Conclusion

Despite a period of nearly unprecedented economic prosperity in the late 1990s, The Nubian Message newspaper challenged what they saw as common cultural assumptions that associated blackness with criminality, "superhuman" athletic abilities, and urban poverty. Discussions over how African-Americans could establish spaces for cultural autonomy and expression on campus, in communities, and workplaces figured prominently into the years surrounding the so-called “Dot-Com Boom.” Moreover, on campus, the Message further sought to undermine the notions that either African American political apathy or political engagement demonstrated the contentment and opportunity that supposedly acommpanied racial progress in the United States. This dichotomy indicates the different strands of thought within the black community at NC State on how to best confront the legacies of slavery and Jim Crow in a changing world.