WASHINGTON, DC: Key dates in the history of African-Americans in the United States:
1619: The first Enslaved African landed in the English colony of Virginia. Slavery was to become a key motor in the development of what would become the United States.
1776: American patriots declared independence from Britain in a quarrel over taxes. But there was no dispute over slavery, which was even practised by the new country's first president, George Washington.
Early 19th century: Slavery and the slave trade were gradually abandoned by most European states.
Most black college students attend "majority campuses"— schools with whites as a majority of the student body (and faculty and staff). The dropout or transfer rates for black students at some of these campuses can be as high as 60 percent. This week, visiting blogger Charles Robinson, professor of history and director of the African American Studies program at the University of Arkansas, contributes some tips for success for African-American students attending historically white institutions:
The 
According to the National Science Foundation’s Survey of students and post doctorates in Science and Engineering for the year 2006, there were only 3,572 African American graduates in the field of engineering in the entire United States. That same year there were only 3,071 African American graduates in the biological sciences n 1,774 in computer sciences, 1009 in the physical sciences and 263 in the earth, atmospheric and ocean sciences. 