ABSTRACT
At the center of my doctoral dissertation on the history of black experiences in sociological thought Charlie encouraged me to pursue was the unprecedented comprehensive examination of race philanthropy as a central funding patron. Indeed, thirty years ago when I entered Northwestern University as a doctoral student in sociology, there was no such thing as a fi eld called philanthropic studies. Certainly there were scholars who wrote on the lives and work of those with surplus capital and human resources who gave their time, their money, and other resources to advance what they defi ned as a public good. But philanthropic studies as a multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary fi eld with professional associations, academic and practitioner journals, and university based and independent centers of research, policy, and practice support did not begin to appear until the 1980s.
