were also four book reviews in the first issue : "Black Capitalism: Strategy for Business in the Ghetto by Theodore L. Cross" (Thaddeus Spratlen, reviewer); "Race and Poverty: The Economics of Discrimination" edited by John F. Kain (Charles Z. Wilson, reviewer); "The Tenement Landlord by George Sternlieb" (Robert S. Browne, reviewer); and "Poverty and Discrimination by Lester C. Thurlow" (John Handy, reviewer). Publishing agents and editors The journal has had three publishing agents over its 50 years. Transactions Books at Rutgers University was the initial agent. Springer was the second publisher. The current publisher is Sage Publications. The Review has had 12 editors and 3 associate editors since its founding: Robert S. Browne, editor, 1970–71 Alvin Puryear, editor, 1972 Courtney Blackman, editor, 1973 Joseph F. Brooks, editor, 1974 Lloyd Hogan, editor, 1974–82 Barbara Ann Posey Jones, associate editor, 1977–82 Margaret C. Simms, editor, 1983–88 James B. Stewart, editor, 1989-1995 Thomas D. Boston, editor, 1996-2002 Cecilia A. Conrad, editor, 2003–16 Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe, associate editor, 2002–07 James H. Peoples, associate editor, 2009–16 Rhonda Vonshay Sharpe, co-editor, 2017- Margaret C. Simms, co-editor, 2017–21 Features and focus The Review of Black Political Economy (RBPE) promotes critical inquiry in all areas of social and economic inequality focused on African Americans, the African diaspora, and other non-white marginalized populations. As the journal of the National Economic Association, RBPE publishes scholarship that examines public and private policies and their impact on economic and social inequality. It actively seeks articles that utilize economics, political science, public policy, sociology, and other social science theory to examine public and private policies for their ability to reduce economic inequality. Articles The journal consists of yearly volumes with quarterly published issues. The main research published in The Review of Black Political Economy consists primarily of papers that are typically less than 20 pages long. Book reviews The Review of Black Political Economy occasionally features book reviews, either solicited by the editors or blind reviewed unsolicited submissions from its readership. The books being reviewed center around aspects of economics and the reviews published in the journal are typically no more than 10 pages long. Several notable books that were reviewed include African Americans in the U.S. Economy by Cecilia Conrad, John Whitehead, Patrick Mason, and James Stewart, The End of Poverty by Jeffrey Sachs, and Liberating E Economics: Feminist Perspectives on Families, Work, and Globalization by Drucilla K. Barker and Susan F.