TRACING HISTORY OF BLACK STUDIES

The first step on the path to positive change is acknowledgement that change is necessary and possible. Open yourself to the possibility of seeing the world in a new way. Alex Blackwell.

Inclusion of Black studies Program in the college curriculum, is it a difficult task to achieve? Yes, even I thought so until I browsed the Pleiads of 1970s and 1980s. It takes a lot of thinking, effort and procedural difficulties to bring something new into already existing and well-defined system, especially the change is to be executed in lines with changed laws. Millennials or the Gen Next do not have an inkling idea of discrimination and separations. Today, whatever faced by youngsters in name of racism is almost negligible compared to the ones faced by minority people lived in the last century.

There are many questions that pop into one’s mind…. What is the real reason, why did it take so long to make reports on including in the curriculum, why did L.B. William, Trenton, N.J. Junior and Emmett Benjamin, Chicago raised objections, what could have been done to fill the gaps in the proposed Black Studies Program etc. I wonder what could have stopped the Academic Affairs Committee from planning activities that might have facilitated the minority and underprivileged, an easier access into Albion college and recruiting people of color in the different levels of administration.

On April 22, 1968, black students on campus sent a letter to the faculty urging seven immediate steps. The letter discussed many aspects which made the black community feel more included on the campus. A few examples were increasing the recruitment of black students to at least 10 percent, active recruitment of black faculty and administrators, a pre-training program for black students who lack a solid secondary education, and a curriculum that included courses related to black culture and history. I think this course is important because different ethnicities come together in this country to form a rich fabric. Unfortunately, as there was segregation in the past, many differences cropped with time. To overcome those barriers we must gain knowledge and understanding of the tradition and culture of our fellow citizens who have different physical features.

The first signs of progress were when 75 percent of the department submitted a report to the Academic Affairs Committee under Dr. Albert Anderson as to what was being taught about Black culture. It was a good strategy to develop on what they had already tried to build. But some students were not satisfied with what was offered. They felt that having only one or two courses to learn about a culture that could be a potential major course of study was unfair. Moreover, the students also brought to light the mistakes in the report that was submitted. But then a year later the Pleiad reported that there was evidence of the recommendation could be seen because Black studies was incorporated into the curriculum by a few departments. This can be considered as progress though there is no other secondary source for support.

On November 19, 1971, the Vice President of Academic affairs decided that Black studies would be integrated into the existing curriculum and would not be an independent program of study putting many years of debate on how the course should be offered to rest. Other than academic issues there were administrative issues like lack of black faculty and also lack of interested students in Black studies courses. It was a tough call when such essential courses didn't have takers. But it is not a good idea to use college resources like faculty, classrooms, and others inefficiently. A possible way of combatting this situation is to combine two similar courses if possible.

The Great Lakes College Association Conference in 1986 was beneficial to the college. Apart from talking about the importance of Black studies, they said that GLCA schools might share faculty. This addressed the challenge discussed in the previous paragraph. But after 15 years the administration was back to square one they were again discussing how to offer Black studies. This makes me feel like the efforts of the previous administration were lost. I could not find any article which discussed what went wrong with then existing method. We should continue building on whatever is there rather than building new each time.

 Black studies was seen as a great way to attract minority students to campus and make them feel included in the campus. But after enrollment retaining students was also a huge challenge. The Black Students Alliance of Albion College worked hard to keep programs like Black studies running. The students felt education was the only way to overcome differences which reiterates why Black studies is an important part of the curriculum.

Again in 1990, it was announced that there would be a Black studies concentration by 1993. But in the course catalog fulfilling ethnicity requirement for the fall of 1993 Black studies couldn't be found. The catalog was published in the Pleaid on January 29, 1993. 

In this research, I have picked a few articles from 1968 to 1993 which discussed some important events related to the Black studies which were published in the Pleiad. It is to be noted that the students played a major role in trying to integrate the studies. Since the proposal was a turning point in the College's history, all the advancements related to the proposal were covered effectively by the Pleiad.

The Black Rap published on March 06, 1970, talked about Albion College as an institution with high academic standards and a "long progressing" tradition and the need for the introduction of Black studies to maintain that position. It is quite astonishing that such an important part of the proposal was ignored for two years. 75 percent of the academic departments submitted reports on what was being taught about Black culture. So it means that each department has tried to incorporate black culture in their curriculum. When each department tried to incorporate something about Black culture, it was possible to cover all aspects of the culture. This Pleiad article is special because it is the only article which talks about the steps being taken towards achieving the goal rather than just talking about why the course is beneficial for the students.

 The Poynter article by Brandi Griffin that we read in class talked about how adding qualified people of color adds richness and bridged all gaps between assuming what the affected were going through and the news. On similar lines when each department represented something from Black culture and added to the diversity of the class, the gaps between assumptions and awareness were also narrowed. 

The Pleiad article titled "Black Criticize Studies Report, Call for Better Recruitment” published on May 08, 1970, has raised students' opinions on the Black studies report ( refer prev article). The Pleiad article talks about why it was necessary to have Black studies. Benjamin, a student felt that considering the history of racist segregation which was first imposed and later accepted, emphasizes the need for Black studies. US is known as the melting pot for a reason. We have many ethnicities living together. Though there was segregation in the past. I agree with Benjamin, I think it is important that we should try to get familiar with the culture of the people with whom we live as a community and do not necessarily have the same background as us. William, a student too felt that one or two courses would not define Black studies and raised a claim that the college did not have as such a Black studies program and might try bring in one. Black studies are the study of a culture and its history and I think when more courses are made mandatory, it will be easier to know more about the culture because the purpose is to actually gain knowledge about something most of us have not experienced so far. Though there were many dissatisfactions in the courses offered, the most eyebrow-raising one was that courses that were actually not conducted were included as part of the existing curriculum. This raises other questions like integrity of the report by the academic committee.

The report formed by the academic affairs committee was the first progress towards Black studies which I have found evidence in the Pleiad. This Pleiad article is a unique piece to the project because it is the only article that I found to have a connection with the report of the Academic affair. Not only had it described the dissatisfactions of the report but also had voiced out the student opinions. Student opinions were crucial as they were the people who would have either benefited or lost directly when the course progressed.

The Pleiad article titled "Pleiad writer seeks facts on 1968 black student proposal" published on October 29, 1971, summarized the recommendations. Some of the recommendations insisted the Union Board to include course related to black culture in the curriculum, active recruitment of black faculty, staff, and students. This article mentioned that after three years curriculum demands were met because black studies had been included in the curriculum by the English and History department. In the Pleiad article dated May 08, 1970, titled "Blacks Criticize Studies Report, Call for Better Recruitment", two students expressed their dissatisfaction that the inclusion fewer courses would not give a comprehensive idea about the black culture. One of them was lack of black writers' work in the American Literature courses. I'm not sure if we can actually take this as a progress because according to the Academic Affairs report, 75 percent of the academic departments submitted reports on what was being taught about black culture. Another thing that I want to highlight is that this article was on the front page and was given a lot of space, this indicates the importance given to the proposal of 1968 and the seriousness with which people were following the case. The Pleiad too tried to trace the events after the proposal of 1968 and gave out information in four consecutive articles. This article is the first one in that series. The article summarizes the proposal and gives us a very concrete example of the inclusion of black studies in the curriculum to a certain extent which makes the article stand out.

The Pleiad article titled "Black studies to be integrated: Glassick" was published on November 19, 1971. This is the final edition of the article published in regards to the advancements of the proposal. The Vice President of academic affairs felt it was better to integrate black studies into the curriculum where it would be appropriate. According to a survey taken in 1970 twice as many courses had been offered related to Black studies when compared with the time of proposal made in 1968. The courses were either taught only during that particular semester by visiting professor M. Brown or experimental course in Philosophy or a seminar which were sparingly enough to get a good knowledge about Black culture. Also, it was just not encouraging enough that minority were attracted to get enrolled or apply for a job in Albion College. There was a special mention of a black literature class and an anthropology class. Steffenson, chairman of the Academic Affairs Committee, opened a new perspective. He said that the number of teaching staff had not been increased or diversified because the departments had to wait for a professor to leave before it could be filled by another qualified professor. He also said that there were many courses that could not be offered due to both lack of faculty and interested students. This article is a vital addition to the overall project as it talks about the practical challenges in integrating Black studies. Faculty could not just be recruited based on their cultural background nor can they be given preference due to it. Else belonging to a particular race will be advantageous to one group and not to another. I feel recruitment of faculty should have been focused on retaining the Black studies Program which eventually could have facilitated inclusion more minority students on the campus. It was practically not feasible to continue courses with very few students. I feel sincere efforts of coordinating teaching resources, uninterrupted minority students enrichment programs, efficient Steering Committee which should have continuously evaluated situation and made appropriate changes and attractive scholarships would have helped to achieve the goal. and I think integrating some similar classes is a good alternative as at least those few interested students should not have been discouraged.

This article got quite some space on the front page. This article was the final edition as mentioned earlier. Such coverage stresses the importance given to the issue and how keenly the issue was being followed by the readers.

The Pleiad article titled "Albion curriculum falls short" was published on October 10, 1986. Albion was part of a conference hosted by the Great Lakes College Association (GCLA). The conference focused on issues like the importance of Black studies and how they can be implemented. The startling fact the article had mentioned was Albion college stood in 12 th place of the 12 schools participated in that conference considering their programs and facilities available for the minority students. I need not say much as this statement is just enough to consolidate the progress made by concerned authorities regarding the Black Studies Program. The conference was attended by Hairston, a senior representing Black Students Alliance. As rightly stated by the President Melvia Vulgamore of the conference that right kind of support rendered to BSA, an option in the application form to specify the if the applicant belongs to minority group, implementing more cultural diversity by opening the doors to international students should have helped the the college curriculum to be on par with other premier institutions. But the article had not mentioned about any concrete plans or proposals to take it further.

We can be culturally diverse. Having professors visiting from other colleges of GLCA for a few courses during the semester would have ensured that students' interest were kept in top priority while the recruiting process was going slow. Towards the end of the article there is a statement by Poteet, then Provost that they were still discussing whether Black studies would be offered separately or to be widely covered in the curriculum. This makes me feel that the works of the previous administrators like Glassick in integrating Black studies were lost over the time. Moreover, I wonder if the proposal had started moving backward because it was previously decided that Black studies would be integrated and 15 years down the line the situation had not improved prominently in any aspect.

This article is significant in showing the progress of integrating Black studies over a long period of time. I feel that there was not constructive progress in implementing the proposed ideas and the situation is back to square one. This article was published on the very first page which means that attention given to resolve this particular issue was not just enough and efforts put were not recognized by the concerned authority and shows complacent attitude of steering committee.

The Pleiad article titled "Confronting institutional racism on campus" was published on February 19, 1988. This article deals with racism on campus. According to the article there was racism in both administration level in recruiting and retaining black students, there were no full time black American faculty members and the students were mostly segregated. The Black Student Alliance (BSA) did most of the work in the admission office for the "black recruitment weekend". Since the college was predominantly white, some students felt that the campus excluded them. Retaining minority students was a big task. Under the retention column in the article, Angela Carr, a Detroit senior and member of BSA, expressed her opinion as education is the best way to bridge racial differences between students. I concur with Carr, learning about the history and various aspects of Black culture is the best way to understand and respect the people who belong to that culture. I think the goal of the college was to simulate a mini melting pot rather than a soup bowl. Hence it is necessary to make sure everyone feels a part of the college and their culture is given the due respect. Though in the past, things might have been different and to overcome the barriers , an understanding of the past and appreciating the present would have fast tracked the desired progress. A deep understanding can only be attained through an impartial and futuristic mindset.

I would like to spotlight how Black studies had the potential to increase Black recruitment and retaining the Black students. This article provides evidence that Black studies have many other tied advantages which is beneficial for the college community as a whole. For example, increased black student recruitment and retention help in promoting the diversity of the college. The racism issue is given a full page and is covered explicitly. This addresses the importance given to racism on campus and underlines the nontolerant behavior. But since this article is on page 5, we get to know that this article is not on top of the priority list of the editors. After a discussion on whether to integrate black studies or offer them independently, this is the first article which talked about the courses about Black studies being offered.

The Pleiad article titled "Faculty will vote on gender and ethnicity requirement Thurs" was published on March 23, 1990. The purpose of a liberal arts education is to expose students to a diverse category of subjects. Therefore, there are some core requirements that are mandatory for all students. The college's Education Planning Committee (EPC) added a new requirement to the core requirement. The article states that the requirement would be introduced in 1992. The fact that I would like to highlight is that the EPC endorsed the development of women studies concentration much earlier than endorsing Black studies concentration. Despite the drawbacks, considerable growth in Black studies was seen in a short span of time. Two years ago, it was just a program for students but now there is a possibility for it to be a concentration. This means that students can study Black studies in more depth making it a truly liberal and inclusive curriculum that would cater multicultural ethnicity. 

This article is an important piece because it had a deadline before which the concentration would be developed. Secondly, it is the last article I found in the Pleiad which talked about the form in which Black studies should be seen. Moreover, this article was published in the top half of the first page grabbing the attention. This would mean the EPC was working on the new requirement seriously and the students found it useful too.

This is a list of courses that fulfill the ethnicity requirement. It was published in the Pleiad on January 29, 1993, for the fall semester of 1993. As we can see there are no courses related to Black studies. According to the EPC report the Black studies concentration was supposed to be developed by 1993. But there are no courses offered and I could not find any other article related to EPC or the concentration. This element was published under the title "Aim of new requirement: increased awareness of diversity" in a rectangular box on the second page of the edition. Considering if it had appeared in the first few pages of the edition, this article is prioritized.

I do understand the need to read between the lines in many articles and the writer could have missed out on something which he / she might have thought as an insignificant information. Proposal of recruiting black students at least 10% of total student population as mentioned in the Pleiad dated 22 April, 1968 or in other words reservation for Black People in the college admission should have definitely helped to resolve the issues. I strongly feel that this kind of positive discrimination for certain time period to help the underprivileged to come on par with the rest of the society. I have handpicked some articles to confirm these questions. Every person has his/her own perspectives with respect to anything, until we try to see things the way in the same way. Similarly, to be inclusive of Black community, we should have been familiar with their tradition and culture, after all every race and ethnicity has been evolving over the period of time. As rightly pointed out by Angela Carr, Detroit Junior, I would like to reinforce the idea that a liberal arts education should provide a wide spectrum of courses and combinations that emphasizes the cultural diversity with out any bias while preparing the students to focus on contemporary issues. As I said , except the word change, issues keep changing, mutating and challenging the vulnerable community and educators should address the issues by continuous evaluation and self evolution.