The Black Scholar

Launched in the USA in 1969 The Black Scholar (TBS) is the first modern black studies and research journal. It was founded on the premise that black writers, scholars, activists and artists could participate in dialogue within its pages. TBS' primary mission has been to chronicle, analyze and debate the conditions of and the emancipatory efforts by black people, against a multitude of oppressions that include and cross class, nationality, gender, generation, sexuality, and ideology. Due in part to the impact of the journal, Black Studies, Africana Studies, Diaspora Studies and other sub-disciplines have become legitimate spaces of scholarly inquiry. However there are few public intellectual spaces that focus on black thought, are dedicated to the new multiplicity of black perspectives (or perspectives on race) that have emerged through these disciplines, and engage with the new issues and concerns facing black communities worldwide. The Black Scholar is one of those spaces. Also, our rich mix of the scholarly and the artistic, the professional and the public/non-specialist, remains rare, as is our openness to different forms and techniques of political engagement.

Building on the journal’s initial vision, TBS aims to not only “unite the academy and the street” but also participate in a global black intellectual and cultural world that has multiple contexts and a range of materials and opinions far greater than when the journal was founded. The journal continues to engage and cultivate differential black political conversations and cultural interests (African American, African, European, Latin American, for example) while maintaining its core commitment to tough minded thinking and an overall liberationist intent. This means that we welcome submissions (in English and in translation) from anywhere in the world as long as they meet the criteria articulated on our website or in the journal.

Though TBS has always engaged issues of gender, a greater focus on sexuality is a part of our reimagining; and though the journal has always focused on race, class, power and culture, such debates have to be rendered contemporary. Of particular interest are submissions about the prison industrial complex, the current, often violent re-organization of the African continent, emerging sites and forms of struggle, new forms of popular culture and art throughout the black Diaspora, new migratory patterns, technology and social media, generational differences and sometimes quite radical distinctions in opinion and ideology. All disciplines and fields are welcome as long as they appreciate the unique opportunity the journal offers - to speak to others outside one’s area. But perhaps most important, we imagine ourselves as the forum for ideas and conversations that have yet to emerge.

Peer review policy

All research articles in the journal will undergo a rigorous peer review based on initial editor evaluation and then at least two anonymous referees. Creative or public pieces will also undergo a rigorous evaluation, but by members of our intellectual community whose work and interests are comparable to those of the work submitted.

The Black Scholar publishes both peer reviewed articles and materials that are evaluated via the editorial board. Because there is often great overlap between these two categories of submissions in style, form, and research, we've chosen to designate them as follows. Peer reviewed pieces are listed as "articles" and non-peer reviewed pieces as "essays," except where it is generically obvious, as with interviews, poems, stories, or review essays.

Authors can choose to publish gold open access in this journal.

Read the Instructions for Authors for information on how to submit your article.