He reflects on the appeal of particular forms of activism and politics for various parts of the African American community, including youth. He also examines the response to the Million Youth March by New York elected officials and law enforcement agencies. He looks at this response in terms of its impact on efforts to build effective alliances across racial and class lines and multi-racial political movements to address pressing community problems in Harlem and elsewhere. Bringing together historical and contemporary perspectives in the best tradition of African American studies, this journal attempts to bring scholarship to bear on community concerns and today's politics. Future issues and articles are planned on the impact of the President's Commission on Race, African Americans and organized labor, South Africa after apartheid, and African American women in American society.
Engaged scholarship is alive and well in the American academy.