This volume is comprised of selected papers which were presented at a workshop sponsored by the Institute for Urban Affairs and Research, Howard University, Washington, D.C. Part 1 of the volume presents an overview of the functional significance of social research in the black community. The four papers in this section deal with issues such as institutionalizing the setting of priorities for research in black colleges and universities and the conceptual and methodological limitations of present research on black people. Part 2 has several papers which examine black family life and the socialization process on the black community. In Part 3, papers review the relationship between the criminal justice system and the black community. In part 4, the papers are organized around human resource development and techniques for assessment of human as well as societal growth and development. (Author/JM)