On the Road to Economic Freedom: An Agenda for Black Progress

Woodson, president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise, opens this essay collection with a historical survey of black self-help, ranging from the preCivil War period to the present. His thesis is that dependence on government aid has contributed to making blacks a semipermanent underclass. Paul Pryde writes on job creation, Bill Alexander on the black church as an economic power, Robert Hill on the potential and actual strength of the black family, Pamela Taylor on education. A summary is offered by Glenn Loury, who concludes that blacks must not ""sit back and wait for white Americans to come to their rescue.'' Unfortunately, no biographical information about the contributors is included. (July