African-American women represent fewer than 5% of the doctoral degrees
awarded in political science. There are only a handful of tenured black
women in the nation's top-rated political science departments (Sarkees and McGlen 1999). There is no major text in
the field that deals exclusively with the public opinion, political
behavior, or institutional contributions of African-American women.
Despite some recent notable exceptions, black women as authors of and
subjects of research inquiry are still largely absent from the pages of
periodicals that define the field. Many black women in political science
are laboring in obscurity relative to the profession. “African
American women faculty continue to be concentrated among the lower ranks,
primarily in non-tenured positions, promoted at a slower rate, paid less
than their male and white female counterparts, located in traditional
disciplines, and primarily employed by two year colleges,” according
to Sheila Gregory (1999, 11). Even from this
position on the margin, black women political scientists have contested
the field, challenged the academy, and contributed to the development of
more just communities.