James L. Conyers, Jr., is the director of the African American Studies Program, director of the Center for African American Culture, and a university professor of African American studies at the University of Houston. He is the author or editor of 35 books and currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Black Studies and the Western Journal of Black Studies. He is the founding editor of the serial Africana Studies: A Review of Social Science Research and series editor of Africana Studies at Transaction Publishers. Dr. Conyers holds a Ph.D. in African American studies from Temple University.