Although black immigrant families are said to represent only 3 percent of the nation's black population, of the black students in more than two dozen of the nation's most selective colleges and universities in 2002, 41 percent were classified as either biracial, immigrants or children of immigrants. Futurist Nat Irvin II, an assistant dean at Wake Forest University, says black immigration data like these point to the emergence of what he calls "thrivals." He defines them as native-born blacks and black immigrants and refugees who come from all economic classes, and he says they represent a shift in consciousness in the black community. They are people who have moved from being shaped by circumstances to shaping their own futures. Forget the influence of hip hop, and watch the high-achieving thrivals, he says. Irvin predicts that this class eventually will lead a push for a healthier, prosperous and more values-centered black community.