ABSTRACT
The problem of silencing black voice and neglecting or downplaying black agency in scholarship remains a problem at the begining of the 21st century. The history of black scholarship dates back to the African scholars of antiquity through the period of Timbuktu and the University of Sankore to the present. Chennault has done some important work on the media and the cinema in particular, and points out that these sites of popular culture are forms of education and scholarship about black people paraded before its audiences as truth. This chapter discusses four experiences surrounding the silencing of black voice and agency that the author encountered during these early stages of his career. It examines examples of education and research that neglect black agency in the society and in the academy. The chapter discusses exemplary studies by black scholars and researchers that utilize traditions in black voice and that promote black voice and agency.
