Has anybody but me noticed that Phil Curtin's piece on the
"Ghettoization of African History" in the *Chronicle of Higher
Education* [3 March 1995] has not garnered a reply. As somobody who
turns out doctorates in African history, it is a serious matter if a
bright and precocious person is unable to apply for a job because he
or she is white. What does it say about the specialization if Duke
University (to take Curtin's example) essentially specifies that
only blacks need apply for a job in African history? Other
universities and colleges use more subtle but just as obvious
circumlocutions. Do we want the best people to go into African
history, regardless of race? I hope so, but using faculty positions
in African history to satisfy affirmative action and to redress
student demands is very attractive to intellectually lazy
administrators. Rather, let a hundred flowers of many colors bloom.