Life and Times of Martin David Jenkins

This is a biography of Martin David Jenkins, President of Morgan State College, who spearheaded changes in the way that America historically viewed privilege as a benefit and responsibility of racial superiority. He honed research skills to lay out a pathway for educators, the US military, and American psychologists to debunk fallacious policies that excluded African Americans and others labeled as "biological races" of presumed inferior intelligence. As a descendant of enslaved persons and sharecroppers, a son of The Great Migration, and a benefactor of integrated experiences, he was consumed by the economic disparities and lack of opportunity between Black and White people. He learned early the importance of education in disrupting such differences. Using methods of research, he was able to influence decision-makers and leaders to try harder to level the playing field for every person in the American democracy. The book introduces his parents, grandparents, and life-long influencers in his future decision-making. Through them, he recognizes the importance of being literate, informed, and involved in the civil rights of everyone. His positions at various HBCUs not only sharpened his intuition for uplifting others but also prepared him to accept the presidency of Morgan State College when it was offered to him in 1948. For twenty-two years, he educated young adults, guided their emerging decision-making and leadership, and set them free to assume their places in an egalitarian society they would be challenged to structure. Thousands of today's senior citizens continue to pass down to their descendants the wisdom of instructors who were committed to Martin Jenkins' way of individual uplift, total integration, and solutions to problems based on data, analysis, and synthesis.