Identifying and Nurturing the Promise of Gifted Black American Children

World history swells with the accounts of people with superior abilities. The records of practically every culture reveal a special fascination for their ablest citizens (Renzulli, 1986, p. 53). For example, as early as 2200 B.C. the Chinese had developed an elaborate system of competitive examinations to select outstanding persons for government positions (DuBois, 1970). To this day, education tailored to the needs of the gifted generates consuming interest and enthusiasm, such that the literature includes an abundance of information about these students, especially about those who are middle-class White children. We cannot, however, say the same about the research devoted to minority, particularly Black American, gifted children. An examination of the relevant literature since 1924 reveals that, of approximately 4,000 articles on the gifted, a paltry 63 (less than 2 percent) address minority group members. The percentage would be lower still if one counted only those articles about gifted Blacks. Educators find this proportion discouraging because less information means less understanding and less understanding means inadequate identification procedures, definitions, theories, and programs-all of which results in an underrepresentation of Black Americans in programs for the gifted. There is growing awareness that the number of Black students in classes for the learning disabled or emotionally impaired is inordinately high; however, the reverse probably is true in programs for the gifted (McCormick, 1984). Equally unsettling, many of the articles on giftedness and minorities bear the stigmatic heading, which implies or states that race itself limits the development of such intelligence. Jensen alluded to this idea in 1969, and educators who support hereditary rationales for the development of intelligence joined him. Still, as Passow (1986) points out, while considerable overlap exists between minority students and disadvantaged conditions, by no means are the two terms synonymous.