September/October 2001

CONTENTS

COVER STORY (Cover photograph: Paul Greene for the Crisis)
— Special Issue: Education
* Long Division: For decades, an academic achievement gap has separated Black and Latino students from their White and Asian counterparts
By Michael Fletcher

* Mr. Secretary: After weathering the initial shock of Washington politics, Rod Paige, the first Black U.S. Secretary of Education, is ready to reform the education of America's children.
By Leah Y. Latimer

* Have Backpack, Will Travel: In an increasingly global world, study-abroad programs expose students to diverse cultures and foster new outlooks.
By Alayna A. Gaines

* Voice of School Choice: The Black Alliance for Educational Options is backed by the right and questioned by the left; the group claims that quality school options for African American parents are their concern, not politics.
By Eugene Kane

* Black College Update: The state of the HBCUs is thriving and strong, but the campuses are not without their challenges.
By Catherine W. LeBlanc

ISSUES & VIEWS
— Hip Hop at the Crossroads
Was Russell Simmons' summit of artists and Black leaders all hype, or will his call for "taking back responsibility" yield real action among its talent and within the African American community at large?
By Tricia Rose

FEATURES
— Detroit at 300
As the Motor City celebrates its tricentennial, efforts to jump-start its economy are in full swing. What does the future hold for this Black political stronghold?
By Lester Sloan

DEPARTMENTS
- Editor's Note
- Letters
- Up Front: A pattern of resegregation is appearing in America's schools
* Questions: 5 years of welfare reform
* Milestones
* According to Reports
* Lives
- Tribute: George Dawson learned to read at age 98
- The Color Line: The SAT II test
- Census: Blacks head to suburbs, segregation persists
- Crisis Forum
* Television: A PBS documentary explores the many varied people of Africa
* Music: A look back at songstress Minnie Riperton
* Books:
— The history of Black mystery writing
— John Edgar Wideman's two new books
— A coffeetable tome of Cosby art
- Backstory: Author Tina McElroy Ansa discovers home
- The NAACP Today
* The Adam's Mark Hotel Boycott
* Applebee's dispute, agreement
* News from the convention
* ACT-SO youth display unrivaled talent
* Branch profiles: Anchorage, Alaska; San Jose/Silicon Valley

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Special Issue:
EDUCATION