural or racial identity of the researcher informs scientific knowledge. The collaborations of Caucus members and others in SRCD modified the lens through which children of racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds are portrayed in the scientific literature.
About the Author
Ura Jean Oyemade Bailey, Graduate Professor of Human Development
and Director of the Center for Drug Abuse Research, Howard University.
Geraldine Kearse Brookins, President of Changing Dynamics, Jackson,
Mississippi, and past Director of the Merrill-Palmer Institute, Wayne State
University.
Grace Carroll, Education Consultant based in Oakland, California.
Aline M. Garrett, Retired Professor and Head, Psychology Department,
University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Sandra Graham, Professor, Department of Education, UCLA.
John W. Hagen, Executive Officer, Society for Research in Child
Development.
Algea O. Harrison-Hale, Professor of Psychology, Oakland University.
John P. Jackson, Jr., Assistant Professor, Department of Communication,
University of Colorado, Boulder.
Deborah J. Johnson, Professor of Family and Child Ecology, Michigan State
University.
Velma LaPoint, Professor of Human Development and Psychoeducational
Studies, School of Education, Howard University.
Harriette Pipes McAdoo, University Distinguished Professor, Department
of Family and Child Ecology, Michigan State University.
Vonnie C. McLoyd, Professor of Psychology and Senior Research Scientist
at the Center for Developmental Science, University of North Carolina,
Chapel Hill.
Suzanne M. Randolph, Associate Professor, Department of Family Studies,
University of Maryland, College Park.
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe, Constance E. Clayton Professor in Urban
Education, Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania.
Margaret Beale Spencer, Board of Overseers Professor of Applied
Psychology and Human Development, University of Pennsylvania.
Veronica G. Thomas, Professor, Department of Human Development and
Psychoeducational Studies, School of Education, Howard University.
ValoraWashington, Professor and Director of Center for Children, Families
and Public Policy, Lesley University.
Trellis Waxler, Retired Education Specialist for the Head Start Bureau,
Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services.
Melvin Wilson, Professor of Psychology, University of Virginia,
Charlottesville.
Table of Contents
POEM.
‘‘WHEN YOU HEAR THE CHILDREN CRY’’.
Suzanne M. Randolph ix.
PREFACE.
Sandra L. Graham xi.
INTRODUCTION.
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe, Aline M. Garrett, Algea O. Harrison-Hale 1.
ABSTRACT 9.
SECTION I: FOCUS ON CAUCUS HISTORY 11.
I. A PERSONAL PERSPECTIVE ON THE BEGINNINGS.
OF THE BLACK CAUCUS OF SRCD.
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe 12.
II. THE BLACK CAUCUS OF SRCD: MEMBERSHIP GROWTH.
AND CRITICAL INITIATIVES.
Aline M. Garrett 25.
III. LETTERS FROM MARY: ACHIEVING STATURE WITHIN SRCD.
Algea O. Harrison-Hale 32.
IV. ON BECOMING A GOVERNING COUNCIL MEMBER.
AND MAXIMIZING MEMBERSHIP.
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe 48.
SECTION II: TEACHING AND MENTORING 66.
V. TIES: TODDLER AND INFANT EXPERIENCES.
STUDYFCARROLL AND COLLEAGUES.
Grace Carroll 68.
VI. THE ATLANTA CHILD MURDERS.
AND THE BLACK CAUCUS OF THE SRCD.
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe, Margaret Beale Spencer,.
Ura Jean Oyemade Bailey 75.
VII. PRE-CONFERENCES’ HISTORY AND REFLECTIONS:.
CONCEPTUALIZING A PROCESS.
Deborah J. Johnson, Geraldine Kearse Brookins 84.
SECTION III: RESEARCH AND RELATED ISSUES 94.
VIII. EARLIEST SRCD MONOGRAPHS BY AFRICAN AMERICANS:.
CAREW (1980) AND SLAUGHTER (1983).
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe 96.
IX. EFFECT OF AN OCCUPATIONAL SHIFT ON FAMILY LIFESTYLE:.
AN ECOLOGICAL APPROACH.
Aline M. Garrett 106.
X. THE "HISTORY" OF TWO MILESTONE DEVELOPMENTAL.
PUBLICATIONS ON BLACK CHILDREN.
Margaret Beale Spencer 113.
XI. THE ROLE OF AFRICAN AMERICAN SCHOLARS IN.
RESEARCH ON AFRICAN AMERICAN CHILDREN:.
HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVES AND PERSONAL REFLECTIONS.
Vonnie C. McLoyd 121.
XII. HEAD START: TRANSLATING RESEARCH INTO.
POLICY AND PRACTICE.
Ura Jean Oyemade Bailey, Trellis Waxler,.
Valora Washington 145.
SECTION IV: SUPPORTIVE ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS 162.
XIII. CONTRIBUTIONS OF AFRICAN AMERICANS FROM.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN TO SOCIAL SCIENCE.
RESEARCH ON BLACK CHILDREN AND FAMILIES.
Algea O. Harrison-Hale 164.
XIV. CONTRIBUTIONS OF HOWARD UNIVERSITY TO.
SOCIAL SCIENCE RESEARCH ON BLACK CHILDREN.
Velma LaPoint, Veronica Thomas 173.
XV. AFFIRMING FUTURE GENERATIONS OF.
ETHNIC MINORITY SCIENTISTS.
Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe, Aline M. Garrett,.
Algea O. Harrison-Hale 188.
APPENDIX A.
THE CHRONOLOGICAL HISTORY OF THE.
BLACK CAUCUS, 1973–1997.
Aline M. Garrett, Diana T. Slaughter-Defoe,.
Algea O. Harrison-Hale 193.
APPENDIX B.
SUSTAINING BLACK CAUCUS MEMBERS, 1973–1997.
Aline M. Garrett 208.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 210.
COMMENTARIES.
CONGRATULATIONS.
Harriette Pipes McAdoo 212.
FUTURE VISIONS OF THE BLACK CAUCUS OF SRCD.
Melvin N. Wilson 214.
THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT OF THE AFRICAN AMERICAN SOCIAL SCIENTIST.
John P. Jackson, Jr. 218.
FOR BLACK CAUCUS.
John W. Hagen 224.
CONTRIBUTORS 227