This paper presents an outline of the purpose and methodology of a proposed study to investigate the teaching of black literature in selected secondary schools in Virginia. Black literature will be defined as fiction, drama, poetry, and nonfiction written by black American writers. The use of black literature in the curriculum of the selected schools will be explored in five-year increments, beginning in 1953 and ending in 1978. The significance of the study will be the revelations of the changes in the types of literature offered to students in a multicultural environment. In a review of literature treating the integration of ethnic themes into a curriculum, the importance of selection criteria, stereotypical images, and the creation of separate black studies courses is discussed. A bibliography of 65 references is appended. (FG)