This book is a collection of readings selected to present an historical overview of the educative experiences of Afro-Americans. The essays focus upon social, economic, and political factors which have conditioned educational opportunities for blacks in this country. The work is divided into four sections. "Education in Ante Bellum America" deals with the effects of slavery on the education of blacks. "Civil War and Reconstruction" focuses upon the legacy of black education as affected by the dynamics of the war, emancipation, and reconstruction processes in the South. In "The 'Nadir' of the Black Experience" five contemporary authors review the development of separate education for black Americans. The philosophies and works of Frederick Douglass, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, and Carter Woodson are described in these essays. The final section "Directions for Change" presents an amalgam of writings on related social and educational themes. The editor states that education has historically been a vehicle for the socioeconomic advancement of black people in the U.S. The improvement of educational opportunities is thus linked with the achievement of full equality at all levels of society. (Author/GC)