Chronicling Our Legacy of Leadership: The Task Force Historical Record on the Founders of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists

This paper is a culmination of research by the task force established to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of the National Conference of Black Political Scientists (NCOBPS). It presents a capsule history of the founding of NCOBPS and then profiles of the founders of the organization. The profiles focus on the founders’ educational backgrounds, careers, and contributions to NCOBPS leadership, to the profession in terms of scholarship and service, and to the Black community and the nation with respect to their work in civil rights and community organizations, the bureaucracy, and as elected and appointed officials. The purpose is to provide not only a distilled and concise record, but also a framework from which to develop future research.