This study was designed to determine the present status of rhetoric and speech communication programs in the 83 predominantly black, 4-year colleges in the United States; to make recommendations toward continued development of these programs with special emphasis on required courses; and to sample the reactions of a panel of 12 Speech Communication Association experts on the status and recommendations. Questionnaires were sent to the heads of the 83 departments. The results of the study indicated that most of the speech departments in black colleges were developed during the first two decades of the twentieth century, only 727 students are majoring in speech at the colleges surveyed, and only 28 of the 83 colleges have facilities for speech improvement programs. The study concludes that, while the overall status of speech as an academic discipline in black colleges has improved in recent years, administrators need to dedicate more time, interest, and financial support to speech education in these colleges. (RB)