Ask practically any academic department chair why they do not have more African Americans among faculty members and they generally respond with stock stories or folktales, which stimulated the title ...of this volume. Stock stories are akin to grand narratives that explain 'why things are' in ways that satisfy those in dominant positions. Frierson and Tate argue it is time to move beyond these. The purpose of the book is to provide historical, conceptual, and empirically-based analyses focused on the development of African Americans in STEM fields. There is rarely any real understanding of the uneven contours of the education pipeline or the transition to academic life experienced in these situations and this volume will shed light on opportunities to advance African American attainment in STEM disciplines throughout the academic and professional spectra, and the mitigation of disparities that continue to be so prevalent. The editors hope that it will generate discussions and actions that are based on empirical evidence and policy analyses, rather than long standing stock stories and folktales that misrepresent the paths linked to African Americans' attainment in STEM fields.
This volume presents the proceedings of the Fourth Conference for African-American Researchers in the Mathematical Sciences held at the Center for Research on Parallel Computation at Rice University ...(Houston). The included talks and poster presentations offer a broad perspective to the critical issues involving minority participation in mathematics. The issues explored are relevant not only to African American researchers, but also to the mathematical community in general. This volume is the second published by the AMS (see ""DIMACS"" series, volume 34) presenting expository and research papers by distinguished African American mathematicians. In addition to filling the existing gap on African American contributions to mathematics, this book provides leadership direction and role models for students.
"Dorothy Vaughan was amazing in so many ways. She had a high-pressure job, with the constant knowledge that someone's life depended on her calculations. She endured the daily humiliation of ...segregation while she put astronauts in space and learned a coding language." (New Moon Girls) Read about the life of Dorothy Vaughan, a mathematician who worked for NASA.
