Includes bibliographical references and index.

Enroll for freedom: the long history of black college student activism -- A seedbed of activism: holistic education and the Institute for Colored Youth, 1837-1877 -- Black and tan academia: Tougaloo College and the nadir, 1869-1900 -- Race women: new Negro politics and the flowering of radicalism at Bennett College, 1900-1945 -- Our aims are high and our determinations deep: Alabama State University and the dissolution of fear, 1930-1960 -- Trouble in my way: curriculum, conflict, and confrontation at Jackson State University, 1945-1963 -- We can! We will! We must!: the radicalization and transformation of Southern University, 1930-1966 -- Their rhetoric is that of revolution: North Carolina A&T and the rise and fall of the Student Organization of Black Unity, 1966-1974 -- It's a different world: the rise of the hip-hop generation and the corruption of the black college communitas.

"For generations, Black colleges have been essential institutions for the African American community. Their nurturing environments have not only aided in students' education and advancement. They have also offered spaces to develop racial consciousness and analyze the paradoxes embodied in American culture. The development and politicization of students on the campuses of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) has resulted in waves of activism, catalyzing the modern Civil Rights Movement and forever altering the political destiny of the United States"-- Provided by publisher.