Delores P. Aldridge facts for kids

Delores P. Aldridge (born June 8, 1941) is an American sociologist. A sociologist studies how people live and interact in groups. Dr. Aldridge made history as the first African-American professor at Emory University. She also started the first program for African American and African studies in the southern United States.

Growing Up and School

Delores P. Aldridge was born on June 8, 1941, in Tampa, Florida. She went to Middleton High School and was the top student in her class in 1959.

After high school, Dr. Aldridge attended Clark College in Atlanta, Georgia. She earned a degree in sociology and Spanish. Later, she received a master's degree in social work from Atlanta University in 1966.

Dr. Aldridge continued her studies around the world. She learned about child psychology in Ireland and family therapy in Canada. In 1971, she earned her Ph.D. in Sociology from Purdue University. She was the first African American woman to get a Ph.D. from that program. She also studied African politics in Ghana and completed more studies at Georgetown University.

Her Important Work

In 1971, Dr. Aldridge joined Emory University as a professor. She was the first African American professor to be hired there permanently. That same year, she created the first Black Studies Program in the southern United States. This program later became known as African American and African studies. She led this program until 1990.

Dr. Aldridge also served on the board of trustees for Clark College and later for Clark Atlanta University. She has written over 150 articles and books. She was the first professor at a major university to have a special teaching position named in honor of an African American woman. As of 2014, she continued to serve on the board at Clark Atlanta University.

Awards and Honors

Dr. Aldridge has received more than one hundred awards for her work. She was the president of the National Council of Black Studies for two terms. She also led the Association of Social and Behavioral Sciences.

Emory University gave her the Great Teachers of the Century award. The Association of Black Sociologists honored her for her teaching and mentoring. In 2006, she received the Charles S. Johnson Award from the Southern Sociological Society.

Dr. Aldridge has also advised many governments, universities, and companies. She helped organize the 30th Anniversary Celebration of the Civil Rights Movement in Atlanta.

Awards have also been named after Dr. Aldridge. In 2003, Emory University started the Delores P. Aldridge Excellence Award. This award recognizes students who work to promote diversity. Clark Atlanta University also has awards named in her honor, including the Clark Atlanta University Graduate Research Award and the Aldridge/McMillan Awards for Excellence.

Books She Wrote

Dr. Aldridge has written many books, often about relationships and African American studies. Some of her books include:

• A Decade of Struggle: Options for the Future (1981)
• Black Male-Female Relationships: A Resource Book of Selected Materials (1989)
• Focusing: Black Male-Female Relationships (1991)
• Leadership for Diversity: The Role of African American Studies in a Multicultural World (1994)
• River of Tears: The Politics of Black Women's Health (1993), with La Francis Rodgers-Rose
• Out of the Revolution: The development of Africana studies, with Carlene Young (2000)
• Black Cultures and Race Relations (2002), with James E. Conyers
• Africana Studies: Philosophical Perspectives and Theoretical Paradigms, with E Lincoln James (2007)
• Our Last Hope: Black Male-Female Relationships in Change (2008)
• Imagine a World: Pioneering Black Women Sociologists (2009)
• An Intellectual Biography of W.E.B. DuBois, Initiator of Black Studies in the University, with Nagueyalti Warren (2010)