For the black scholars who gathered this weekend in Manhattan, little has changed.

In the past thirty years there has been a steady decline of black scholars.

"Oh, come now," replied the black scholar, his eyes narrowing in irritation.

And they tend to push out the black scholars.

The scarcity of black scholars has had a predictable effect.

Some black scholars have denounced the book, disagreeing with its thesis, without having read a page.

This sprawling complex attracted well-known black scholars over the years and gave the city its reputation as a center of learning for blacks.

"We want to move the debate forward, start being more complex and involve black and white scholars."

The tragedy," he said, "is that black scholars so often have their specialties forced on them.

They said the book, a critically acclaimed story by a black scholar, was racist.