Skin in the Game—Supporting The Black Doctoral Network

Skin in the Game—Supporting The Black Doctoral Network by Mark Anthony Neal | NewBlackMan (in Exile)
My graduate school career began well before Facebook, Twitter and to some extent, even email.  What I remember most about those times was the sense of isolation that I experienced, seeing few other students who looked like me or shared any of my experiences.  I can remember the feeling of excitement whenever attended a national conference, knowing I’d have an opportunity to connect with established Black scholars. 
I have vivid memories of attending my first Modern Language Association (MLA) Conference in 1992.  Black literary critic Houston Baker Jr. was the association president that year and it was also the first time that I saw Wahneema Lubiano, now my colleague at Duke, in action.  But I most remember the hour that Tricia Rose spent with me, giving counsel on how to navigate the graduate experience. That particular moment of mentoring has stayed with me for more than twenty-years and continues to inform my own sense of mentoring.
Most recently I thought about the issue of mentoring after attending the first gathering for The Black Doctoral Network in Philadelphia.  Though such a gathering could have easily devolved into the “Big Hookup”—and I’m sure there was plenty of that—what I witnessed was a profound hunger for fellowship and mentoring, even among those who are relatively established in their fields. 
I couldn’t have imagined an organization like the Black Doctoral Network when I was a grad student or even as an untenured junior professor.  What Maurice Green and his team have created is something with the potential to be a real game changer, especially at a moment when it behooves all of us to be getter about sharing information that impacts our research and resources across disciplines and institutions.  
But let’s be clear, beyond the spiritual sustenance that The Black Doctoral Network offers, particularly via its Facebook site, we all have to have a hand in helping to sustain the organization.  So if you’re not fee-paying member of The Black Doctoral Network, I urge you to pay the nominal fee to support this groundbreaking effort today.
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Mark Anthony Neal is Professor of African & African-American Studies at Duke University and a Fellow at the HipHop Archive and Research Institute at the Hutchins Center for African & African American Research at Harvard University.  He is a board member of The Black Doctoral Network.