ABSTRACT
THIS ESSAY PROPOSES THAT “COMMUNITY SERVICE” and related efforts to develop programmatic linkages with neighborhood institutions and organizations represent a key component in the theory and pedagogy of Black studies. Research paradigms that include community service and civic involvement reflect the description of Black studies as a discipline that is “descriptive, critical, and prescriptive,” to use the words of Professor Manning Marable.1 Attention to the pedagogy of community service on the part of scholars in Black studies is important for the growth of this field of intellectual inquiry as well as for its growing impact on the analysis of political and economic issues facing Black communities and U.S. urban society. Both theory and praxis are key to understanding how Black life experiences have molded, and are reflected, in United States society.
