SOCIAL pathology has held an enduring fascination for researchers, and nowhere more so than in the study of black Americans. Isolated “successes” or “heroes” receive occasional attention, but large-scale or institutionalized progress ,and excellence seem almost to be shunned, except for passing references to the “middle-class” end results. With all the voluminous outpourings on black educational pathology, there has been an almost total neglect of one of the most remarkable black educational success stories: Dunbar High School.