Southern Conference on African American Studies Inc. C. Calvin Smith Book Award Between Washington and Du Bois describes the life and work of James Edward Shepard, the founder and president of the first state-supported black liberal arts college in the South. Arguing that black college presidents of the early twentieth century were not only academic pioneers but also race leaders, Reginald Ellis shows how Shepard played a vital role in the creation of a black professional class during the Jim Crow era.

Reginald K. Ellis is associate professor of history at Florida A&M University.