Cornerstone Economists

The Cornerstone events commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of Sadie Alexander’s Doctoral Degree in Economics and the subsequent 100 Years of African American Economists. The “Cornerstone Economists” are Black American scholars who, according to Patrick Mason, entered graduate school during the Black Power Movement from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s and whose tremendous intellectual, activist, and mentoring contributions created the foundation for African American economics. The list of Cornerstone Economists is long but includes Bernard Anderson, Charles Betsey, Thomas Boston, Bernadette P. Chachere, Cleveland Chandler, Basel Coley, William A. Darity Jr., Ronald Ferguson, Gerald Jaynes, Barbara A.P. Jones, Linda Datcher Loury, Julianne Malveaux, Darius Mans, Samuel Myers Jr., Ronald Mincy, Margaret Simms, James B. Stewart, and David Swinton.

NEA Cornerstone Breakfast 2023

On Saturday, January 7, 2023, the National Economic Association will hold a breakfast as the culminating event of its commemoration of 100 years of African Americans in Economics. A panel will discuss the influential work of African American economists who entered graduate school during the Black Power Movement, from the mid-1960s to the mid-1970s. The session will also examine the intellectual, activist, and mentoring contributions of these powerhouse scholars in establishing the foundation for African American economics.