St. Clair Drake

St. Claire Drake (January 2, 1911 – 1990) was an influential American sociologist.

Drake was born in Suffolk, Virginia. Upon graduation from the Hampton institute, he became involved with The Society of Friends in the south. Drake got involved in an anthropological project after that and later published his studies as Deep South. He was moved by the potential that social science could have on changes in racial causes. For a time Drake was a professor at Dillard University.

In 1946, Drake became a professor at Roosevelt University. He was one of the first black faculty members at Roosevelt. While there, he created one of the first African American Studies programs in the United States. Drake taught at Roosevelt for 23 years before leaving in 1973 to chair the African-American studies program at Stanford University. He was responsible for creating the first African American Studies Department at Stanford.

Most of his writings provide accounts of strife and advances in race relations. His collaboration with Horace Cayton in 1943 led to the publishing of "Black Metropolis", a landmark study of race and urban life. Another of Drake's works, which demonstrates his devotion to race relations, was "Black Folk Here and There"(1987).

St. Claire Drake was a member of the American Society for African Culture (1957-1969). He also served as advisor to the first prime minister of Ghana, Kwame Nkrumah. The Roosevelt University named a center after him. It is called "The St. Clair Drake Center". The center is dedicated to the memory of St. Claire Drake.

References

* cite web
title =The St. Claire Drake Center for African and African-American Studies
publisher =Roosevelt University
date =2006
url =http://www.roosevelt.edu/drake/default.htm Roosevelt University
accessdate =2007-05-03
* cite web
title =St. Claire Drake
publisher =Chicago Tribute
url =http://www.chicagotribute.org/Markers/Drake.htm
accessdate =2007-05-03
* cite web
title =St. Clair Drake, anthropologist & educator
publisher =The African American Registry
date =2005
url =http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1448/St_Clair_Drake_anthropologist__educator
accessdate =2007-05-03
* cite web
title =Drake, St. Clair (1911-1990)
publisher =The Black Past: Remembered and Reclaimed
date =2005
url =http://www.blackpast.org/?q=aah/drake-st-clair-1911-1990
accessdate =2007-05-03

Persondata
NAME=Drake, St. Claire
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=African-American sociologist
DATE OF BIRTH=January 2, 1911
PLACE OF BIRTH=Suffolk, Virginia
DATE OF DEATH=1990
PLACE OF DEATH=