Nellie was always in her office from sunrise to well past dusk, every day, with her door open, nurturing students and colleagues, building the models that will shape her disciplines for decades to come. She could have been an academic superstar. She chose instead to build a community. |
She was a central figure in a network of black women's scholars who shared a vision of a more inclusive, more democratic intellectual world. |
This anthology in essence has established the canon of African-American literature, and it will continue to do so for at least the next quarter century. |