1YIARCHtl i BB

AJOti NSaNrl 7"LICATIOM

S6a
BLACK
POWER
I S
100
YEARS
OLD
56
. 95
400pages
I l l ust r at ed
I ndexed
The l essons of
t he Reconst r uc-
t i on per i od; t he
gr eat achi evement s
and br i l l i ant car eer s
of bl ack men i n
t he year s aft er
Emanci pat i on and t he
bi t t er effect s of t he
fi r st "whi t e back-
l ash" ar edet ai l ed
i n Ler one Bennet t ' s
newbook,
a compani onvol umet o hi s
best -sel l i ng
Negr o hi st or y, Befor e
t he
Mayfl ower .
CONTENTS
The Bl acl i Uni ver si t y
The Nat ur e and Needs of t he Bl ack
Uni ver si t y . . . . , , . , , , . Ger al d McI Gor t er 4
The Bl ack Uni ver si t y: APr act i cal Appr oach
Dar wi n T. Tur ner 14
The Bl ack Uni ver si t y : Towar d I t s
Real i zat i on . . . . . . St ephen E. Hender son
2l
The Bl ack Uni ver si t y and
I t s Communi t y
J . Her man. Bl ake 27
Some I nt er nat i onal
I mpl i cat i ons of t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y . . . . . . Vi ncent Har di ng 32
Fi nal Refl ect i ons on A`Negr o' Col l ege:
ACase St udy . . . . . . . , , , , . Nat han
Har e 40
Edi t or ' s Not es . . . . . . . . . , . . . . 97
Fi ct i on
The Game . , . , . . . , , . . , , , Chr i st i ne
Reanr s 54
Phot o
Feat ur e
J on Lockar d,
Bl ack Ar t i st . , , , , . , , , , , , , ,
93
Regul ar Feat ur es
Per spect i ves (Not es
on books, wr i t er s,
ar t i st s and
t he ar t s) , 49-52
;-humor i n I l ue,
39;-Poet r y" ,
47, 48
.
NEGRODI GEST
Mar ch 1968
MARCH
1968
VOL. XVI I
NO. 5
Edi t or and Publ i sher :
J OHNH. J OHNSON
Managi ngEdi t or :
Hoyt
W. Ful l er
Ar t Di r ect or :
Her ber t Templ e
Pr oduct i on Assi st ant :
Ar i el P. St r ong
Ci r cul at i on
Manager :
Rober t H,
Fent r ess
Necao
Dmesr i s pub-
l i shed
mont hl y at 1820
S. Mi chi gan Avenue,
Chi cago, I l l i noi s 60616.
(" Copyr i ght , 1968
by
t he J ohnson Publ i shi ng
Company,
I nc. New
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pai d
at Chi cago,
I l l i noi s .
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cao l l t cesr ar t i cl es
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sel ect ed on
t he basi s
of gener al
i nt er est and
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necessar i l y ex-
pr ess t he
opi ni ons of
t he
edi t or s .
3
AChoi ce of Forms
BYOEI ~ALDMcWORTER
' . . . WNi l e we can
l oot; to
Lho future, at best,
fori t. s ful l
real i zati on, ti t i s
qui te possi -
l rl e nowto suggest
a struc-
tural
outl i ne that
refl ects
the fundamental
assump-
ti orrs about the
Bl ack Lni -
w~rsi tv' s . soci al and
i ntel l rrc-
J tual rol e . . . '
(See Edi tor' s Notes,
page 97)
EVOLUTI ONARY
change for the
l i bera-
ti on of a peopl e
from
oppressi ve soci al
structures i s not
the
speci al functi on
of one course of
acti on, but, more
l i kel y, the resul t
of several . And
whi l e educati oni s
general l y hopedto
be a l i berati ng
force onmen' s
mi nds andbodi es,
oftti mes i t has beenused
as a de-
bi l i tati ngtool i n the
i nterests of an
oppressi ve
soci ety .
Accordi ngl y,
March 1968
NEGRODI GEST
KwameNkrumahcompares t heco-
l oni al st udent educat ed f or "t he
art
of f ormi ng not aconcret e
envi r-
onment al vi ewof soci al pol i t i cal
probl ems, but an abst ract
` l i beral '
out l ook, " wi t h
t he revol ut i onary
st udent "ani mat ed
by al i vel y na-
t i onal
consci ousness, (who) sought
knowl edge
as an i nst rument of na-
t i onal emanci pat i on
and i nt egri t y . "
So i t i s becomi ng
rat her cl ear t hat
educat i onal i nst i t ut i ons
arevi t al t o
al i berat i on
movement , af act of
NEGRODI GEST March
1968
modern t i mes i n ant i - col oni al
movement s i n t heThi rd Worl d.
I n t heUni t ed St at es t herei s no
quest i on about t he persi st ence of
segregat i on, raci sm,
and moresub-
t l e f orms of neo- raci sm
. , As t he
perni ci ous oppressi on
of raci smi s
an organi c part
of t he i nst i t ut i ons,
symbol s, and
val ues of West ern
i ndust ri al
soci et y, so i t i s f i rml y en-
t renched i n t he
U. S. A. ("as Amer-
i can

as

appl e

pi e" ) .

An

Af ro-
Ameri can
l i berat i on movement
must
subver t and/ or
suppl ant such
a
wel l - entr enched soci al
systemi f i t
i s to be a r eal
sour ce of
r adi cal
chance and not a
f al se one.
My pr i mar y task
i n thi s di scus-
si on i s an i deol ogi cal
consi der ati on
of the r ol e of a
uni ver si ty i n the
l i ber ati on of the
Af r o- Amer i can
communi ty
. I t must be
cl ear that
thi s r ol e
has
to
deal wi th
today' s
wor l d, as wel l as
wi th what
ought
to be. And
cer tai nl y, i t must
i n-
cl ude the
management of whatever
soci al change i s
r equi r ed to
move
ef f ecti vel y
f r om the " i s" to
the
" ought . " The
uni ver si ty i s al i ve
f or
peopl e i n the
wor l d ( i ncl udi ng
al l
of the soci oeconomi c
and
pol i ti cal
hangs- up i nvol ved) ,
and so must
meet the chal l enge
of r espondi ng
cr eati vel y to whatever
needs
exi st
now
f or those peopl e
. But, at the
same
ti me, i t must pr oj ect
i tsel f as
a
pr opheti c i nsti tuti on
cal l i ng i nto
questi on
al l that whi ch
i s i ncon-
si stent
wi th i ts hi ghest
i deal s, and
or gani zi ng i ts
acti vi ti es to
br i ng
about the
r eal i zati on of
i ts i deal s .
The
f ocus of thi s
di scussi on i s on
what ought to
be, the
pr opheti c . so-
ci al
r ol e of the
Bl ack Uni ver si ty,
f or ther ei n l i es
the f ountai nhead
of
r evol uti onar y
l i ber ati on
.
We
must be
r emi nded of thi s
same
theme as
stated by Dr .
W.
E. B. Du
Boi s over 50
year s ago i n
the
1910 Ni agr o
Movement r eso-
l uti ons :
And
when we cal l f or
educati on,
we
mean r eal
educati on . . .
Ed-
ucati on
i s the
devel opment of
power and
i deal . We want
our
chi l dr en tr ai ned as
i ntel l i gent hu-
man
bei ngs shoul d be,
and we
wi l l
f i ght f or al l ti me
agai nst any
pr oposal
to educate
bl ack boys
and
gi r l s si mpl y as
ser vants and
under l i ngs, or si mpl y
f or the use
of other
peopl e. They
have a
r i ght to know, to
thi nk, to aspi r e
.
We
do not bel i eve
i n vi ol ence
. . . but we do bel i eve
i n . . . that
wi l l i ngness to sacr i f i ce
money,
r eputati on,
and l i f e
i tsel f on the
al tar
of r i ght .
The
Booker T.
Washi ngton- Du
Boi s
di al ecti cal opposi ti on
i s r el e-
vant her e,
as i t i s the
i mpor tant
exampl e
of the " i s"
ver sus the
" ought"
co- ncer ni ng
educati onal
i deol ogy
f or
Af r o- Amer i cans .
Tr ai ni ng
peopl e to f i t i n wher e
they
can ( thi nk of
MDTA, J ob
Cor ps,
ete. ) mi ght be
acceptabl e f or
shor t
ter m
sol uti ons,
though not as
Washi ngton thought
i t to be . But
the
educati onal
i deol ogy of Du
Boi s i s our pr ophecy,
a r ati onal e to
bui l t a Bl ack
uni ver si ty- the
cr uci -
bl e of
def i ni ti ve soci al
change.
I n or der that
the i dea of the
new
uni ver si ty
and the noti ons
of how
we
ar e to achi eve
i t as agoal
wi l l
be
mor e cl ear l y
under stood, i t
i s i m-
por tant
to di scuss
br i ef l y the cur -
r ent soci al
si tuati on. The
cur r ent
si tuati on
i s one char ged
wi th a
gr eat
deal of
expectancy on the
par t of many
Af r o- Amer i cans,
an
expectancy
f r equentl y
expr essed by
the emoti onal
connotati ons
of a
ter mor
phr ase but
usual l y not de-
l i neated i n
str uctur al or pr ogr am-
mati c
ter ms. But thi s
pr ogr ammati c
Mar ch 1958
NEGRODI GEST
def i ci ency i s not s a much
a
s hor t -
comi ng, f or t he
exci t i ng s ear ch
f or
i nnovat i on and r el evance i s
t he
f i r s t
s i gn of pr ogr es s . Amaj or ques t i on,
t hen, i s what condi t i ons gi ve r i s e t o
t hi s expect ancy, t hi s char ged at -
mos pher e cr ys t al l i zed
ar ound t he
t er mBl ack
Uni ver s i t y?
Amaj or t r end i n
t oday' s
wor l d
i s t hat , as oppr es s ed
peopl e know
t hat t he wor l d of f er s
mor e t han
t hey have, and
as
t hey ar e
abl e t o
get a l i t t l e mor e of i t , t hey
al s o
ex-
pect t o get ver y muchmor e
.
Thi s
has been cal l ed
"t he r evol ut i on of
r i s i ng expect at i ons
. " Af i gur at i ve
exampl e:
An Af r o- Amer i can f ami -
l y get s
a t el evi s i on s et and ent er s as
a s pect at or
t he wor l d of af f l uent
Eur o- Amer i can s oci et y. I t i s not
compl i cat ed t o s ee t hat t hi s woul d
l ead t o t he f ami l y want i ng mor e
t han i t has , much mor e. J us t i mams
i ne
howcr uel i t mus t be f or poor
oppr es s ed
Bl ack peopl e t o wat ch
t he gi ve- away qui z
pr ogr ams on
whi ch
whi t e peopl e wi n appl i ances ,
f ur ni t ur e,
and car s i n 20mi nut es or
s o. Then t hi nk of a s cene of ghet t o
des t r uct i on dur i ng whi ch peopl e
br ave ar med pol i ce t o s t eal appl i -
ances , f ur ni t ur e, and car s i n 20
mi nut es or s o. Oppr es s ed peopl e
s ee what i s goi ng on, and want ` i n'
i n t he bes t way t hey can get ` i n'
( yes , by any means neces s ar y t o do
i t r i ght now! ! ) .
Al ong wi t h t hi s devel opi ng de-
NEGRODI GEST
Mar ch 1968
s i r e t o get
mor e
out of s oci et y t her e
al s o i s t he i ncr eas i ng
s al i ency of
a
nat i onal i s t i c
al t er nat i ve t o
t he s ys -
t em. The
gener al
component s ar e
mi l i t ancy, s el f - det er mi nat i on, and
a
des i r e
t o i dent i f y
wi t h s i mi l ar op-
pr es s ed
peopl e t hr oughout
t he
wor l d
( who ar e not by acci dent
mos t l y col or ed peopl e) . Thi s al t er -
nat i ve i s gr ounded i n communal i s m
and f i nds i t s l egi t i macy f r omwi t hi n
Af r o- Amer i ca and not out s i de of
i t . Nat i onal i s m i n
t hi s c~nr Pxr
means t ot al concer n f o ~ m-
mumt y o common exper i ence, s o
_Af _~~A- mer l Can
Nat i nna i cmi e
gxoi ui ded i n t he Bl ack Ex;
Pr i Pn~~
Communal i s m. meani ng s el f - hel p
cooper at i ve ef f or t s , i s t he et hi c s up-
por t i n~t he newal t er nat i ve
Thes e t wo maj or t r ends cannot
be vi ewed
out s i de of t he t ot al
con-
t ext of wor l d event s , es peci al l y
t hos e event s of par t i cul ar r el evance
t o t he Af r o- Amer i can communi t y .
The mi l i t ar y- i ndus t r i al machi ne
of t he Wes t er n power s i s equal l y
of f ens i ve and out r agi ng i n Vi et nam
and Sout h Af r i ca, i n Sant o Do-
mi ngo and Ghana. But
i t s eems
appar ent t hat peopl es can onl y
uni t e acr os s t he wor l d i n as pi r i ng
f or t he s ame uni ver s al s - peace,
f r eedom, and j us t i ce- whi l e f ocus -
i ng t hei r
wor ki ng act i vi t i es on t he
s oci al i l l s as mani f es t ed at home
.
I f
we ar e t o r eap a har ves t of wor l d
br ot her hood, t hen
each man mus t
f i r s t t end t o hi s own gar den. But
f or each gar den t o
have i t s t r ue
meani ng, t he gar dener mus t know
hi s hi s t or i cal r ol e and
hi s r el at i on-
shi p wi t h
a l l ot her s wor ki ngf or t he
sa me
ha r vest .
The t wo t r ends a r e gener a l soci a l
sour ces of t he cr y f or a Bl a ck
Uni -
ver si t y . Whi l e ever yone i s mor e or
l ess f or such a t hi ng a s a uni ver si t y,
f or
some
t he qua l i t y of Bl a ckness
i mbues
t he concept wi t h pol emi ca l
emot i ona l
i nt ensi t y a nd concept ua l
a mbi gui t y
( or , i n ext r eme ca ses, of
r a ci sm) .
Thi s must be cl ea r ed up
i f t he di a l ogue
i s t o cont i nue. I n
r ef er ence t o
a uni ver si t y, Bl a ckness
must mea na t l ea st
t hr ee t hi ngs .
Fi r st , Bl a ckness
r ef er s t o t he
Af r o- Amer i ca n
communi t y a s t he
ba si c f ocus f or
t he Uni ver si t y. Thi s
i n no wa y
compr omi ses or l i mi t s i t s
uni ver sa l i st i c
or i ent a t i on or i t s a t -
t empt s t o cont r i but e
t o huma n
pr ogr ess : r a t her , i t
f r ees i t t o be
r el eva nt i n t he f a ce
of a n unmet
need
r ef l ect i ng t he
woef ul l i mi t of
huma n pr ogr ess
.
Asecond, a nd mor e
cont r over -
si a l poi nt ,
consi der s t he l i mi t s
pl a ced on pa r t i ci pa t i on i n t he
Uni -
ver si t y . Bl a ckness
does not ca t e-
gor i ca l l y excl ude a l l whi t e
peopl e
f r omt he Uni ver si t y ;
i t r edef i nes t he
st a nda r ds
f or t hei r pa r t i ci pa t i on
a nd
t he possi bi l i t y
f or t hei r i n-
vol vement . I n
much t he sa me wa y
t ha t
i ndependent Af r i ca n
count r i es
ha ve a t t empt ed t o
r edef i ne t he pos-
si bl e r ol e of
t he Eur opea n, so i n
t he
Bl a ck
Uni ver si t y t he r ol e
of t he
whi t e ma n must be
r edef i ned a nd
ca r ef ul l y
pl a ced f or t he ma xi mum
good
of a l l . Some whi t e
peopl e wi l l
be necessa r y f or
t he i mmedi a t e f u-
t ur e i f
f or no ot her r ea son t ha n t he
bl a ck communi t y' s
ownshor t a ge of
r esour ces . But
uncondi t i ona l pa r -
t i ci pa t i on wi l l ha ve t o be ended.
The
pa r t i ci pa t i on must be ba sed on
a
commi t ment t o t he goa l s
a nd
a spi r a t i ons of
t he Af r o- Amer i ca n
communi t y,
a nd t he whi t e pa r t i ci -
pa nt must
possess t he sa cr i f i ci a l
humi l i t y necessa r y
f or one hi st or i -
ca l l y a nd soci a l l y
i dent i f i ed wi t h
t he bea st of
Af r o- Amer i ca n hi st or y
a nd t he syst emof oppr essi on
.
La st , Bl a ckness i s a n
a f f i r ma t i on
of a n i dent i t y i ndependent
of t he
hi st or i ca l huma n
evi l s of moder n
na t i on st a t es, a nd
i s cl osel y t i ed t o
t he emer gi ng
i nt er na t i ona l i dent i t y
of ma n i n hi s st r uggl e
f or
a
bet t er
l i f e. Consi der t hi s
r evel a t i on by
Br ot her Ma l col m
Xwhen on hi s
pi l gr i ma ge t o Mecca :
"Tha t mor ni ng wa s
when I f i r st
bega n t o r ea ppr a i se t he
`whi t e
ma n. ' I t wa s when 1 f i r st
bega n
t o per cei ve
t ha t `whi t e ma n'
a s
commonl y used,
mea ns com-
pl exi on
onl y seconda r i l y ;
pr i -
ma r i l y i t descr i bed
a t t i t udes a nd
a ct i ons .
I n Amer i ca ,
`whi t e
ma n' mea nt speci f i c
a t t i t udes
a nd
a ct i ons t owa r d t he bl a ck
ma n, a nd t owa r d a l l
ot her non-
whi t e men.
But i n t he Musl i m
wor l d,
I ha d seenmenwi t h
whi t e
compl exi ons wer e
mor e genu-
i nel y br ot her l y
t ha n a nyone el se
ha d
ever been. "
The
r el a t i ons bet weenpeopl e must
be a l l owed t o gr ow
a nd pr ogr ess
wi t hout t he
l i mi t i ng pr obl emof t he
r a t i ona l
st a t e . Who a r e we?
Af r o-
Amer i ca ns, menof
t he wor l d. Why
Ma r ch
1 968 NEGRODI GEST
ar e
we
her e? We wer e sent her e t o
l ove. Wher e ar e we goi ng? Towar d
t he communi t y of l ove, and i f
st opped
we wi l l cont i nue "by any
means
necessar y, " because we must
cont i nue
.
So much f or pr ol ogue. What i s
t he Bl ack Uni ver si t y i dea al l about ?
What ar e i t s goal s? And what
mi ght i t l ook l i ke? The uni ver si t y
f ocusi ng
on t he par t i cul ar needs of
t he Af r o- Amer i can
communi t ywi l l
be a cent er of
l ear ni ng. But , r ecog-
ni zi ng t he al t er nat i ves
not ed above
by Nkr umah, >~ mnct
hP hacPAnn
an educat i onal i deol ogy
gr ounded
~ i n an uncompr omi si ng goo
o psy-
chol ogi cal i ndependence
f r omt he
sXs_ - _
. per . _ So, educat i on must
be def i ned
t o speci f y t hese pur poses as most
i mpor t ant
.
The
Amer i can (U. S. A. ) et hi c of
i ndi vi dual i smi s
i ncl usi ve of bot h
basi c needs of men and
t he essence
of a soci al st yl e. Al l
men ar e, t o
some ext ent , sel f - cent er ed.
But t o
bui l d a soci al gr oup pr ocess
on
sel f - cent er edness i s t o hope f or a
j ust or der t hr ough
"ant agoni st i c
cooper at i on. " The t hr ust
of t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y must
be
t o over -
come t hi s
subt l e soci al war l i ke-
st at e wi t h t he et hi c of
communal -
i sm. Thi s
means t hat i nst ead of
hopi ng f or soci al pr ogr ess
t hr ough
t he i ndi vi dual
mer i t s of i t s st udent s
or f acul t y qua i ndi vi dual s,
pr ogr ess
i s t o be vi ewed
as a soci al pr ocess
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch
1968
t hr ough
whi ch t he communi t y i s
upl i f t ed
wi t h t he ai dof i t s cont r i b-
ut i ng peopl e
. Thi s t hen means t hat
whi l e
st udent s and f acul t y pl ay a
ver y
vi t al r ol e, t hey ar e co- wor ker s
al ongsi de t he equal l y i mpor t ant
ot her s, e. g. , t he communi t y or gan-
i zer , t he ar t i st , t he uni on
or gani zer
.
Mor eover ,
t he

oal of t he uni -
ver si t y must
e one of ser vi ce t o
t he communi t y. The st udent s, f ac-
ul t y, and admi ni st r at i on of t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y must consi der
t hemsel ves as ser vant s
t o
t he
br oader Af r o- Amer i can commu-
ni t y.
Bei ng a member of t he Uni -
ver si t y must be consi der ed an
honor , but mor e i mpor t ant t hi s
honor must be one i nvol vi ng
r e-
sponsi bi l i t y t o t he t ot al communi t y
andnot si mpl y f ocusi ng on t he
"I -
made- i t - because- I ' m- smar t er - t han"
ki nd of t hi nki ng. Bei ng
ser vant s,
st at us i s not basedon t he academi c
cr edent i al s uni ver si t y peopl e cr eat e
f or
t hemsel ves ; r at her i t i s on t he
ext ent t o whi ch t he t ot al commu-
ni t y i s abl e
t o r eap benef i t s f r om
t he ser vi ce pr ovi ded.
The ser vi ce
of
t he
Bl ack Uni ver -
si t y must
not be one t r ansmi t t ed
t hr ough
mass communi cat i on or
r i t ual i st i c
cer emony but t hr ough a
concr et e
pr ogr ammat i c movement
t owar d l i ber at i on . The t i me when
t he Af r o- Amer i can communi t y
must be ar ms- l engt h f r omi t s i nst i -
t ut i ons of hi gher educat i on i s over .
The pi mps,
pr ost i t ut es,
pr eacher s,
and Ph. D
. ' s must
f i nd a
common
bond t o
change
t hemsel ves
and
weave an
or gani c
uni t y as t he
basi s
f or
l i ber at i on and a
bet t er
l i f e f or
al l .
These
goal s must
r edef i ne
t wo
danger ousl y- per vasi ve
pat t er ns
f ound
among
Af r o- Amer i can
f ac-
ul t y
and st udent s
t oday.
One of t he
pat t er ns
i s f or
educat i on t o be
si m-
pl y
a pr ocess
of accl i mat i on
and
adj ust ment
t o t he
whi t ewor l d
. One
goes t o a
whi t eschool
t o r ub
shoul -
der s
wi t h t hem,
"because,
son, you
got t o
make a
l i vi n' out
i n t hei r
wor l d. "
Anot her
pat t er n i s
t he
pl ay- cul t ur e
of
f r i endshi p
cl i ques
and f r at er ni t y
l i f e.
Whet her i t
i s
mi mi cr y of
whi t es
( t hi nk of
For t
Lauder dal e i n
t he
spr i ng) , or
de-
f ect i on based
on
hopel essness, we
must f i nd t he
r eci pe f or a
r evol u-
t i onar y
di sci pl i ne
consi st ent
wi t h
our
desi r e f or
i mmedi at e
r adi cal
change. A
f r ee man i s
al so ( and
must
be) a r esponsi bl e
man,
and
so
must
Af r o- Amer i can
st udent s
andf acul t y
be r esponsi bl e
t o t hem-
sel ves
by bei ng
r esponsi bl e
t o t he
Bl ack
communi t y .
The
val ues of t he
Bl ack
Uni ver -
si t y
must suppor t
t he
l i ber at i on
movement of
Af r o- Amer i cans, op-
pr essed
peopl e ar ound
t he
wor l d,
and
al l t hat
pr event s man
f r om
l eadi ng t he
goodl i f e. We
must f i nd
a
synt hesi s of
ef f i ci ent r eason
and
pur posi ve
compassi on. The
val ue
pl aced
on sci ent i f i c
met hods
must
be j oi ned
by an
equal l y
i mpor t ant
val ue
pl aced an
empat hy, i . e. ,
sci -
1 0
ent i f i c det achment
must be
l i mi t ed
t o met hod
and t echni que, compl e-
ment edwi t h
i nvol vement and com-
mi t ment . The
st udent s and
f acul t y
must be
evangel i cal i n t hei r
soci al
r ol es and gi ve
newmeani ng
t o be-
i ng a mi ssi onar y
f or f r eedom.
And
f i nal l y, t he Bl ack
Uni ver si t y must
i mpar t
t o al l who
ar e associ at ed
wi t hi t
t he st r engt h t o be
al one. The
st r uggl e
agai nst
i gnor ance, j ust as
wi t h t he
st r uggl e of
power , i s one
wi t hi n
whi ch t he f or ces
of good ar e
of t en
smal l i n number
and spar sel y
pl aced
. An Af r o- Amer i can
of t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y must
have i nner
st r engt h,
posi t i ve
hi st or i cal i den-
t i t y,
and a vi si on of
t he good,
f or
onl y i n
havi ng t hese
t r ai t s wi l l he
beabl e t o
st and up i n a
wor l ddom-
i nat ed by
evi l and be
secur e even
i n bei ng
al one.
Among i t s
many f unct i ons,
t he
uni ver si t y
i s most
concer ned wi t h
knowl edge, bot h
t he
accumul at ed
i nf or mat i on
and i nsi ght s
of human
hi st or y
and t he
vi si on and
pr ocess
of new
di scover y . And
i t i s knowl -
edge
about
Af r o- Amer i cans
t hat i s
most l acki ng,
or bi ased
and wr ong,
i n al l
t hese r espect s
. The
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y i s
based on t he
f unda-
ment al
assumpt i on
t hat t he
Af r o- Amer i can
communi t y i s,
i n
E.
Fr ankl i n
Fr azi er ' s wor ds,
"a l i t -
t l e soci al
wor l d, " a
humanuni ver se
her et of or e
mi sused
or i gnor ed
by
hi gher educat i on
.
Consi der t hese
aut obi ogr aphi cal
comment s
by Dr
.
Du
Boi s :
"When I
went Sout h
t o Fi sk,
I
became a
member of
a cl osed
Mar ch 1 968
NEGRO
DI GEST
r aci al gr oup
wi t h r i t es and l oyal -
t i es , wi t h
a
hi s t or y
and a cor po-
r at e f ut ur e, wi t h
an ar t and
phi l os ophy .
I nt o t hi s
wor l d
I
l eapt wi t h pr o-
vi nci al
ent hus i as m. Anew l oy-
al t y and al l egi ance r epl aced my
Amer i cani s m: hencef or t h I was
a Negr o. "
The Bl ack Uni ver s i t y mus t r es pond
cr eat i vel y t o j us t t hes e r eal i t i es
whi ch wer e t r ue f or Du Boi s i n
1880, and equal l y t r ue f or t hi s
aut hor i n t he 1960' s .
The knowl edge of Af r o- Amer i -
cans , j us t as wi t h
Af r i ca, i s yet t o
he f ul l y r ecl ai med
. Wi t h t he f ul l
s cope of Uni ver s i t y
act i vi t i es ( r e-
s ear ch, t eachi ng, et c
. ) , r evi s i on i s
needed t o s ecur e f or
col or ed peo-
pi es of t he wor l d t hei r
pr oper pl ace
i n human hi s t or y .
Thi s r evi s i on of
educat i onal
mat er i al s i s a pr oces s
as much pol i t i cal
as i t i s s chol ar l y .
Wi t h s chol ar l y
wor k a t ext of
U. S . A. hi s t or y can
be wr i t t en, but
onl y wi t h pol i t i cal
i nf l uence wi l l i t
be
made avai l abl e by get t i ng i t
publ i s hed, pl aced i n a l i br ar y, or
adopt ed
as r ecommended r eadi ng.
However , i n t he pr es ent i t woul d
be f ool i s h t o t hi nk of t hr owi ng
ever yt hi ng as i de . Revi s i on of what
i s
mus t be a t hor ough j ob of s ys t e-
mat i c and r i gor ous s chol ar s hi p
backed by t he concer t ed pol i t i cal
NEGRODI GEST
Mar ch 19E8
ef f or t s of Af r o- Amer i can s t udent s ,
f acul t y, and t he ent i r e communi t y .
But mor e i mpor t ant ( and mor e
di f f i cul t ) , t her e i s a need t o f i nd
new s t yl es of s chol ar s hi p, new
f or ms of
knowl edge,
new
ways of
knowi ng.
Thes e newdevel opment s
mus t be cons i s t ent wi t h what i s t o
be known, and have ut i l i t y f or t he
l i ber at i on movement . Ther e mus t
be r es ear ch on al l as pect s of t he
Bl ack Exper i ence,
r es ear ch neces -
s ar i l y not l i mi t ed
t o
t r adi t i onal
s chol ar l y di s ci pl i nes , but open t o
t he demands of t he s ubj ect . For
exampl e, t he " Bl ues " component of
Af r o- Amer i can cul t ur e demands a
hi s t or i an, mus i col ogi s t , l i t er ar y
hi s -
t or i an, s oci ol ogi s t , et c . The s oul of
a peopl e mus t be r ef l ect ed i n t he
r es ul t s of t he r es ear ch as wel l as t he
l i f e s t yl e of t he Bl ack Uni ver s i t y .
We mus t be i n s ear ch of t he
" f unky" s oci ol ogi s t , t he " s oul f ul "
pol i t i cal s ci ent i s t , and t he Uni ver -
s i t y pr es i dent who can " get down. "
Thes e ar e s ome of t he neces s ar y
i ngr edi ent s of a Bl ack
Uni ver s i t y .
And whi l e we can, at bes t , l ook t o
t he f ut ur e f or i t s f ul l r eal i zat i on, i t
i s qui t e pos s i bl e now t o s ugges t a
s t r uct ur al out l i ne t hat r ef l ect s t hes e
f undament al as s umpt i ons about i t s
s oci al and i nt el l ect ual r ol e . The
di agr am ( on page 12) s ugges t s
t hr ee r el at ed col l eges concer ned
wi t h di s t i nct ar eas , t hough bound
t oget her i n t he i dea of t he Uni ver -
s i t y
.
Each woul d be or gani zed
ar ound r es ear ch,
t eachi ng, and
pr act i ce . For ever y par t of t he Uni -
ver s i t y communi t y
t her e woul d be
12
THEBLACKUNIVERSITY:
An Unf i ni shed Desi gn
an advi sor y boar d of
communi ty
r epr esentati ves f r om
al l wal ks of
l i f e, wi th the task of pr ovi di ng
pol -
i cy suggesti ons and gui del i nes
. Thi s
woul d i nsur e the communi ty
of
ti es to the speci f i c par ts of the
Uni ver si ty.
As one enter s the Uni ver si ty he
wi l l be f aced wi th a
var i ety of
degr ee pr ogr ams and
al ter nati ve
Col l ege of
Li ber al Ar ts
Uni ver si ty Li br ar y
Uni ver si ty
Pr ess
Col l ege of

Col l ege of
Af r o- Amer i can ~- ~Communi ty
Li f e
Studi es
1 . Center s
f or
Inter nati onal Study
( Asi a, Af r i ca, Lati n
Amer i ca)
2. Inter nati onal Conf er ence Center
cour ses of study. It i s qui te cl ear
that the standar d f our - year col l ege
degr ee meets onl y a par ti al need
f or the Af r o- Amer i cancommuni ty.
But even the student enter i ng the
Col l ege of Li ber al Ar ts woul d have
to
wor k at l east a year i n one or
mor e
of
the other two col l eges i n
or der to meet the r equi r ements f or
gr aduati on. The gener al pr i nci pl e
Mar ch 1968 NEGRO
DIGEST
mi ght
wel l be that, to meet the
needs
of today, the new programs
wi l l
have to take l ess ti me ; but
those set up to meet the needs of
tomorrow wi l l have to take more
ti me.
As a nati onal i nsti tuti on engaged
i n acti vi ti es f ound nowhere
el se,
the component
col l eges of the
Bl ack Uni versi ty
woul d be of great
servi ce to a wi de vari ety of groups.
Servi ce prof essi onal s worki ng wi th
Af ro- Ameri cans f ace a chal l enge
supported by sparse research and
l i ttl e experi ence. The Col l ege of
Af ro- Ameri can Studi es, bei ng a
center of i nnovati on and di scovery
concerni ng these probl ems, wi l l
conduct speci al courses and trai n-
i ng programs so that students
can
suppl ement thei r trai ni ng
and ex-
peri ence wi th a
concentrated pro-
gram. There i s a desperate need f or
soci al workers,
teachers, l awyers,
doctors, psychi atri sts,
etc . Andthe
same ki nd of f uncti on i s pl anned
f or the
enti re Uni versi ty.
There al so must be
connected
wi th such a
Uni versi ty a set of cen-
ters of I nternati onal
Study. They
wi l l
be smal l centers speci al i zi ng i n
speci f i c areas
i n order that, to-
gether, they mi ght consti tute
an i n-
ternati onal programwi thout super-
f i ci al l y mi ssi ng
the pecul i ar charac-
ter of each part of
the worl d. I n
addi ti on, no such Uni versi ty
coul d
hope
to f uncti on wi thout an i nter-
nati onal conf erence
center avai l -
abl e to the Uni versi ty
communi ty,
and accommodati ng
other acti vi ti es
consi stent wi th the ai ms
and pur-
NEGRODI GEST March 1968
pose of the
Uni versi ty communi ty
and
l i berati on movement . Af ro-
Ameri cans
are movi ngonto the i n-
ternati onal
scene and so must have
at thei r
di sposal a center where
such
meeti ngs can be hel d.
As
stated at the begi nni ng of thi s
di scussi on, there i s no panacea
f or the Af ro- Ameri can
l i berati on
movement, j ust as
there can and
wi l l be no monol i thi c
organi za-
ti onal structure. But
there can be
operati onal
uni ty around suchcon-
cepts
as the Bl ack Uni versi ty. The
f i rst
step i n movi ng toward thi s
operati onal
uni ty, movi ng toward
the Bl ack
Uni versi ty, i s to begi n a
creati ve
and honest di al ogue among
Af ro- Ameri cans . But more than
that, we need smal l bands
of
peopl e
i n posi ti ons to act, to make
steps,
to
be dari ng enough to ri sk f ai l ure
( or worse, i rrel evance
) . I t wi l l onl y
be when these i deas can
be
ref erred
to i n
concrete terms that def i ni ti ve
statements can be
made,
and
the
concrete real i ty of the Bl ack Uni -
versi ty must begi n
today.
One l ast thought . The Af ro-
Ameri can communi ty does not
possess unl i mi ted
resources wi th
whi ch to carry on experi ment
af ter
experi ment . Each of us who can
contri bute to the
Bl ack Uni versi ty
must ask hi msel f what
he i s doi ng
f or
i t, what he i s doi ngf or thi s ki nd
of operati onal uni ty.
I amcal l i ng
f or al l of the brothers and
si sters i n
"other"
col l eges and uni versi ty set-
ti ngs to come on home
. And to
those
at home, l et us get thi s thi ng
together! !
1 3
Pr obl ems,
Pr ospect s, and
Pr oposal s
The
Bl ack Uni ver si t y:
APr act i cal
Appr oach
1 4

Mar ch
1 968 NEGRO
DI GEST
Adi sti ngui shed
young educator f romal eadi ng bl ack col l ege
of f ers
apossi bl e pattern f or aBl ack Uni versi ty
whi ch"shoul d
be the ki nd of i nsti tuti on best desi gned
to provi de adequate
opportuni tyf or bl ack teachers and students
to devel op thei r
capabi l i ti es f ul l y, to serve the bl ack
communi tyef f ecti vel y,
to gai n pri de i n and knowl edge
of thei r heri tage and them-
sel ves . . . "
~t~~c'~
OST
RFFCIRII~Pnrl c
~` ~~~i nrr . vei n.
Perhaps
that wi l l be the
i nevi -
~~~~
tabl e resul t
i n any ef -
f ort
to
ref ormhi gher
educati on f or
Negroes
i n the
Uni ted States. Neverthel ess, be-
f ore proposi ng the revol uti onary
step of establ i shi ng a newi nsti tu-
ti on-a bl ack uni versi ty-I wi sh to
suggest ways of achi evi ng the de-
si red i mprovement wi thi n the pres-
ent structure of hi gher educati on.
For f ear that the very di scussi on
of thi s
i ssue
may
seem
to provi de
substance f or those hosti l e cri ti cs
who argue that Negroes are
pe-
cul i ar creatures al ways demandi ng
or needi ngspeci al attenti on, I must
poi nt
out that the
need
f or ref orm
i s
not l i mi ted
to the educati on of
Negroes.
Hi gher
educati on i n the
Uni ted States needs attenti on. It
i s a mongrel concei ved f romthe
f orced weddi ng of the European
i deal of educati ng the el i te to the
Uni ted States i deal of educati ng the
masses. Students compl ai n about
thei r l oss of i denti ty, thei r i sol ati on
f romprof essors, thei r i nabi l i ty
to
recei ve respect as young adul ts,
and thei r subj ecti on to anti quated
or absurd academi c
regul ati ons,
NEGRODIGESTMarch 1968
courses, and materi al s. Teachers
compl ai n about the di si nterest of
students and about the overem-
phasi s on athl eti cs, grants, and re-
search. Admi ni strators compl ai n
about the conti nuous compl ai ni ng
bystudents and teachers.
Al though Negroes share i n
these
characteri sti c and perenni al
prob-
l ems of hi gher educati on,
Negroes
experi ence
addi ti onal probl ems
both i n the "i ntegrated" col l eges
and i n the "predomi nantl y Negro"
col l eges.
The Negro teacher i n an i nte-
grated i nsti tuti on knows that he
exi sts as a vi si bl e symbol of l i beral
atti tudes and practi ces of brother-
hood. i f he i s one i n a mi l l i on, he
may become the chai rman of hi s
department . (Or who
i s
there
be-
si des J ohn Hope Frankl i n?)
If he
i s especi al l y astute i n hi s
studi es of
Negroes, he may
aspi re to be a
Kenneth B.
Cl ark. Most of ten,
however,
he ri ses to the l owl y post
of assi stant or associ ate prof essor,
and squi rms there; the channel s to
promi nence are dammed f or hi m
even though hi s i ntel l i gence and
trai ni ng maysurpass those of men
who
ri se beyond hi s rank.
If he works i n a predomi nantl y
15
Negro col l ege, he, general l y, must
l i ve i n the South. Prof essi onal l y,
hi s
growth i s restri cted by
the cul -
tural i sol ati on,
the poverty, and the
apathy
f requentl y characteri sti c of
such i nsti tuti ons . Because he may
become a prof essor, a dean, or
even a presi dent, hemay earn more
money than he woul d i n an i nte-
grated i nsti tuti on.
Psychol ogi cal l y,
however,
he struggl es to mai ntai n
sel f - respect when prof essi onal
f ri ends accuse hi mof martyrdom
or worse. Even though the qual i ty
of i nstructi on i n i ndi vi dual cl asses
may equal that observed i n any col -
l ege i n the country, wi del y pub-
l i ci zed reports by whi te men have
procl ai med the i nnate i nf eri ori ty of
such i nsti tuti ons . Thus, as l ong
as
he remai ns attached to
a predomi -
nantl y Negro
col l ege, hetoo i s ad-
j udged i nf eri or or, at best, an ex-
cepti on, a smal l - si zed f rog i n a
muddy
cesspool .
I t i s no wonder that, vaci l l ati ng
between such harsh al ternati ves,
Negro educators
f requentl y dream
of a bl ack uni versi ty i n whi ch they
mi ght ri se to a l evel ordai ned
by
thei r tal ents and ambi ti on whi l e
commandi ng
the prof essi onal re-
spect accorded to teachers at
pres-
ti ge i nsti tuti ons .
V Si mi l arl y,

sensi ti ve Negro stu-
dents f eel repressed . I n i ntegrated
i nsti tuti ons, prospects are bri ghter
f or themthan f or Negro teachers.
They may be el ected to such ex-
al ted posi ti ons as homecomi ng
queen or presi dent of
a cl ub or
even a cl ass. Theonl y requi rement
1 6
i s that
they be
excepti onal i n i ntel -
l i gence,
athl eti c abi l i ty,
charm, or
beauty, or that
the
school be cam-
pai gni ng to prove i ts l i beral i ty . I f
they are average or enrol l duri ng
the wrongyear, they drop i nto ob-
scuri ty, where they remai n f ar more
hi dden than are whi te cl assmates
of equal tal ent . Regardl ess of thei r
promi nence,
they experi ence re-
stri cti ons i n soci al l i f e. Academi -
cal l y, some suf f er f romthe prej u-
di ce of i nstructors whobel i eve Ne-
groes i ncapabl e of swi mmi ngabove
"C" l evel . Sti l l others, i ntel l i gent
students, may suspect that they are
bei ng cri ppl ed by condescendi ng
tol erance. Thei r answers are ac-
cepted too easi l y ; thei r mi stakes
are f orgi ven too qui ckl y .
They f ear
that they are bei ng hurri ed
al ong,
wi th good grades,
by teachers wi l l -
i ng
to eval uate Negroes on l owered
standards because, af ter gradua-
ti on, the
Negroes wi l l di sappear
i nto thei r own worl d
where thei r
i gnorance wi l l nei ther i nj ure nor
threaten the whi te
worl d. Further-
more, whether tal ented or average,
these
students wi l l be taught very
l i ttl e about the worthy achi eve-
ments of other Negroes.
As students i n a
predomi nantl y
Negro col l ege, they may achi eve
more l ocal promi nence as i ndi vi d-
ual s, but they have
read the studi es
whi ch advi se themand the worl d
that thei r educati on i s i nf eri or . Thi s
knowl edge
creates doubl e dangers.
Fi rst, al though they resent the
si t-
uati on whi ch l abel s themi nf eri or
by associ ati on, they subconsci ousl y
March 1 968 NEGRODI GEST
comet o
accept t he
j udgment . Con-
sequent l y, t hey f ai l t o dr i ve t hem-
sel ves as i ndust r i ousl y as t hey
woul d i n i nt egr at ed i nst i t ut i ons ;
and, t oo f r equent l y, t hey pr ot est
agai nst
t he t eacher s who demand
col l ege- l evel wor k f r omt hem. Sec-
ond, because t hey l ack f i r st - hand
knowl edge of i nt egr at ed col l eges,
t hey assume t hat each weakness
whi ch t hey obser vemust beuni que
t o pr edomi nant l y Negr o col l eges
and must be f ur t her evi dence of
t he i nf er i or i t y of such i nst i t ut i ons
.
Li ke Negr o t eacher s, t hey want
t o be par t of an i nst i t ut i on whi ch
wi l l af f or d t he oppor t uni t y t o de-
vel op t hei r t al ent s and t he pr est i ge
mer i t ed by t hei r
achi evement s .
Let
us, t her ef or e, dr eamof t he
i deal
i nst i t ut i on- one whi ch wi l l
gi ve
gr owt h t o Negr o t eacher s and
st udent s al i ke. I t i s, I r epeat , one
whi ch
can be devel oped wi t hi n t he
cur r ent f r amewor k of hi gher edu-
cat i on- i f i t i s t o be devel oped
at al l .
. : ~~> _ - _
ENDOWMENT
Auni ver si t y must have money.
Good t eacher s and good admi ni s-
t r at or s- whet her whi t e or
bl ack-
go wher e sal ar i es wi l l
buy al l t he
necessi t i es and, hopef ul l y,
some of
t he l uxur i es . Money
i s needed f or
cl assr oom bui l di ngs,
dor mi t or i es,
st af f , equi pment , and
suppl i es .
Pr edomi nant l y
Negr o col l eges
NEGROUI GESTMar ch
1968
have
l acked money. They havede-
pended upon st at e l egi sl at or s,
chur ches, gener ous pat r ons, al um-
ni ,
and st udent s . Except i n Cal i -
f or ni a, l egi sl at or s spend money f or
educat i on as gr udgi ngl y as a t em-
per ance wor ker
gi ves al cohol i cs
money f or
l i quor . Gener al l y, one
st at e- suppor t ed uni ver si t y i s f av-
or ed. Ther est beg. Thel east suc-
cessf ul beggar s have been t he
pr edomi nant l y Negr o col l eges,
whi ch have l acked al umni who,
seat ed i n Sout her n l egi sl at ur es,
mi ght t r adevot es f or dol l ar s
. Mor e
l i mi t ed i n f unds,
chur ches f r e-
quent l y have dol ed t hei r
al l ot ment s
wi t h t he pr ayer t hat
sacr i f i ce and
dedi cat i on mi ght
subst i t ut e f or
cash.
Donor s- bot h i ndi vi dual s
and
f oundat i ons- have been gen-
er ous at t i mes . But , pl anni ng
a
bl ack uni ver si t y, one cannot af f or d
t o f or get t hat t he maj or i t y of phi l -
ant hr opi c suppor t er s of
Negr oes'
hi gher educat i on ar e whi t e
. Negr o
al umni have
cont r i but ed; but , de-
f i ci ent i n bot h
number and weal t h,
t hey gener al l y have been unabl e
t o
pr ovi de
mor e t han a f ew schol ar -
shi ps and some spendi ng
change.
Tui t i on has been an i mpor t ant
sour ce
of
r evenue, but i t i s a t r ou-
bl esome sour ce. Rai se
t ui t i on t oo
hi gh ; f ewer st udent s at t end. I n-
cr ease t he number of st udent s ; ad-
di t i onal money i s
needed f or
t eacher s, equi pment , suppl i es, and
f aci l i t i es .
Fur t her mor e, t he qual i t y
of t he st udent t oo f r equent l y i s
l ower ed when addi t i onal quant i t y
i s sought .
1 7
Anobvi ous method
to use to
secur e the necessar y money
woul d
be anappeal to the
Negr o popul ace
to suppor t a wor thy cause.
Anav-
er age contr i buti on of one dol l ar
f or ever y Negr o i n the Uni ted
States woul d f ur ni sh wor ki ngcapi -
tal - si xteen or seventeen mi l l i on
dol l ar s
.
But wi l l enough Negr oes
contr i bute
suf f i ci entl y gener ousl y
to a si ngl e
uni ver si ty? I f ear ,
pessi mi sti cal l y, that thi s i deal i n-
sti tuti on must conti nue to depend
par ti al l y upon contr i buti ons f r om
whi te patr ons- f eder al or pr i vate
- who tr adi ti onal l y weakeni ngen-
er osi ty as a Negr o i nsti tuti ongai ns
i n af f l uence.
Of cour se, i na bl ack state or a
bl ack nati on, i t woul d be possi bl e
to secur e suf f i ci ent money by a
mi ni mal tax
.
But I must make
cl ear
that I amnot consi der i ng a bl ack
state or nati ononthe conti nent of
Nor th Amer i ca. Al though I woul d
be happy to be par t of a nati on
wher e a bl ack manmi ght be el ected
pr esi dent i n 1968, I do not j udge
such a nati onto be pr acti cabl e i n
Nor thAmer i ca, wher e i t woul d be-
gi n 300 year s behi nd the other
countr i es, wher e
i ts cr eati onwoul d
r equi r e upr ooti ng settl ed peopl e,
and wher e i ts exi stence mi ght de-
pend upon
"consci ence- contr i bu-
ti ons" f r om peopl e notor i ousl y
untr oubl ed by consci ence when
comf or t and cash ar e at stake.
No. I must di scuss the possi -
bi l i ti es of an i deal i nsti tuti on f or
Negr oes wi thi n
the Uni ted States.
To secur e
suf f i ci ent money, such an
1 8
i nsti tuti onmust di scover a way to
tap the pocketbooks of moneyed
Negr oes as no other Negr o cause
has succeeded i n doi ng. Al l meth-
ods must be used- col l ecti ons i n
chur ches, dances by
f r ater nal or -
gani zati ons,
door
to
door sol i ci ti ng,
tel ephone and mai l
canvassi ng,
r af f l es . And the sol i ci tor s must
have substanti al ar guments to of f -
set the pr ej udi ce agai nst hi gher
educati on, the di si nter est i n na-
ti onal causes, and the suspi ci on of
sol i ci tor s.
CURRI CULA
I nconsi der i ng second the
ques-
ti on
of what the Negr o student
shoul d
l ear n, I ammer el y gi vi ng
hi gh
pr i or i ty to the compl ai nt of
Negr o students
that they l ear ntoo
l i ttl e about
themsel ves and about
ways
to i mpr ove thei r communi ty.
Al though I admi t the
j usti ce of the
char ge, I cannot bl ame anyone ex-
cept Negr o f acul ty
member s- my-
sel f
i ncl uded Uni magi nati vel y, we,
l i ke thousands of whi te educator s,
have r epr oduced
f or our students
the
same educati on whi ch we
r ecei ved. We have wanted
our
students to possess
the ki nd of
knowl edge r espected by the semi -
i ntegr ated soci ety
whi ch wi l l
sur -
r ound themaf ter
gr aduati on. But
wehavef ai l ed to r eal i ze suf f i ci entl y
the need to
pr ovi de themwi th ad-
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
di t i onal
knowl edge
r equi r ed f or t he
segr egat ed soci et y,
t he bl ack so-
ci et y, t he l i t t l e ci r cl e
i nsi de of -
and i gnor ed by- t he
l ar ge ci r cl e.
We can bl ame
our sel ves . Not h-
i ng- t o my knowl edge- pr event s
pr edomi nant l y Negr o col l eges f r om
of f er i ng any cour se t hat i s desi r ed .
I
am
f ul l y awar e t hat some Sout h-
er n l egi sl at or s or gover nor s have
appl i ed pr essur e
t o some Negr o
col l ege pr esi dent s
i n an ef f or t t o
cur b demonst r at i ons .
I knowal so
t hat some Negr o col l ege
pr esi dent s
have succumbed t o such
pr essur e
or , t i mi dl y, have r est r i ct ed
st udent
ct i vi t y i n ant i ci pat i on
of such
pr essur e.
Cer t ai nl y, havi ng t aught
i n Nor t h Car ol i na
f or
ni ne year s,
I knowhowl egi sl at or s may t r y t o
r est r i ct f r eedomof speech . Fear f ul
of Communi sm, t he l egi sl at ur e of
Nor t h Car ol i na banned f r omap-
pear ance on campuses any ac-
knowl edged communi st or anyone
who
had pl eaded t he f i f t h amend-
ment . Educat or s i n Nor t h Car o-
l i na under st ood, however , t hat t hi s
l aw was
not ai med at t he pr e-
domi nant l y Negr o col l eges . The
whi t e l egi sl at or s scar cel y
knewnor
car ed who spoke t o t he Negr o st u-
dent s . The l egi sl at or s and t hei r
const i t uent s
concer ned t hemsel ves
wi t h t he speaker s who came t o t he
campuses of t he l ar ge st at e- sup-
por t ed
uni ver si t i es
.
I do not knowany i nst ance i n
whi ch a st at e
of f i ci al
has
opposed
an at t empt t o i nt r oduce any r aci al -
l y- or i ent ed cour se at a
pr edomi -
nant l y Negr o col l ege. Of cour se, I
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
have no pr i mar y
knowl edge of
what happens i n educat i on
i n Mi s-
si ssi ppi or Al abama,
t hose bast i ons
of Conf eder at e r aci sm.
I do know
t eacher s i n t hose st at es, however ,
and have no r eason t o bel i eve t hat
cour ses
havebeen deni ed.
The
f act i s t hat Negr o educat or s
- and I must
i ncl ude mysel f -
have not concei ved
cour ses or i ent -
ed t o t he Negr o.
Asi de f r omt he
hi st or y of t he Negr o i n
Amer i ca,
a cour se i n l i t er at ur e by
Negr o
Amer i can wr i t er s, and possi bl y
a
cour se or t wo i n soci ol ogy
i ncl ud-
i ng a di scussi on of t he pr obl ems
of
mi nor i t y gr oups, f ew educat or s
have pr oposed cour ses st udyi ng
t he
achi evement s of bl ack men. I
know
no cour se i n t he hi st or y of
ar t or musi c
of Negr oes, no hi st or y
of educat i on
whi ch i ncl udes a
st udy of
pr edomi nant l y Negr o
segr egat ed publ i c
school s and col -
l eges,
no l i ngui st i cs cour se whi ch
anal yzes t he so- cal l ed Negr o di a-
l ect . Ther e shoul d be
soci ol ogy
cour ses anal yzi ng t he st r uct ur e of
t he Negr o communi t y, busi ness
cour ses
descr i bi ng met hods of or -
gani zi ng co- oper at i ve communi t y
busi nesses, mor e cour ses
concen-
t r at ed
on
pr act i ces
i n smal l busi -
nesses .
These cour ses ar e desi r abl e, can
be est abl i shed,
and must be est ab-
l i shed, even at t he pr edomi nant l y
Negr o col l eges as
cur r ent l y st r uc-
t ur ed. The i r ony i s t hat t hey may
be est abl i shed f i r st and, conde-
scendi ngl y, at pr edomi nant l y whi t e
i nst i t ut i ons .
1 9
Thi s
newi nf or mat i on,
however ,
cannot be
subst i t ut ed
f or ot her
mor e
t r adi t i onal knowl edge
. I t
must be
addi t i onal . I
hesi t at e t o
use t he t er m
"suppl ement ar y" onl y
because somer eader s may
assume
t hat
I
r egar d
i t as l ess
i mpor t ant .
To t he
cont r ar y, i t i s
si gni f i cant .
However , i f
t he Negr o st udent
i s
pr ovi ded
onl y wi t h knowl edge
about Negr oes,
t hen hi s educat i on
wi l l beas r est r i ct ed
as i t has been
i n t he past . Hi s
vi si on, t r ue, wi l l
be
bl ack i nst ead of
whi t e. But t he
r evi ser s of t he
cur r i cul umwi l l be
gui l t y of t he same
col or - bl i ndness
and nar r owvi si on
f or whi ch t hey
condemn t he
pl anner s of t he pr es-
ent cur r i cul um.
R
ESEARCH
Despi t e t he
ext r avagances
com-
mi t t ed i n i t s
name, r esear ch
i s t he
consor t of good
t eachi ng. A
t each-
er
must have
i nf or mat i on about
hi s
subj ect
. Bef or e
si gni f i cant
changes
can be
made i n
cur r i cul a f or
Ne-
gr o
st udent s,
consi der abl er esear ch
wi l l be
needed.
For , shamef ul l y,
f act s
about Negr oes
ar enot known
or have
been gat her ed by
whi t e
r esear cher s,
t oo f r equent l y
i n
qui ckl y publ i shed
st udi es
wher e a
l i mi t ed sampl i ng
was used
t o sub-
st ant i at e a
pr e- concei ved
gener al -
i zat i on about an
ent i r e
popul at i on.
20
(Cont i nued on page
64)
J ust as
pr edomi nant l y Negr o
col -
l eges have been
compar ed,
un-
f avor abl y, wi t h
t he i deal of a
col -
l ege or wi t h t he
pr est i ge i nst i t ut i ons
r at her t han wi t h
pr edomi nant l y
whi t e col l eges of
compar abl e si ze
and endowment , so
Negr oes as
i ndi vi dual s and gr oups
have been
eval uat ed
agai nst t he i deal
r at her
t han
j udged i n compar i son
wi t h
whi t e peer s of
si mi l ar economi c,
educat i onal ,
and soci al back-
gr ound.
Newr esear ch
i s needed; ext en-
si ve r esear ch i s
needed. Ther ear e
Negr oes
qual i f i ed t o per f or msuch
r esear ch.
But
ways
must be de-
vi sed t o pr ovi de
r esear cher s wi t h
t he t i me needed
and t o per suade
f oundat i ons t o t r ust
Negr o r e-
sear cher s t o conduct
schol ar l y
st udi es of Negr oes. Wi t hout
such
r esear ch, t he newcour ses cannot
be
of f er ed, f or i t i s bet t er t o t each
not hi ng
t han t o t each somet hi ng
whi ch
i s
known t o be mer el y a
guess.
PUBLI SHI NG
The
Bl ack Uni ver si t y
needs t o
publ i sh
t he r esear ch
of i t s schol ar s .
Today,
whi t epubl i sher s
r espect r e-
sear ch
i nt o pr obl ems
of Negr oes
pr i mar i l y
wheni t i s conduct ed by
whi t e men
. ANegr o schol ar -
Mar ch 1968 NEGRO
DI GEST
Facul t y, Cur r i cul um,
Resear ch . . .
BYSTEPHENE. HENDERSON
" . . . That t he
change
wi l l
come i s obvi ous t o al l but
t he bl i nd and t he deaf ,
who r eal l y have
no
busi -
ness at al l i n t he cr uci al
t ask of educat i ng t hi s new
bl ack gener at i on
whou el l
may be our l ast
hope f or
sani t y and
decency i n t hi s
cour zt r y
. . . "
S I SEEI T,
t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y may
exi st i n
t he f ol l owi ng
f or ms:
( I ) as a new i nst i t u-
t i on; ( 2) as an i nst i
t ut i on al r eady exi st i ng i n t ot o; and
( 3 ) as an i nst i t ut i on al r eady
exi st -
i ng i n par t , bot h physi cal l y and i n-
t el l ect ual l y . Now,
i t
st r i kes
me t hat
t he f i r st choi ce, f or pr act i cal
men,
i s unr eal i st i c and
wast ef ul si nce t he
need i s i mmedi at e and
t he f ound-
i ng and suppor t i ng
of a st r ong
i nst i t ut i on so cost l y
and t i me- con-
sumi ngt hat i t woul d
undul y di f f use
t he al r eady t oo
meager f i nanci al
and pr of essi onal r esour ces of t he
bl ack communi t y. Can
we t ur n,
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
t hen, t o a Bl ack Uni ver si t y whi ch
al r eady exi st s i n t ot o? The ques-
t i on, of cour se i s r het or i cal , f or i f
one
such i nst i t ut i on exi st ed, t her e
woul d be
noneed f or a di scussi on
of t he desi r abi l i t y
of such an i nst i -
t ut i on. Thi s,
consequent l y, l eaves
us wi t h
t he t hi r d possi bi l i t y : an i n-
st i t ut i on
al r eady exi st i ng i n par t ,
physi cal l y
and i nt el l ect ual l y .
I t appear s
t o me t hat , al t hough
t he Bl ack
Uni ver si t y does not at
pr esent
exi st anywher e i n t ot o, i t
does exi st i n
par t i n t hat r esi due of
bl ackness- soci al ,
cul t ur al , and
phi l osophi cal - whi ch
i s f ound i n
t he so- cal l ed
pr edomi nant l y Ne-
gr o col l eges ; or
t o use anot her ci r -
cuml ocut i on,
i n t he hi st or i cal l y
Negr o
col l eges . The pr obl embe-
comes,
t hen, a mat t er of modi f y-
i ng
some one or mor e of t hese i n-
st i t ut i ons . Per sonal l y, I have
no
doubt
t hat such modi f i cat i oni s nec-
essar y ; i ndeed, i t seems t o me
i n-
evi t abl e . Some, per haps many,
of
t hese
school s wi l l sur vi ve wi t h
r el -
at i vel y l i t t l e change;
ot her s wi l l
per i sh,
ei t her absor bed i nt o
t hei r
var i ous st at e budget s,
or t hr ough
21
consol i dat i on, or t hr ough absor p-
t i on i nt o t he cl oudy Amer i can
"mai nst r eam. " St r angel y enough,
t hi s l ast - named f at e seems t o be
eager l y
ant i ci pat ed by many
i nst i -
t ut i ons whi ch, wi t h f ew
except i ons,
have si zeabl e whi t e number s
i n
t hei r f acul t i es but vi r t ual l y no whi t e
st udent s i n t hei r enr ol l ment .
Ri es-
man and J encks have al r eady an-
al yzed t hi s phenomenon, so I am
cont ent t o obser ve t hat school s ar e
f or t he educat i on of st udent s,
not
f or
t he empl oyment of t eacher s .
Once we accept
t hat
si mpl e f act ,
t he pat het i c absur di t y of
cal l i ng
our school s "pr edomi nant l y
Ne-
gr o" becomes al t oget her
t oo cl ear .
I t i ndi cat es a cur i ous ambi val ence
whi ch i s char act er i st i c of al l of our
r el at i onshi ps wi t h t he r est of t he
count r y. We say
"pr edomi nant l y
Negr o, " meani ng, per haps, t hat t hi s
i s a t empor ar y si t uat i on, t hat what
we r eal l y want i s t o be
"i nt egr at -
ed, " i . e. , t o be a mi nor i t y- i n our
own school s . Why? I s i t t hat we
doubt our own capaci t y t o gi ve our
chi l dr en a qual i t y educat i on, or
even t o r ai se our chi l dr en at
al l ?
That same
ambi val ence l ur ks be-
hi nd t he whol e t hr ust of t he r ecent
Ci vi l Ri ght s movement . Anot her
aspect of t hi s ambi val ence i s per -
haps t he secr et
wi sh t o r et ai n t he
school s as "pr edomi nant l y Ne-
gr o, " i . e, t o r et ai n power and con-
t r ol and
deci si on- maki ng i n our
own hands . I f t hat i s what we
mean, t hen why do we apol ogi ze
f or i t ? God
knows i t ' s nat ur al
enough, and i t ' s a sal ut ar y devel op-
2 2
ment t o see, as a pr act i cal expr es-
si on of Bl ack Consci ousness,
t hat
par ent s and t eacher s and pupi l s i n
Nor t her n ur ban hi gh school s ar e
demandi ng j ust t hat ki nd of
con-
t r ol .
I f such a desi r e i s nat ur al , t hen
why do t he Negr o col l eges equi vo-
cat e? I submi t t hat t hev do so out
of conf usi on or out of f ear - conf u-
si on as t o t hei r r ol e i n a soci et y
mar ked by const ant cr i si s, conf u-
si on as t o t he nat ur e of t he changes
t aki ng pl ace i n t hat soci et y ; f ear of
of f endi ng t hei r whi t e suppor t er s
and f acul t y, and f ear of r e- eval u-
at i ng t he pr emi ses on whi ch t he
i nst i t ut i ons t hemsel ves ar e pr edi -
cat ed .
By nat ur e of t he pr obl em t o
whi ch I addr ess mysel f , t he school s
whi ch best i l l ust r at e t hi s anxi et y
ar e our so- cal l ed
l i ber al
ar t s
col -
l eges .
They r epr esent t he hear t of
t he pr obl emsi nce t hei r ul t i mat e
f unct i on i s t o
shape t he st udent ' s
mi nd
and soul i n such a way t hat
he can per f or mmost ef f i ci ent l y
and
happi l y i n
hi s wor l d. Gl anci ng at
r andomt hr ough st at ement s of i n-
st i t ut i onal pur pose of many
of t he
school s, one
di scover s qui t e soon
t hat t he
pur pose act ual l y, i f st at ed
i n f ashi onabl e l anguage, i s t o hel p
t he st udent di scover hi s i dent i t y
t hr ough
acquai nt i ng hi mwi t h t he
hi st or y, t he cul t ur e, and t he
f or ms
of bel i ef of West er n
ci vi l i zat i on.
Even t hi s l i mi t ed
ai mhas never
been
car r i ed out on any l ar ge scal e.
And i t hasn' t been done
chi ef l y
be-
cause, as educat or s,
we t ook t he
Mor ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
passi ve r ol e and assumed t hat t he
exper i ence of bl ackness i s i r r el e-
vant t o West er n hi st or y and ci vi l i -
zat i on and hence t o our st udent s'
( and our own) sear ch f or i dent i t y.
The si ngl e r evol ut i onar y concept
t hat har emer ged i n r ecent year s i s
t hat t he bl ack exper i ence i s not
onl y r el evant i n such a sear ch, i t
i s f undar nent al and cr uci al . One
mi ght al most cal l i t ar chet ypal , f or
f r omi t can be der i ved not onl y
Amer i ca' s quest f or sel f hood but ,
i ndeed, - si nce t he bl ack exper i -
ence
i s al so t he t ype of t he col oni al
exper i ence and r eact i on t o i t - t he
whol e moder n exper i ence of Eu-
r ope as wel l . Howabsur d i t i s,
t hen, t o assume, as some cr i t i cs
do, t hat a Bl ack Uni ver si t y woul d
exi st i n
a
vacuum, when t he ques-
t i on of
i dent i t y- t he
quest i on of
bl ackness- i s
mor e
t han
a mat t er
of pi gment at i on, when i t i s ul t i -
mat el y a
mor al and phi l osophi cal
posi t i on.
I n ot her wor ds, one f i nal l y wi l l s
t o be bl ack. Thi s i s what t he f uss
i s al l about - Al ber t Cl eage, Adam
Powel l , Wal t er Whi t e, Fr ank Si l -
ver a, wi l l ed i n var yi ng degr ees t o
be bl ack. My f i r m bel i ef i s t hat ,
by wi l l i ng t o be bl ack i n t hat phi l -
osophi cal sense, our school s can
make a gr eat er cont r i but i on t o our
per sonal wel l - bei ng and t o t he
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
wor l d at l ar ge t han by any ot her
means t hat I can pr esent l y see .
What does t hi s wi l l - t o- bl ackness
ent ai l ?
I t ent ai l s a cer t ai n doubl e
vi si on
- not t he doubl e vi si on of
Du
Boi s, * but a shi f t i n per spect i ve,
i n whi ch one l ooks i nwar d ( i nt o
hi msel f and t he gr oup) and sees
out war d wi t h shar per i nsi ght ; i n
whi ch one l ooks backwar d ( i nt o
hi s hi st or y and hi s cul t ur al r oot s)
anddi scover s t hat he i s l ooki ng f or -
war d. I t i s l i ke l ooki ng backwar d
i n t i me t hough one i s l ooki ng f or -
war d i n space t hr ough a t el escope.
I f t hr ough t hi s pr ocess one di scov-
er ed God i n t he act ual act of cr e-
at i on ( and wi t h a newphysi cs we
mi ght ), one' s knowl edge woul d be
compl et e . Vaughan, t he poet
sai d, "Ther e i s i n God, t hey say,
a deep and dazzl i ng dar kness . "
And i t i s f or t he r eason of t hi s l i b-
er at i ng Godwi t hi n us t hat we must
conf r ont our bl ackness
.
I mmedi -
at el y we must conf r ont
i t , because
we have t o no i nconsi der abl e ex-
t ent Af r i cani zed t hi s count r y. That
t i me i t was unconsci ous and pas-
si ve. Thi s t i me i t must be ot her -
wi se, f or unl ess t he val ues
i nher -
ent i n "Soul " and "Negr i t ude"
ar e
made t o pr evai l i n
t hi s count r y,
we may yet f i nd our sel ves
at Ar m-
ageddon,
acr oss t he seas, i n our
ski es, and i n our own
ci t y st r eet s .
Assumi ng
t hen my est i mat e of
t he i mpor t ance of t he Bl ack Uni -
ver si t y
t o be val i d, I shal l br i ef l y
di scuss what seems t o me t he f eas-
i bi l i t y of
such an i nst i t ut i on.
Soul s of Bl ack Fol k
23
Fi r s t , i f bl ack col l ege pr es i dent s
wi l l ed t o be bl ack t he pr obl em
woul d be ver y much s i mpl er
( t hough by no means s i mpl e ) , f or
t o s ome ext ent phi l os ophi cal bl ack-
nes s , or Soul , exi s t s i n al l of our
i ns t i t ut i ons - i f not i n i ndi vi dual
cour s es , t hen i n f acul t y or s t udent s .
Our i mmedi at e pr obl em, t hus , i s
t o br i ng t hi s bl acknes s , as i t wer e,
t o a s at ur at i on poi nt . Thi s means
cons ci ous r eor gani zat i on and con-
cent r at i on of human and ot her r e-
s our ces , pr ef er abl y, as I s ee i t , i n
s ever al r egi onal cent er s whi ch al -
r eady exi s t : i n t he Bal t i mor e- D. C.
ar ea ; i n t he Nor f ol k ar ea ; i n t he
Dur ham- Gr eens bor o ar ea; i n t he
Nas hvi l l e ar ea, i n t he At l ant a ar ea;
i n t he Tal l ahas s ee ar ea; i n t he New
Or l eans ar ea, and i n t he Hous t on
ar ea. Dependi ng on t he degr ee of
cooper at i on, t hey woul d become
cent er s of Bl ack Cons ci ous nes s or
uni t s of a s i ngl e de
f act o s upr a-
i ns t i t ut i onal Bl ack Uni ver s i t y.
The s i mpl es t t hi ng t o do, of
cour s e, woul d be f or
col l ege
pr es i dent s
t o r ecogni ze t he s chi zo-
phr eni a i mpl i ci t i n bei ng "pr edomi -
nant l y Negr o"
and s i mpl y decl ar e
t hems el ves t o be
bl ack peopl e,
wor ki ng es peci al l y f or t he good of
bl ack peopl e, t hough
excl udi ng no
one becaus e of
col or or et hni c
or i gi n, t hei r mi s s i on bei ng t o capi -
t al i ze on t he uni que i mpor t ance of
t he bl ack exper i ence t o
t hi s coun-
t r y
and t o t he wor l d. I f we wer e
hones t wi t h our s el ves , and i f na-
t i onal
s pokes men f or cul t ur al pl u-
r al i s m wer e s er i ous , t hen pr es i -
24
dent s woul d have no f ear of l os i ng
f i nanci al and mor al s uppor t . I n-
deed, t he Feder al Gover nment and
pr i vat e i ndus t r y i n s uch a cas e
s houl d have no qual ms at al l
about
payi ng s ome i nt er es t on t hat gr eat
i nvi s i bl e nat i onal debt , t he vas t
backl og of s al ar y whi ch t hey owe
us f or al mos t 400year s of econom-
i c expl oi t at i on.
But t hi s i s t oo much t o hope f or ,
and t oo nai ve, s i nce r ecent pr o-
nouncement s by s ome of our pr es i -
dent s i ndi cat e t hei r det er mi nat i on
t o di e t he whi t e deat h, whi l e ot h-
er s i ndi cat e an unf or t unat e
conf u-
s i on of a per s onal r evul s i on
f or ex-
t r emes of pi gment at i on wi t h
t he
l egi t i mat e concer n whi ch bl ack
s t u-
dent s have wi t h t he ul t i mat e
pur -
pos e of l i ber al educat i on- f r eedom
t hr ough s el f - knowl edge. The
r e-
cour s e, t hen, mus t l i e i n t he wi l l -
t o- bl acknes s of t he f acul t y and t he
s t udent s . When t hi s wi l l becomes
s t r ong enough,
when i t becomes
i nf or med, i n al l s ens es
of t he wor d,
wi t h SOUL, when i t r eaches t he
s at ur at i on poi nt ( or bet t er
s t i l l ,
when i t
r eaches cr i t i cal mas s ) , i t
wi l l demand i ns t i t ut i onal r es t r uc-
t ur i ng- i n
f acul t y, i n gener al r e-
s our ces , and i n acknowl edged ai ms .
Some of t hes e changes may
t ake
pl ace compar at i vel y r api dl y
and
t hor oughl y
i n
a
f ews t r at egi c i ns t i -
t ut i ons ; i n ot her s t hey may not oc-
cur at al l . I n s ome, t o pur s ue
a
f i gur e,
t he ener gy wi l l be har nes s ed
f or t he good of al l ; i n ot her s , t he
r es ul t may wel l be
des t r uct i ve s o-
ci al
expl os i on. That t he r es i s t -
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
ant e i s f or mi dabl e i s obvi ous t o
anyone who r eads t he news paper s .
That
t he
change
wi l l come i s equal -
l y obvi ous
t o
al l
but t he bl i nd and
t he deaf ,
who r eal l y have no bus i -
nes s at al l i n t he
cr uci al t as k of edu-
cat i ng t hi s
newbl ack gener at i on
who wel l may
be our l as t hope f or
s ani t y and decency
i n t hi s count r y.
Some
of t he changes I s peak of
may
occur t hr ough t he f ol l owi ng
s t r uct ur es
: 1 . Regi onal or gani za-
t i on;
2 . Shar ed r es our ces ; 3 . Sys t e-
mat i c and
cont i nual f acul t y and
s t udent
exchange, and 4. Bl ack
humani s t s
and " Speci al i s t s i n
Bl acknes s
.
By r egi onal or gani zat i on, I mean
s ever al t hi ngs . The f i r s t i s t he es -
t abl i s hment of hones t and
cr eat i ve
r el at i ons hi ps wi t h
non- academi c
bl ack i nt el l ect ual communi t i es
. I
mean t he es t abl i s hment
of newand
r es pect abl e r el at i ons hi ps wi t h t he
bl ack non- i nt el l ect ual communi -
t i es . I mean t he es t abl i s hment of
genui ne l i nes of communi cat i on be-
t ween academi c i ns t i t ut i ons i n t he
s ame r egi on, t hat i s , exchange be-
l owt he admi ni s t r at i ve l evel . Thi s
t ype of or gani zat i on
i s admi t t edl y
di f f i cul t ,
but model s do exi s t . The
At l ant a
Uni ver s i t y cent er i s mov-
i ng i n
t hi s di r ect i on.
Fr om
t hi s t ype of r egi onal r e-
or gani zat i on
coul d come mor e con-
cr et e
obj ect i ves , s har ed r es our ces ,
bot h
gener al and human. Let us
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch
1 968
t ake an exampl e of
each
. Fi r s t ,
t he
gener al . By t hi s I mean non- human
r es our ces s uch as l i br ar y hol di ngs ,
ar t col l ect i ons , and t he l i ke. I s ub-
mi t t hat t he aver age bl ack
s t udent
has no r eal not i on
of
t he
r i chnes s
of t he Fi s k Negr oana
col l ect i on, or
t he Howar d
l i br ar y, or t he At l ant a
Uni ver s i t y Negr o
col l ect i ons of
books , manus cr i pt s , and pai nt i ngs .
Fewer s t udent s s t i l l knowanyt hi ng
of t he Schomber g Col l ect i on, and
hones t y compel s me t o s ay t hat al -
t oget her t oo f ewpr of es s or s know
ver y muchabout t hes e col l ect i ons .
Whos e f aul t i s i t ? Our own. But
f or t unat el y, s t r uct ur es al r eady ex-
i s t whi chcoul d make i t pos s i bl e f or
even t he s mal l es t , t he poor es t ,
Negr o col l ege t o wi l l i t s el f t o a s av-
i ng s t at e of bl acknes s , as I have
s ugges t ed i t s cont our s above
.
I f a panel of ar t i s t s
and cr i t i cs
compar abl e t o t he one whi ch s et
up t he r ecent exhi bi t of Af r o-
Amer i can
pai nt i ng at
Ci t y
Col l ege
(NewYor k) coul d cul l
t he bes t
and t he mos t r epr es ent at i ve exam-
pl es of Af r i can and Af r o- Amer i can
ar t whi ch our col l eges pos s es s , i t
s houl d
be a r el at i vel y s i mpl e mat -
t er t o make s l i des and
r epr oduc-
t i ons avai l abl e at a nomi nal
f ee
even
t o t hes e col l eges . Bot h, i t
s eems
t o me,
l i e
wi t hi n t he pos s i bi l -
i t y of a Ti t l e I I I gr ant .
Manus cr i pt
mat er i al and ot her compar at i vel y
r ar e
i t ems coul d be made avai l abl e
on mi cr of i l m, wi t h
pr ovi s i ons made
f or pr i nt - out s . Thi s i s j us t an
obvi -
ous
exampl e. A mor e t hor ough
goi ng pr opos i t i on woul d
be t he es -
25
t abl i shment of an i nf or mat i on
r e-
t r i eval syst emconnect ed wi t h t he
r egi onal
r esour ces of our best
school s,
and even wi t h t he speci al
r esour ces
of t he nat i on' s l ar gest
gr aduat e
school s . ( I see t he i r ony
i n t hi s l at t er
st at ement , but what do
you do at a
Bl ack Uni ver si t y, i f
someone el se has your
ancest r al
ar t i f act s- r ai d t he
Br i t i sh Muse-
um?) Ul t i mat el y, t he
pur pose of
such a syst emwoul d be t o
st i mu-
l at e st udent s
and f acul t y al i ke t o
vi si t t he i nst i t ut i ons
wher et he or i g-
i nal s exi st .
Thi s br i ngs us t o
t he next poi nt ,
human r esour ces .
These r esour ces
ar e, nat ur al l y,
f acul t y and st udent s .
The pr obl em,
of cour se, i s t o get
t hem t oget her
on a meani ngf ul
basi s acr oss
i nst i t ut i onal l i nes .
Now, some f ew st udent s
and f ac-
ul t y mi ght be
st i mul at ed enough,
or may havet he
f i nanci al r esour ces,
t o vi si t school s wi t h
speci al l i br ar y
or ar t hol di ngs,
but t hi s i s not
enough. What i s
needed, i t seems
t o me, i s some pl an
wher eby a con-
t i nual i nt er change
of i deas and
opi ni ons may
be i nsur ed on a per -
sonal ,
f ace- t o- f ace basi s .
Thi s can
be done by a
syst emof st udent ex-
change bet ween
cent er s of Bl ack-
ness and Negr o
col l eges . Oddl y
enough, a good
deal of t hi s was
done a f ew
year s ago, onl y t he
ex-
change was, i n
ef f ect , bet ween
cen-
t er s of Whi t eness
and Negr o col -
l eges .
( I r emember a
boy f r omt he
Mi d- west
who l ef t af t er a f ew
days
on my
campus,
suf f er i ng, I was
26
( Cont i nued onpage 80)
t ol d, f r om "cul t ur e shock. ") Ob-
vi ousl y, such a syst em can wor k
onl y i f t he admi ni st r at i on of t he
Negr o school i s sympat het i c, or
apat het i c. I t r emai ns f or st udent s
and f acul t y t o wi l l t he change, t o
cr eat e t he
st r uct ur e. At any r at e,
t he vi si t s coul d l ast
anywher e f r om
a week- end t o a
semest er , depend-
i ng on t he academi c
st andar ds of
t he i nst i t ut i on and
ot her such st i cky
busi ness .
Avi si t at i on
per i od of a semest er
woul d pr esuppose
t hat t he st udent
woul d f i nd
somet hi ng wor t h hi s
t i me i n one
of t he r egi onal Bl ack
Cent er s
. What he shoul d f i nd i s a
gr oup of gi f t ed Bl ack
humani st s
who have assembl ed, or have
been
assembl ed, at a cent er
f or
t he
expr ess pur poses of t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y as st at ed above.
Pr e-
sumabl y, at f i r st , t her e
woul dn' t be
enough of t hese peopl e t o
st af f al l
of t he school s whi ch
may r equi r e
t hem. Pr esumabl y, some
of t he
school s may not be abl e
t o af f or d
t o pay t hem.
( Andone coul dn' t ex-
pect t hem t o
st ar ve ; bl ack st ar va-
t i on i s st i l l
st ar vat i on, no mat t er
howsoul f ul
. ) St i l l i t woul d be pos-
si bl e ( especi al l y
f or t he pol i t i cal l y
aggr essi ve and
t he academi cal l y
and ar t i st i cal l y
t al ent ed) f or a
si zeabl e number
of st udent s, no
mat t er how
poor , t o be br ought
i nt o di al ogue
wi t h t hi s gr oup of
dedi cat ed and gi f t ed
t eacher s . The
st udent
mi ght even spend
t i me i n
t wo or mor e
such si t uat i ons, ob-
t ai ni ng t he ki nd of
exper i ence
Mar ch 1968 NEGRO
DI GEST
Soci al
Changei n theSi xti es
THE BLACK UNI VERSI TY
- and I TS COMMUNI TY
BY J . HERMAN BLAKE
~5~~: ~' ORDER to become
a vi abl e i nsti tuti on and
to makea meani ngf ul
contri buti on to the
bl ack communi ty, the
Bl ack Uni versi ty must becogni zant
of thevari ed and compl ex devel op-
ments amongbl ack peopl e. These
devel opments shoul d become an
expl i ci t part of course of f eri ngs i n
an ef f ort to devel op a phi l osophy
and i deol ogy whi ch wi l l permi t us
Contradi cti ons : Whi l epoverty breeds al i enati on
and af reshanger . . .
NEGRO DI GEST March
1968
to anal yze and
eval uate soci al
change i n the bl ack communi ty
f roma perspecti ve of bl ackness .
The decade of the 1960' s wi l l
certai nl y go downi n hi story as one
i n whi ch maj or contradi ctory
trends devel oped i n bl ack commu-
ni ti es across thenati on. Thi s i s the
decadethat has seen bl ack peopl e
achi evehi gher pol i ti cal of f i ces than
ever bef ore. Two of the nati on' s
maj or ci ti es haveel ected bl ackmen
27
as mayors, anot her bl ack man was
el ect ed as Senat or f rom a New
Engl and
st at e, a bl ack man si t s on
t he cabi net of t he Presi dent , and
anot her bl ack man si t s on t he Su-
preme Court . Al l of t hese are dra-
mat i c and si gni f i cant " f i rst s" f or
bl ack peopl e
i n
t he Si xt i es and t hey
port end f urt her changes .
Wi t h t hese devel opment s have
come
ot her phenomena whi ch i n-
di cat e t he perpl exi ng and t roubl ed
si t uat i on wi t hi n bl ack communi t i es,
f or t hi s i s al so t he f i rst decade t o
see maj or urban
i nsurrect i on f or
f our consecut i ve summers, wi t h
t he most recent out burst s
f ar
more
severe t han any previ ous ones . Thi s
i s t he decade t hat has seen more
and more bl ack
mi l i t ant s t ake up
t he phi l osophy of sel f - def ense when
at t acked, vi ewi ng vi ol ent act i on as
an ef f ect i ve approach t o bl ack di g-
ni t y and manhood. Thi s
i s t he dec-
ade t hat has
seen more and more
bl ack yout h ref usi ng t o serve i n t he
Armed Forces of t he
Uni t ed St at es
on t he grounds t hat t he nat i on i s
engaged i n a program
of
genoci de
agai nst bl ack peopl e i n ot her l ands,
and wi t hi n i t s own conf i nes t he na-
t i on i s al so pract i ci ng genoci de
agai nst bl acks . These cont radi ct ory
t rends amongst
bl ack peopl e i n
Ameri ca- on t he one hand some
bl ack men get t i ng more rewards f or
part i ci pat i ng i n t he
syst em,
and on
t he ot her hand bl ack men ref usi ng
t o part i ci pat e regardl ess of t he re-
wards- must be t aken i nt o con-
si derat i on by a Bl ack Uni versi t y,
f or t he cont radi ct i on requi res some
resol ut i on.
I n t hi s paper we shal l revi ewsev-
eral recent
and
maj or demographi c
. . . a mi nori t y wi t hi n t he mi nori t y moves deeper i nt o t he mi ddl e cl ass .
23 March
1968 NEGRODI GEST
t r ends i n
t he bl ack communi t y t o
shed some l i ght upon some of t he
under l yi ng var i abl es i n t hi s per -
pl exi ng
si t uat i on. Ther e ar e a va-
r i et y of ways i n whi ch t hese changes
can be anal yzed, but we choose t o
f ocus upon t wo gener al ap-
pr oaches : ( 1) wher e we wer e at
t he begi nni ng of t he decade, or
an
ear l i er poi nt , as compar ed
t o
wher e
we ar e now; and ( 2 ) t he r el at i ve
changes i n t he bl ack and whi t e
communi t i es, and wher e t hese
changes l eave us i n r el at i on t o t hose
who so ut t er l y f ai l
t o
under st and
our condi t i on. The var i et i es of
var i abl es t hat one mi ght sel ect , t he
di f f er ent st at i st i cal measur es t hat
mi ght be appl i ed, and t he di f f er ent
base popul at i ons, or st ar t i ng poi nt s,
make i t easy
t o pr ove
any
poi nt one
wi shes t o pr ove
about t he bl ack
communi t y.
We hope t o avoi d t hi s
pr obl emi n
some i nst ances ( not a-
bl y i ncome) by pr esent i ng
sever al
measur es
t o showt he t r ends i n t he
bl ack communi t y.
One of t he most si gni f i cant
Twent i et h- cent ur y
t r ends among
bl ack peopl e ha. s been t he r edi st r i -
but i on
cf t he popul at i on, f r omt he
count r y t o t he ci t y,
and out of t he
Sout h t o t he Nor t h and West . Thi s
t r end has cont i nued
i nt o t he Si xt i es .
Bet ween 1960 and 1966
t he pr o-
por t i on of
bl ack peopl e i n t he Sout h
decl i ned f r om60t o
55 per cent . We
shoul d not
i gnor e t he f act ,
how-
ever , t hat despi t e
a vast mi gr at or y
t r end, t he maj or i t y of t he
bl ack
peopl e st i l l l i ve i n
t he Sout h, and
bl acks make up one- f i f t h
of t he
NEGRO
DI GEST Mar ch 1968
t ot al popul at i on i n
t he sout her n
st at es .
I n addi t i on
t o
t he
movement out
of t he Sout h,
bl ack peopl e have
been movi ng
i nt o ci t i es, and t he
l ar ge
ones at t hat , i n bot h Nor t h
and Sout h.
The r ecent appoi nt ment
of a
bl ack "mayor " i n Washi ngt on,
D
.
C. , and t he el ect i on of bl ack
men t o mayor al t i es i n
Gar y and
Cl evel and i s a di r ect
mani f est at i on
of t he pr esence of l ar ge
bl ack popu-
l at i ons i n t hese ci t i es .
Over hal f
( 56 per cent ) of al l
bl ack peopl e
nowl i ve i n t he cent r al ci t i es of
met r opol i t an ar eas, and
t he popu-
l at i on i ncr ease has been
f ast est i n
t he l ar gest ci t i es . I n
met r opol i t an
ar eas wi t h one mi l l i on or
mor e per -
sons, bl ack peopl e
compr i se one-
f our t h of t he cent r al
ci t y popul a-
t i on, and
t he exper t s est i mat e t hat
i n 1965
bl ack peopl e wer e at l east
25 per cent
or mor e of t he popul a-
t i on of 11 of t he 30l ar gest
ci t i es i n
t he count r y.
These ci t i es and t he
pr opor t i ons of t hei r
popul at i on
whi ch
ar e bl ack ar e as f ol l ows :
The evi dence i ndi cat es
t hat mor e
bl ack
peopl e t han ever bef or e
ar e
bot h i nt er est ed i n
educat i on and ar e
29
Washi ngt on
66
Newar k 47
At l ant a
44
NewOr l eans
41
Memphi s 40
Bal t i mor e 38
St . Loui s
36
Cl evel and
34
Det r oi t
34
Phi l adel phi a
31
Chi cago 28
t aki ng advant age
of ever y oppor -
t uni t y t o i ncr ease
t hei r knowl edge
.
The st at i st i cs on
t he pr opor t i ons
of
bl acks compl et i ng
hi gh school
and
col l ege showsome
i nt er est i ng and
si gni f i cant t r ends . I n
1960, 36 per -
cent
of al l bl ack mal es
and 41 per -
cent
of al l bl ack f emal es
bet ween
t he ages
of 25- 29 had
compl et ed
hi gh school
. However , by
1966, 53
per cent of al l
bl ack mal es
and 49
per cent of
al l bl ack f emal es i n
t he
same age cat egor y
had
compl et ed
hi gh school . Not
onl y was
t her e a
dr amat i c i ncr ease
i n t he pr opor t i on
of young adul t s
wi t h hi gh
school
di pl omas, t he
number of
young
mal es compl et i ng
ni gh school
now
exceeds t he number
of young f e-
mal es .
Al t hough t he
pr opor t i ons
ar e
much l ower , t he
same t r end
hol ds
f or t hose compl et i ng
col l ege.
I n
1960, 4 per cent of
al l bl ack
mal es
bet ween t he ages
of 25 and
34, and
5 per cent of al l
bl ack f e-
mal es had
compl et ed f our
or mor e
year s
of col l ege.
By 1965 t hese
pr opor t i ons
had i ncr eased t o 7
per -
cent
f or mal es and 6
per cent f or
f emal es . I f t he
dr amat i c i ncr ease
i n
hi gh
school compl et i ons
i s any i n-
di cat or , we can
expect subst ant i al
i mpr ovement s
i n t he
number of
bl ack
yout h wi t h col l ege
degr ees i n
t he next f ewyear s .
I t i s
not at al l i nsi gni f i cant
i n
consi der i ng
a Bl ack
Uni ver si t y t o
r ecogni ze t hat
t he educat i onal ex-
per i ence
of bl ack yout h
st i l l t akes
pl ace
i n pr edomi nant l y
bl ack
school s wher e
t he cul t ur e of bl ack
peopl e i s
mai nt ai ned i n
t he i nt er -
30
act i on
of t he yout h
i f not
i n t he
educat i onal
cur r i cul um.
Si xt y- si x
per cent of al l
bl ack yout hs
i n t he
t wel f t h gr ade
i n 1965 wer e
i n
school s whi ch wer e
pr edomi nant l y
bl ack, so
t hese yout h
woul d
pr oba-
bl y be
mor e
comf or t abl e and
at
ease i n
bl ack i nst i t ut i ons
of hi gher
educat i on
.
Despi t e t he
movement
i nt o ci t i es
wher e occupat i onal
oppor t uni t y
i s
sai d t o be hi gher ,
despi t e
hi gher
l evel s of educat i on,
t he empl oyment
si t uat i on of bl ack
peopl e
has
changed l i t t l e
f r omt he " l ast
hi r ed.
f i r st f i r ed" st at us
. Si nce t he
ear l y
Fi f t i es t he unempl oyment
r at e
f or
bl ack
peopl e has been
about
t wi ce
as
hi gh as t hat f or
whi t es, and
i t
has
r emai ned t hi s
way unt i l t he
pr esent
day, al t hough
unempl oy-
ment r at es
have f l uct uat ed
consi d-
er abl y . I n
1961, t he unempl oyment
r at e f or bl ack
peopl e went up
t o
12. 4 per cent ,
t he hi ghest si nce
1958 ( 12. 6) ,
but i t has dr opped
st eadi l y
i n subsequent
year s . I t
went down t o 8. 1
per cent i n 1965.
and t he
decl i ne cont i nued
t o 7 . 3
per cent f or t he
f i r st ni ne mont hs
of 1967.
Bl ack peopl e
ar e over -
r epr esent ed i n ever y
cat egor y of un-
empl oyment .
Dur i ng t he f i r st
ni ne
mont hs
of 1967, bl acks
compr i sed
11
per cent of t he
ci vi l i an l abor
f or ce, but wer e
21 per cent of
al l
unempl oyed
wor ker s and
23 per -
cent of t hose per sons
unempl oyed
f or at l east
t hr ee and a hal f consec-
ut i ve
mont hs . Teen- ager s
st i l l suf f er
t he most of
t hose wi t hout j obs
f or
i n t he
f i r st par t of 1967 t he
unem-
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
pl oyment
r at e f or bl ack yout h be-
t ween 16 and 19 was 26 per cent ,
mor e t han t wi ce t he r at e f or whi t e
yout h.
Bet ween 1960 and 1966, t her e
wer e subst ant i al i ncr eases i n t he
number of bl ack
peopl e hol di ng
whi t e col l ar posi t i ons,
andl ess dr a-
mat i c but st i l l i ncr eases f or
bl acks
hol di ng bl ue col l ar posi t i ons.
The
i ncr ease i n whi t e col l ar empl oy-
ment shows t hel ar gest gai n i n cl er i -
cal and sal es posi t i ons. Bl acks ar e
st i l l under - r epr esent ed i n t he ski l l ed
whi t e col l ar posi t i ons, as of 1966,
wi t h t he si t uat i on f or bl ack mal es
and bl ack f emal es showi ng some
si gni f i cant di f f er ences . I n pr of es-
si onal and t echni cal posi t i ons bl ack
mal es r epr esent 42 per cent as
many as t her e woul d be i f t her e
wer e f ul l occupat i onal equal i t y,
whi l e f emal es i n t he same cat egor y
r epr esent 58 per cent as many as
woul dbe f oundi n a si t uat i on of f ul l
equal i t y.
On
t he ot her hand, i n t he
cl er i cal posi t i ons bl ack
mal es
r ep-
r esent 89
per cent
as
many as
woul d be f ound i n a si t uat i on of
f ul l equal i t y whi l e bl ack f emal es
compr i se onl y 39 per cent . These
andot her
dat a
whi ch
we have ana-
l yzed
i ndi cat e t hat t he bl ack f emal e
has a bet t er chance of obt ai ni ng a
j ob consi st ent wi t h her educat i on
andt r ai ni ng t han t he bl ack mal e i n
t he pr of essi onal , t echni cal and
manager i al cat egor i es, whi l e bl ack
mal es ar e mor el i kel y t han f emal es
t o be adequat el y r epr esent ed i n
cl er i cal posi t i ons.
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
(Cont i nued on page 84)
Thechr oni c pr obl ems bl ack peo-
pl e f ace wi t h educat i on,
empl oy-
ment , and occupat i onal
l evel s ar e
r ef l ect ed i n t he i ncome
l evel s of t he
popul at i on, al t hough
t he Si xt i es
have seen changes i n i ncome f or
bl acks. Ther e ar e var yi ng i nt er pr e-
t at i ons of i ncome changes i n t he
bl ack communi t y and t hey pr oduce
di f f er ent concl usi ons. Some ana-
l yst s
t al k about t he i ncome of f am-
i l i es,
whi l e ot her s t al k about t he
i ncome of per sons,
andt hen di f f er -
ent i at e bet ween mal es and
f emal es
.
Fur t her mor e, i ncome
changes can
be anal yzed i n t er ms
of t heper cent -
age change i n
medi an i ncome, t he
r at i o of bl ack t o
whi t e medi an i n-
come, or t he absol ut e bl ack- whi t e
di f f er ences i n i ncome. Let us see
howt he bl ack si t uat i on i n t he Si x-
t i es st ands up i n t er ms of al l t hese
measur ement s.
I n 1960, 68 per cent of al l bl ack
f ami l i es hadi ncomes under $5, 000
per
year (36 per cent of al l whi t e
f ami l i es
wer e at
t hi s l evel ), but by
1966 t hi s had decl i ned
t o
56 per -
cent of al l f ami l i es ( 27 per cent
f or whi t es) . The pr opor t i on of
bl ack f ami l i es wi t h i ncomes be-
t ween
$5, 004 and $10, 000went up
f r om27
t o
33 per cent
(whi t e f am-
i l i es decl i ned f r om46 t o
44 per -
cent ), bet ween 1960 and
1966.
Bl ack f ami l i es wi t h i ncomes over
$10, 000went upf r om6 t o 12 per -
cent i n t he same per i od of t i me
(wi t h a cor r espondi ng i ncr ease
f r om 18 t o 30 per cent f or whi t e
f ami l i es) . These f i gur es ar e ad-
31
Thi s pr ovocat i ve phot o of a l i t t l e boy
cr ouchedona cl ay f l oor , szceat -
i ng i n t he mi dday heat ,
t el l s much about t he agony of soczzr i ng an
educat i on i n r aci st
Sout h Af r i ca. I t i s f r om House of Bondage
(Random
Hozzse, X10) , by Er nest Col e.
3 2

Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
For Our
Peopl e- Everywhere
"Byf ar
t he great est andmost si gni f i cant t hi ng t hat i s happeni ng i n
t he Worl d
t oday i s a movement on f oot f or gi vi ng t he benef i t s of
ci vi l i zat i on
t o
t hat
huge maj ori t y of t he human race t hat has pai d
f or ci vi l i zat i on,
wi t hout shari ng i n i t s benef i t s . . . " ( Arnol dToyt abee)
". . . most Ameri can Negroes,
even t hose of i nt el l i gence and cour-
age, donot f ul l y real i ze t hat
t hey are bei ng bri bed t o t rade equal
st at us
i n t he Uni t ed St at es f or t he sl avery of t he maj ori t y of men.
When
t hi s i s cl ear, especi al l y t o t he bl ack yout h, t he race must
be
aroused
t o t hought and act i on and wi l l see t hat t he pri ce asked f or
t hei r
cooperat i on i s f ar hi gher t han need bepai d . . . " ( W. E. B.
DuBoi , s)
NE
OFTHEmost i n-
si st ent
t hemes
i n
t he
l i t erat ure
of bl ack
Ameri ca i s t heat t empt
t o
art i cul at e our
awareness of t he presenceof a cer-
t ai n di vi dedness i n our deepest
bei ngs, an i nner t ensi on whi ch
W. E. B. DuBoi s ref erred t o as a
t woness of spi ri t and soul .
Whi l eal l Ameri cans ( event hose
who were here when t he ot hers
camehal f a mi l l enni a
ago) arepeo-
pl eof a brokenpast , nowherei s
t he
t ensi on so of t en obvi ous as wi t hi n
t heAf ro-Ameri cancommuni t y.
We
0
NEGRODI GEST March 1968
BYVI NCENT HARDI NG
are t hel argest si ngl esegment of t he
nat i on whi ch hol ds wi t hi n i t sel f
bot h East and West , bot h Af ri ca
and Ameri ca, bot h devel oped and
devel opi ng soci et i es . For many of
us t he t ensi on has been so unbear-
abl ypai nf ul t hat
wehavecol l apsed
i t on one or t he
ot her si de. Unt i l
recent l y,
i t
was
more of t en t he
West ern,
devel oped si de whi cht ri -
umphed
.
Now,
of course, t here
moves among
us a renewed con-
sci ousness of our non-West ernness,
and i n t he ghet t os of t he l and one
easi l y senses t hat manybl ack men
are seeki ng t o bui l d and cel ebrat e
33
a new- ol d nat i on
i nt he mi dst of t he
wor l d' s most
"devel oped" soci et y .
Any
uni ver si t y whi ch gr ew
wi t h
i nt egr i t y
out of t he gr ound
of our
bl ack
exper i ence i n Amer i ca
woul d
have t o
r ef l ect and bear t he
cr ea-
t i ve agony
of t hat t ensi on- no mat -
t er how gr eat
t he t empt at i on t o
escape
i t . The l i f e
of such an i nst i -
t ut i on
woul d, i n many
ways, t est i f y
t o
t he West er ni zat i on
of our l i ves,
but i f i t i s t o make
a maj or
cont r i -
but i on t o i t s st udent s
and
t hei r
wor l d, t he West er n
exper i ence can-
not be i t s most
i mpor t ant empha-
si s . Mor e t han
2, 000 col l eges
and
uni ver si t i es i n
t hi s count r y
( and
hundr eds mor e
i n Eur ope) al r eady
per f or m t hat t ask
. Though "pr e-
domi nant l y Negr o"
i nst i t ut i ons
have l ong
i mi t at ed such
a di r ect i on,
t hose of
us who seek t o
bui l d f ai t h-
f ul l y out
of t he mat er i al s
of t he
Af r o- Amer i can
exper i ence ar e
cal l ed t o
ot her pat hs.
One maj or st r engt h
of a bl ack
uni ver si t y
woul d be i t s
i nt er na-
nat i onal i sm, but i t s
f ocus woul d not
f ol l ow t he
st yl e of t he scor es
of
"I nt er nat i onal
St udi es"
pr ogr ams
whi ch have bur geoned
i n Amer i can
i nst i t ut i ons
si nce t he Kor ean
War .
I nst ead,
t he uni queness
of our ap-
pr oach t o t he
wor l d woul d
be
f ound i n our
vi si on t hr ough
an un-
ashamedl y
bl ack- or i ent ed
pr i sm. I n
t he academi c
pr ogr am and
i n a
hundr ed
ot her l ess st r uct ur ed
ways,
t he
bl ack uni ver si t y
woul d seek t o
expl or e,
cel ebr at e and r ecor d
t he
exper i ences of t he
non- West er n
wor l d. Because
of much t hat we
3 4
have l i ved
t hr ough, our
f ocus
woul d be
upon t hat segment
of t he
non- West
whi ch has exi st ed
under
West er n
domi nat i on f or
t he r el a-
t i vel y
br i ef span of 400 year s
or
l ess, and
whi ch now shakes
t he
wor l d wi t h i t s
ef f or t s t o
wr ench
f r ee.
Even wi t hi n
t hat gr oup our spe-
ci al t y woul d
r i ght f ul l y be f ound
among t he peopl es of
Af r i ca, bot h
t hose
who r emai ned on
t he cont i -
nent
and t hose who
wer e f or ced
i nt o
t he New Wor l d
t hr ough t he
di aspor a of sl aver y .
Thi s, i n a pe-
cul i ar way, i s our
t hi ng, and we
woul d have no l ess
r eason t o bui l d
on i t i n
a uni ver si t y
set t i ng t han
Br andei s
has f or bui l di ng
on J ew-
i sh
St udi es, or Mi nnesot a
on I m-
mi gr ant
St udi es, or
Okl ahoma on
st udi es of
t he Amer i can
I ndi an.
I n an
ar t i cl e of t hi s l engt h i t i s
possi bl e onl y t o suggest
some of t he
di r ect i ons such
a bl ack- or i ent ed i n-
t er nat i onal i smmi ght t ake
i n a uni -
ver si t y cont ext , but
cer t ai n l i nes ar e
suggest i ve
of t he whol e.
I n t he
academi c pr ogr am,
one of t he most
at t r act i ve
aspect s of t hi s
f ocus
woul d be
compar at i ve, i nt er cul -
t ur al st udi es
of many ki nds,
espe-
ci al l y i n t he
humani t i es and t he
soci al sci ences
. For i nst ance,
i n
musi c we
woul d t r y t o
devel op an
under st andi ng of
t he cont i nui t i es
and
di scont i nui t i es among t he mu-
si cal
st yl es of Af r i ca and
t hose of
i t s scat t er ed chi l dr en
i n t he nor t h-
er n and
sout her n por t i ons
of t he
bl ack, NewWor l d.
( The dance and
t he dr ama
woul d pr esent
obvi ous
Mar ch 1968 NEGRO
DI GEST
anal ogues f or possi bl e
st udy. ) We
woul d al so at t empt
t o expl or e t he
i mpl i cat i ons of t he st r ong si mi l ar i -
t i es whi ch a not ed l i t er ar y aut hor -
i t y cl ai ms he has f ound i n t he
l i t er at ur e r ecent l y comi ng out of
Har l emand out of bl ack J ohannes-
bur g. What f asci nat i ng i nsi ght s
mi ght cour ses i n "Compar at i ve
Bl ack Li t er at ur e"
pr oduce?
When we
r eal i ze
t hat
t her e
ar e
sect i ons of Cuba and ot her par t s of
Lat i n Amer i ca
wher e
Af r i can r el i -
gi ous
pr act i ces
ar e
al i ve and pr os-
per i ng,
i t i s
obvi ous
t hat t he st udy
of compar at i ve r el i gi ous devel op-
ment i s al so f i l l ed wi t h new
possi bi l i t i es i n such a cont ext .
( Especi al l y as t hose who know
bl ack f ol k r el i gi on i n t he Uni t ed
St at es r emi nd us of t he per si st ent
pr esence of a bel i ef i n r el i gi ous
magi c her e . ) Or i t may
be t hat i n
such a set t i ng, car ef ul el abor at i on
woul d
be
done
on
a si gni f i cant
i n-
t er di sci pl i nar y as wel l as i nt er cul -
t ur al
academi c monogr aph, such as
Lant er nar i ' s The Rel i gi ons of t he
Oppr essed. For her e, i n a st udy of
t he messi ani c movement s of t he
non- West er n wor l d, i t i s cl ear t hat
hi st or y, pol i t i cal
sci ence, soci ol ogy,
psychol ogy and r el i gi on encount er
and enr i ch each ot her . Fewset t i ngs
woul d be mor e congeni al t o such
mut ual i nt el l ect ual f er t i l i zat i on
t han t he ki nd of i nst i t ut i on we
envi si on
.
I ndeed such a st udy
as
Lant er -
nar i ' s st r ongl y suggest s t hat t he
bl ack- or i ent ed uni ver si t y
coul d pr e-
sent a mar vel ous oppor t uni t y f or
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
t he soci al sci ences i n Amer i ca t o
br eak out of t hei r nat i onal i st i c
t r ap. Soci ol ogy mi ght i ncl ude such
mat t er s as ur ban devel opment
among bl ack peopl e i n Nai r obi ,
Chi cago and Ri o. Pol i t i cal Sci ence
coul d wel l anal yse t he f or ms of r e-
si st ance t o col oni al domi nat i on i n
Har l em, Cuba,
Mozambi que and
Vi et nam. So, t oo, mi ght speci al i st ;
i n Educat i on t r y t o under st and t he
ways i n whi ch I ndi ans, Af r i cans,
and Af r o- Amer i cans have at t empt -
ed t o r escue t hei r educat i onal
syst ems f r om t he domi nat i on of
st r uct ur es and i deol ogi es shaped
i n Engl and, Fr ance and whi t e
Amer i ca . Semi nar s i n non- West er n
cul t ur al nat i onal i sms of t he moder n
wor l d mi ght be f i l l ed wi t h
exci t e-
ment and pr of i t f or
t hose who ar e
t r yi ng
t o
di scer n,
devel op and sus-
t ai n an Af r o- Amer i can
st yl e of l i f e .
The academi c cur r i cul umwoul d
be, of cour se,
onl y one of t he
pl aces i n whi ch t he uni que i nt er na-
t i onal i sm
of t he bl ack uni ver si t y
mi ght be expr essed. Speci al i nst i -
t ut es on Af r o- Amer i can ( usi ng
"Amer i can" i n t he
hemi spher i c
sense ) cul t ur e woul d
abound. Col -
l oqui es on a subj ect l i ke Sl aver y
woul d
engage schol ar s f r om al l
over t he New
Wor l d, especi al l y
t hose who st i l l bear t he mar ks
whi ch
wer e f i r st pai nf ul l y known
by t hei r
ancest or s . Conf er ences on
such t opi cs as "The Rol e of
Women
i n Re- Emer gi ng Soci et i es, " woul d
si mpl y
be par t of t he br eat hi ng of
such a school .
Symposi a on st r at egi es f or soci al
35
change i n
t he f or mer col oni al soci -
et i es
woul dbe sponsor ed- but
not
by t he
Amer i canSt at e Depar t ment .
"Thi nk Tanks"
f i l l ed wi t h t he var -
i ed but const ant
exper i ence of
bl ackness
mi ght
be
est abl i shed f or
t he sol e pur pose of
anal yzi ng spe-
ci f i c conf l i ct
si t uat i ons f r omDet r oi t
t o Angol a ( and beyond) ,
and sug-
gest i ng di r ect i ons of
act i ons and
i deol ogy f or t hose who
ar e st r ug-
gl i ng t o br eak away
f r om t he
hegemony of t he West .
Fr omsuch
a
uni ver si t y t her e
woul d go out
t eams of speci al i st s
i n devel opment
whose pr i mar y concer ns
woul dnot
i ncl ude t he openi ng of
wedges f or
Amer i can i nf l uences .
Rat her t hei r
sear ch
woul dbe f or ways
i n whi ch
moder ni zat i on mi ght be
pur ged of
i t s
synonymous r el at i onshi p
wi t h
West er ni zat i on and Amer i cani za-
t i on.
Thr oughout t he
Sl ack Uni ver -
si t y andi n al l of
i t s speci al pr oj ect s,
t he emphasi s
woul d be on t he
sear ch f or new model s,
f or new
syst ems,
f or newways of
l i f e, f r ee
f r omt he
suf f ocat i ng
gr asp of t he
most
cur r ent f or ms of
i mper i al i sm.
Not onl y
woul d speci al i st s
be sent
out i n
such a sear ch,
but ot her
ki nds
of "speci al i st s"
woul d be
br ought i n.
Repr esent at i ves
of t he
ant i - col oni al
f or ces,
member s of
Li ber at i on
Fr ont s,
r el i gi ous and
educat i onal
l eader s f r om
t he r e-
36
hor ni ng nat i ons woul d be
i nvi t ed
and wel comed i n
or der t o gi ve
deeper meani ng t o t he
sear chi ng.
I ndeed, such a uni ver si t y
mi ght
wel l become a sanct uar y
of sor t s
f or
some of
t he wor l d' s
r evol ut i on-
ar i es .
What bet t er way t o
r ai se t he
har d quest i ons
whi ch many
r evol u-
t i ons of t en f or ce
honest i nt el l ec-
t ual s t o ask?
Such an i nst i t ut i on
woul d
sel f -
consci ousl y be
or i ent i ng i t s st u-
dent s t owar d an
under st andi ng of
- and an
appr eci at i on f or - t he
myr i ad ways i n
whi ch our exper i -
ences her e as
col oni al s who wer e
br ought t o t he
"mot her count r y"
par al l el t hose of
our br ot her s
who
had t o r ecei ve
t he emi ssar i es of
count l ess whi t e
f at her l ands . ( l t
woul d, of cour se,
al so st r ess t he
uni queness of t he
Af r o- Amer i can
col oni al
exper i ence. ) As
a par t of
devel opi ng t hi s sense
of common
exper i ence- and common
r oot s-
summer st udy and
J uni or Year s
abr oad i n
Eur ope woul d l i kel y be-
come t he except i on,
andbl ack st u-
dent s
woul d move t owar d Lat i n
Amer i ca, Af r i ca, I ndi a
and Asi a
f or t hei r exper i ence
of i nt er cul t ur al
exchange and over seas st udy
. ( Thi s
di r ect i on woul d,
of cour se, have
si gni f i cant
i mpl i cat i ons f or t he
l an-
guages
t aught i n t he
i nst i t ut i on.
Ger man, f or
i nst ance, mi ght have
di f f i cul t i es
. ) Bot h st udent
and f ac-
ul t y exchanges wi t h
t he non- West -
er n wor l d
woul d become a
r egul ar
par t
of t he Bl ack
Uni ver si t y' s l i f e.
The
j our nal of such a cent er
mi ght
wel l
seek t o al l y i t sel f
wi t h
t he
New
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
Worl d publ i cat i on of t he Cari b-
bean, wi t h Presence Af ri cai ne, and
wi t h ot her l esser known publ i ca-
t i ons of t he non- West ern i nt el l ec-
t ual s.
The uni versi t y woul dbe servi ce-
ori ent ed i n t he l argest sense of t hat
t erm.
I t woul d set up
ski l l s banks
f or devel opi ng nat i ons andi t woul d
urge t hose st udent s who do not re-
t urn t o t he bl ack Ameri can com-
muni t i es t o of f er t hei r ski l l s i n
Af ri ca, Lat i n Ameri ca and wher-
ever el se t hey are needed and
desi red. Concei vabl y, a bl ack-
ori ent ed Overseas Servi ce Corps
mi ght devel op, and t hi s woul d not
onl y provi de excel l ent nat i on-
bui l di ng opport uni t i es, but i t coul d
become an al t ernat i ve t o act i on
wi t h t he Uni t ed
St at es
mi l i t ary
f orces . For
i t i s
l i kel y
t hat t he
i n-
t ernat i onal
ori ent at i on of a Bl ack
Uni versi t y wi l l
creat e many di s-
sent ers
t o t he f orei gn pol i cy whi ch
our armed
f orces nowenf orce.
Shoul d i t ref use t o ent er t he l i st s
of Ameri can f orei gn pol i cy sup-
port ers, shoul d
i t become a
si gni f i -
cant source of di ssent and t he
cent er
of
a
search
f or
newways of
i nt ernat i onal l i f e, i t i s not easy t o
know how t he Bl ack Uni versi t y
woul d be f unded. I ndeed, i f
i t saw
reason t o move beyond experi -
ment s i n nat i on- bui l di ng
t o t he
search f or a newworl d soci et y i n
whi ch nat i ons pl ayed a f ar l ess si g-
ni f i cant rol e, i t s enemi es mi ght
come f romt he nat i onal i st i c l ef t as
wel l as t he ri ght . Cert ai n moni es
woul d not be avai l abl e. Ot hers
NEGRO Df GEST March 1968
( l i ke some connect ed wi t h bl ack
Chi cago sl ums or Af ri can di amond
mi ni ng) mi ght not be accept ed. A
Free Bl ack Uni versi t y mi ght be
f orced i nt o exi st ence.
For t he present t hat i s t he prob-
l emof ot her wri t ers and ot her mo-
ment s. At t hi s
moment i t may
suf f i ce t o say t hat t he Bl ack Uni -
versi t y must seek t o be f ai t hf ul t o
t he best dreams of our great est
t went i et h cent ury bl ack dreamers,
f romDu Boi s t o ( Frant z) Fanon.
I t shoul d at l east at t empt t o pl ace
t he ri se of t he West i n proper hi s-
t ori cal perspect i ve, ref usi ng ei t her
t o do homage t o- or t o be t erri f i ed
by- what may wel l prove t o be no
more t han a hyper- act i ve aberra-
t i on i n t he cont ext of manki nd' s
l ong, essent i al l y non- West ern pi l -
gri mage . Such a servi ce
t o t rut h
woul d
be nomean accompl i shment
i n
i t sel f .
Nevert hel ess, t o speak of Fanon
i s
t o
suggest even more. For i t may
be t hat , i n i t s i nt ernat i onal aspect s,
such an i nst i t ut i on mi ght wel l t ake
as i t s f i ercel y dri vi ng t heme
t he cal l
of hi s l ast chapt er i n The Wret ched
of t he F_ art h. There hi s
words were
a cal l out of t he darkness of hope-
l ess, cyni cal react i on on t he one
hand, and out of ersat z bri ght ness
of i mi t at i ve European st yl es on t he
ot her .
I t was a cal l t o t he l i ght -
f i l l ed ( somet i mes bl i ndi ng) , gruei -
l i ng search f or new shapes and
f orms, f or pat t erns whi ch
deal
wi sel y wi t h t he l onger l i nes of hi s-
t ory and
t he deepest needs of men.
Ul t i mat el y, of course, he urged,
3 7
For Europe, f or oursel ves
and f or humani t y, comrades,
wemust t urn over a newl eaf ,
we must work out newcon-
cept s, and t ry t o set af oot a
newman.
As
such hi s cal l i s hei r t o al l t he
pi t f al l s of messi ani sm, at most , and
t o t he di si l l usi ons
of abort ed hope
3 8
at l east . Nevert hel ess, i t
may wel l
be f ar bet t er t hat
a uni versi t y
shoul d search
and reach and
possi bl y
f ai l at t he pract i ce of such
hope t han t hat
i t
sel l
out t o t he
hi ghest bi dder and l i ve on
i n t he
st yl e t o whi ch Ameri ca has
accus-
t omedus . I f i t i s bet t er t o
t ry t o do
our t hi ng, t hen l et us press
on-
t owards t he Bl ackUni versi t y.
Vi ncent Hardi ng, aut hor of
"Some I nt ernat i onal I mpl i cat i ons of t he
Bl ack Uni versi t y, " i s prof essor
of Hi st ory at Spel man Col l ege i n
At l ant a, Ga. Dr . Hardi ng al so i s
coordi nat or of t he f ort hcomi ng con-
f erence on "Bl ack Consci ousness
and Hi gher Educat i on. " Hi s art i cl es
and poems have appeared previ ousl y i n
NEGRODI GEST.
March 1968
NEGRODI GEST
NEGRODI GEST March 1968
39
ACase Study
40
Ayoungsoci ol ogi st, di smi ssed f r or n the nati on' s l eadi ngpr edomi -
nantl y- Negr o uni ver si ty f or hi s mi l i tant pr o- bl ack acti vi ti es, pr o-
vi des a f i r st- per son account
of
the events u~l r . i ch l ed to hi s di smi - ssal
BY
NATHANHARE
OWARDUNI VERSI -
TY
spr eads
l i ke a
compl ex of
cancer ous
sor es on a br east- l i ke
hi l l i n the hear t of one
of the wor st secti ons- by most
cr i ter i a- of
the
Di str i ct
of Col um-
bi a. The uni ver si ty,
whi ch i s
dr abl y
cached
i n subdued maj esty
mi dway
the census tr acts heavi est
i n " soci al di sor gani zati on, "
was
f ounded i n hypocr i ti cal contr adi c-
ti on by an ambi val ent gener al ,
Ol i ver Oti s Howar d, appar entl y a
" God- f ear i ng" r el i gi ous f anati c
who f or ewent hi s ambi ti on to be-
come a mi ni ster , l ater a l awyer , to
gai n power thr ough mi l i tar y mi ght
and posi ti on. t
My of f i ce dur i ng my f i r st thr ee
year s as a pr of essor at Howar d was
i na thi r d f l oor cor ner of what once
was Gener al Howar d' s mansi on on
the campus. Fr omther e I coul d see
the Washi ngtonMonument andthe
Capi tol Bui l di ng j ust beyond the
squal or of Washi ngton' s ghetto. On
the way to the of f i ce each day I
passed thr ough the conf usi on and
angui sh of students wai ti ng i n the
bui l di ng to gai n admi ssi on to the
" counsel i ng center " wher e thei r
educati onal f ates woul dbe di ctated
to
themby hosti l e cl er ks hopi ng,
somehow, to pi ece together the
debr i s f r omover l y zeal ous admi n-
i str ati ve
decr ees.
Today,
vi ewi ng Howar d f r oma
di stance
of
mor e than a mi l e, yet
f r omthe
vantage poi nt of an i nti -
mate exposur e to i ts i nner wor k-
i ngs, I amabl e to watch i t wr i the
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
NEGRODI GEST March
1968

41
and qui ver ,
caught i n t he
conf l i ct
bet ween
t he new sur ge
f or bl ack
equal i t y
and t he deat h- bed
cont or -
t i ons of whi t e
supr emacy
and op-
pr essi on. I t i s
a condi t i on
I have
knownf i r st hand
f or mor e
t han si x
year s and have
st udi ed
t hor oughl y
wi t h t he combi ned
t ool s of
t he so-
ci ol ogi st and t he
j our nal i st .
I
l ear ned t hat Howar d
Uni ver si -
t y,
whi ch acqui r ed i t s
f i r st set of
bui l di ngs
i l l egal l y and
became a
"monument "
t o
Gener al O. How-
ar d
and hi s scheme,
has never
br oken
ent i r el y f r ee
f r omt he gr i ps
of a
mi l i t ar y- r el i gi ous- pol i t i cal
cor -
r upt i on.
Wi t h t hi s i nf l uence
[ cr i t i ci zed
al so by t he
gr eat Fr eder i ck
Dougl as,
a "col or ed"
member
of t he
boar d of
t r ust ees, who
descr i bed t he "r i ng"
as "hungr y
shar ks, wi t h
pr of essi ons of
pi et y
upon
t hei r l i ps"] a
t her e devel -
oped
[ i n t he wor ds of
J ohn Mer -
cer Langst on
who event ual l y
r e-
si gned
i n pr ot est f r om
hi s posi -
t i on
as Dean of
t he LawSchool
- t he ent i r e
LawSchool
f acul t y
wi t h
hi m- bef or e goi ng
on t o
become
t he f i r st
Negr o ever
el ect ed t o publ i c
of f i ce i n
t he
Uni t ed
St at es] appear ed
and
gr ew t he
f eel i ng t hat t he
Negr o,
whet her as
t r ust eee or member
of t he f acul t y,
i s of smal l
ac-
count , i ndeed
r at her a pest onl y
as he ser ves t o gi ve
col or t o t he
ent er pr i se . . .
and wi t h t hi s
f eel i ng has
const ant l y gr own
t he
i dea
t hat t he Col or ed
yout h at -
t endi ng t he
Uni ver si t y ar e i n-
4 2
capabl e
of hi gh
i nt el l ect ual
achi evement . }
St i l l , by 1940 t he
Uni ver si t y,
whi ch
opened i n 1867
wi t h an al l -
whi t e f acul t y and
st udent body,
had a
st udent body
one- hal f of one
per cent
whi t e and a f acul t y
l ess
t han ni ne
per cent whi t e.
Today
t he gr aduat e
and pr of essi onal
school s, not abl e
i n t he medi cal
pr o-
f essi ons wher e
whi t e r ej ect s
f r om
whi t e school s
f r equent l y have
hi gh
enough scor es t o
out di st ance poor -
l y t r ai ned bl ack
appl i cant s, ar e
f ast
devel opi ng a
whi t e maj or i t y ;
and
t hi s i s al so t he
t r end f or t he
l i ber al
ar t s f acul t y
( wher e t he aver age
sal -
ar y i s hi gher
f or whi t e
pr of essor s
t han f or bl ack
_pr of essor s at
t he
same r ank ) .
J ust pr i or t o
t he emer gence
of
t hi s t r end, as
Howar d became
` ' t he
Capst one
of Negr o
educat i on, " i t
al so
became an
epi t ome of
pol i t i cal
doci l i t y and
academi c
not hi ngness,
gr ovel i ng
at t he f eet
of out si de
( mai nl y
Gover nment ) expect a-
t i ons, r eal or
i magi ned,
and f awn-
i ng upon
whi t e
Congr essi onal ap-
pr opr i at or s .
However , i n an er a of
gr eat er access
t o whi t e col l eges
and
"r i si ng
Negr o
expect at i ons, " t hi s
f oot shuf f l i ng
was pr ovi ng i nade-
quat e, as
t he Cent enni al year
ap-
pr oached, i n
t he compet i t i on
f or
t op st udent s
and pr of essor s
. Faced
wi t h
t hi s pr edi cament ,
admi ni st r a-
t ar s
mer el y
i nt ensi f i ed t hei r
St epi n'
Fet chi t t act i cs
.
Then, i n
Sept ember
1966, Pr esi -
dent J ames
Nabr i t
announced
i n t he
Washi ngt on Post a
pl an t o
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
make Howard
" si xt y per cent
whi t e" by 1970,
a
pl an
opposed
by vi rt ual l y every
st udent on
campus . To accompl i sh
t hi s goal
t he Uni versi t y had
devi sed an i n-
geni ous programf or
excl udi ng or/
andremovi ng bl ack
st udent s whi l e
at t ract i ng whi t e
ones . Someprof es-
sors were
warned by t he dean' s
of f i ce, t hrough
depart ment al chai r-
men
i nst ruct ed t o " counsel " t hem,
t hat t hei r
gradedi st ri but i ons shoul d
approxi mat e
a normal di st ri but i on
( regardl ess of
t he cal i ber of agi ven
cl ass! ) and
speci f i cal l y shoul d i n-
cl ude
a
mi ni mum
of f ai l i ng marks .
At t he same
t i me, i t was deci ded
t o " rai se st andards"
by rai si ng by
200 poi nt s
t he requi red score on
ent rance
t est s st an~ardi zedon chi l -
dren
of urban mi ddl e- cl ass whi t e
exposure.
Many " cul t ural l y de-
pri ved" bl ack st udent s
woul d not ,
of course,
be expect ed t o manage
such a score
. Whi t e st udent s who
f l unked woul dnot need
t o humi l i -
at e t hemsel ves enrol l i ng i n
a pre-
col l ege sequence
at Howard; hence,
a proposedspeci al di vi si on
f or st u-
dent s who f ai l
t he t est woul d i n-
vari abl y
bebl ack. These " subnor-
mal s" woul d
have t o spend a year
prepari ng t o ent er t he
newwhi t e
Howard.
Havi ng f ai l ed t he
t est as
i ndi vi dual s,
t hei r sel f - est eemwoul d
f urt her be deci mat ed,
f or t hey
woul d
be set apart as f ai l ures
and
subj ect ed t o
an ego- mort i f yi ng
curri cul um.
Fi rst ,
t hey were t o recei ve
a
speech course
( al ready i ncorpo-
rat ed at Howard)
f rankl y cal cu-
NEGRODI GEST Morch
1968
f at ed
t o f orce bl ack
st udent s t o
" l ose
t hei r i n- group
di al ect s, " de-
spi t e
t he f act t hat Presi dent
Nabri t
hi msel f has been successf ul
i n Su-
preme
Court present at i ons
i n a
cl assi cal
" Negro di al ect . "
Such st u-
dent s
al soweret obegi ven
a course
i n
readi ng ski l l s and,
si mul t ane-
ousl y, onei n mast erpi eces
of worl d
l i t erat ure. I t goes
wi t hout sayi ng
t hat " mast erpi ece"
aut hors woul d
be i nvari abl y, i f
not excl usi vel y,
Caucasi an. St i l l anot her
course was
hi st ory of West ern
ci vi l i zat i on ( not
worl d ci vi l i zat i on, as i n
t he case o:
t he mast erpi eces ) .
Thi s curri cul um
woul d say t o bl ack
st udent s, who
al ready were f ai l ures
as i ndi vi du-
al s, t hat t hey had
no ennobl i ng
ancest ral root s : t hei r
ki ndhadpro-
duced no ci vi l i zat i on
wort hy of
at t ent i on,
nol i t erary achi evement s,
and i ndeed
are gui l t y nowof t he
wrong mode of
speech. I t i s t rue,
even nowat
Howard, wi t hi n t he
normal curri cul um,
t hat a l i beral
art s st udent cannot
t ake a course
i n Negro hi st ory
unl ess he i s a
hi st ory maj or.
Anyway, I
wrot e a l et t er mock-
i ng
t he i dea of t he
whi t ewash pro-
gramand
t he l et t er appeared
i n
TheHi l l t op, t he
campus newspaper
- t he f i rst i ssue
i n Sept ember of
t hecent enni al year .
I mmedi at el y, I
cameunder pressure,
l osi ng f i rst a
promot i on t ochai rman
of t heDi vi -
si on of Soci al Sci ences
and ot her
43
pr i vi l eges whi ch publ i cl y had been
pr omi sed me; and t hi s was an
ear l y
obj ect l esson of r el ent l ess pr essur e
.
i ncl udi ng subj ect i on t o a net wor k
of st udent andf acul t y spi es .
One day t owar d t he end of Sep-
t ember , whi l e di scussi ng t he ef f ect s
of
ur bani zat i on on soci al nor ms, I
cr i t i ci zed t he
obsol escence of some
pr of essed codes
of sexual conduct ;
t hen, as i f t o sal vage
t he cl ass f r om
i t s shock, gave assur ances
of my
abi di ng adher ence t o t hem
. I t ol d
of my ef f or t s t he pr evi ous
year t o
l aunch an associ at i on
of vi r gi ns on
t he campus, and
t hat one member
gr ewsi ck and
dr oppedout and t he
ot her f l unked out .
I al so expl ai ned
t hat t he r eason Howar d' s
wal l
cl ocks al ways di f f er ed as t o
t i me of
day was because ever y t i me a
vi r gi n
at Howar dpasses a cl ock t he
cl ock
st ands st i l l . Wi t hi n 30mi nut es
af t er
t hat cl ass was over , t he
chai r man of
my
depar t ment was cal l i ng me i n
exci t edl y t o say t hat t he dean
had
sai d t hat a st udent had sai d
t hat I
had sai d
t hat
I was t he onl y vi r gi n
on Howar d' s campus .
The super i or s t hen
pr oposed t o
"obser ve" my cl asses, and, when I
r ef used t hi s uni que
at t ent i on,
t hr eat ened t o
f i r e
me,
but backed
down
when I r emar ked, dur i ng t he
hear i ng, t hat I had once been
t he
best
cot t on- pi cker i n Cr eek Coun-
t y, Okl ahoma and t hat , shoul d i t
ever come t o t hat , I coul d al e ays
bur n my doct or at e and go back t o
pi cki ng
cot t on
. Af t er t he hear i ng,
t hey sent a
l et t er r eappoi nt i ng me,
mai nl y because
( as t hey l at er sai d
44
i n
cour t ) t hey f ear ed st udent
di s-
r upt i ons
shoul d t hey f i r e me
dur i ng
t he
school year , but t hey
nonet he-
l ess
per si st ed i n
t hr eat s
andhar ass-
ment ,
war ni ng
t hat
i f I di d not f al l
i n l i ne t her e was "goi ng t o be a
war . "
Lat e one eveni ng, af t er a heat ed
conf r ont at i on wi t h a super i or , i
duckedi nt o a mi ddl e- cl ass bar near
t he campus wher e I encount er ed a
number of ol der pr of essor s . Thei r
pl i ght s sur pr i sed and hor r i f i ed me.
I deci ded f r omt hen on t hat , i f t hen;
was "goi ng t o be a war , " t hen I was
a sol di er and shoul d act l i ke one.
Meanwhi l e, st udent s had been
st agi ng pr ot est s f or gr i evances
whi ch t ypi f y uni ver si t i es ever y-
wher e- agai nst cur f ewr egul at i ons
and
ot her aspect s of t he r i ght not
t o be t r eat ed as
chi l dr en. The Law
School st udent s wer e pr omi nent
her e, l ed chi ef l y by J ay Gr eene,
l at er
expel l ed andnow
on
schol ar -
shi p i n t he Yal e LawSchool , and
Ar t Gol dber g, a J ewi sh st udent
f r omBer kel ey nowi n Rut ger s Law
School . Thei r act i vi t i es consi st ed
mai nl y of r al l i es wher e J ay Gr eene
and ot her st udent s woul d "r ap" t o
a cr owd of sever al hundr ed, t hen
r ead r esol ut i ons dr awn up
i n l egal
l anguage ; and t he cr owd, af t er be-
i ng t ol d t hat t he r esol ut i ons wer e t o
be del i ver ed t o Pr esi dent
Nabr i t ,
woul dj oyf ul l y cl ap t hei r hands and
di sper se. Nabr i t pr act i cal l y
never
act ed ont he r esol ut i ons, except f or
a f ewf ai nt pr omi ses, even whenhe
was on campus, but t he pr ocedur e
was al ways r epeat ed anyway.
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
Si mul t aneousl y t her e ar ose
a
hy-
br i d
pol i t i cal par t y- pr ot est gr oup
cal l ed
t he St udent Ri ght s Or agni za-
t i on, i nspi r ed
i n par t by Ar t and
J ay. I
accept ed t he i nvi t at i on t o be
i t s
f acul t y advi sor . SRO' s member -
shi p cover ed t he pol i t i cal
wat er -
f r ont . Thei r l eader s, mai nl y
t he edi -
t or s and f eat ur e wr i t er s
on t he Hi l l -
t op st af f - whi ch l at er
was t o pr ove
i nval uabl e - r egar ded
t hemsel ves
as bl ack
mi l i t ant s, i n t he r esponsi -
bl e sense of
t he cat egor y, and had
as t hei r
her oes t he nat i onal l eader s
of SNCCt hough
t hei r own st yl e
appr oxi mat ed
mor e t he st yl e of
nat i onal CORE.
When UNAmbassador t o t he
UN,
Ar t hur Gol dber g ex- boss of
Nabr i t , came t o Howar d, SRO
st aged a wal kout i n whi ch I was
abl e t o per suade f i ve ot her pr of es-
sor s- al l whi t e
; of cour se- t o t ake
an act i ve par t
. Shor t l y af t er t hat ,
some SRO member s,
di ssat i sf i ed
wi t h t he moder at i on of
i t s l eader s,
came t o me ( l at e Febr uar y by
now) wi t h a pl an t o f or ma "Bl ack
Power
Commi t t ee. " They wer e al l
f r eshmen l ar gel y
unknown on cam-
pus, except i n t hei r
dor mi t or i es and
among
t hei r cl assmat es, and
ac-
cor di ngl y
asked my ai d i n com-
posi ng and r eadi ng
at a pr ess
conf er ence a sor t
of "bl ack uni ver -
si t y mani f est o. " We cal l ed
f or t he
compl et e
r evampi ng of Negr o col -
l eges as
t hey now exi st , spoke
agai nst t he emer gi ng desi r e t o make
Negr o col l eges pr edomi nant l y
whi t e, and
gener al l y set t i ng f or t h a
pr ogr am f or
t r ansf or mi ng Negr o
NEGRODI GEST Mor ch
1968
col l eges i nt o bl ack
uni ver si t i es
wi t h r el evance
t o t he bl ack com-
muni t y and i t s
st r uggl e agai nst
whi t e r aci smand
i mper i al i sm, cul -
t ur al or ot her wi se
. Thi s ki cked of f
an onsl aught of
st udent demonst r a-
t i ons ( wi t h,
now and agai n, some
f acul t y
par t i ci pat i on ) and
t he f i r st
r eal
conf r ont at i on bet ween
Howar d
st udent s
and an oppr essi ve
admi n-
i st r at i on
.
Ar umor gr ewpr eval ent
on cam-
pus
t hat I was goi ng
t o be "eased
out " i n t he summer
and, by mi d-
Apr i l , i t had sl i pped
i nt o t el evi si on
and r adi o br oadcast s
. One ni ght ,
on t he way t o my
popul at i on cl ass,
I encount er ed a
number of st udent s
~~ho i nqui r ed
anxi ousl y whet her
t he
r umor was t r ue. I
assur ed t hem
t hat no such wor d had
come down
t o me and t hat t he
deadl i ne f or
non- r enewal of t wo- year
cont r act s .
December 15, al r eady
had passed.
I nsi de t he cl assr oom, I
sensed t he
downcast
spi r i t of t he st udent s,
br ought up t he
r umor and sug-
gest ed
t hat , i f t her e was
a Howar d
i n Sept ember ,
1 woul d ver y wel l
be
t her e. Al l at
once t hey bur st i nt o
appl ause; but I knew
even t hen
t hat ,
pr obabl y, I was
passi ng
t hr ough my
l ast days at Howar d,
and per haps,
as a col l ege pr of essor
anywher e.
St udent
upr i si ngs r ocked
on-
i ncl udi ng
a conf r ont at i on wi t h
a
pol i ce r i ot
squad behi nd
a gi r l ' s
dor mi t or y
; t he sponsor shi p
of a
"Bl ack i s
Best " l ect ur e by
heavy-
wei ght
champ Muhammad
Al i
af t er t he admi ni st r at i on
cl osed
45
downt he
audi t ori um; LeRoi
J ones
i n a readi ng, t o
f requent
appl ause,
of some of
hi s cat hart i c
poet ry on
t he st eps of
t he School of
Rel i gi on;
t he breaki ng
up of a
heari ng i n
whi ch
nat ural - l ook
Homecomi ng
Queen
Robi n Gregory was
bei ng
t ri ed ost ensi bl y
because she
had
hel ped me and
st udent Huey
La-
Bri e read t he
Bl ack Power Com-
mi t t ee' s mani f est o;
and t he i nt er-
rupt i on of Sel ect i ve
Servi ce boss
General Hershey' s
speech . Event u-
al l y, st udent s hanged
Hershey, Na-
bri t
and Dean Frank
Snowden i n
ef f i gy, andf ol l owed
t hi s wi t h a suc-
cessf ul boycot t of cl asses,
curi ousl y
pl anned f or one
day onl y and~re-
port edl y represent i ng
ef f ort s ont he
part
of moderat e st udent
l eaders t o
grab t he
prot est bal l f rom
t he Bl ack
Power
Commi t t ee.
By
nowwe were
neari ng f i nal
exams
andi t was deci ded
t o wrap
up
prot est unt i l t he
f ol l owi ng f al l ,
al t hough a
seri es of si x
myst eri ous
f i res ( whi ch
may or may
not have
been
connect ed wi t h st udent
act i v-
i t i es )
broke out oncampus
duri ng
t he l ast
week or so of
school , one
of t hem
causi ng "a
general empt y-
i ng of
t he Admi ni st rat i on
bui l d-
i ng. "~
School
cl osed, andi n
t he deadof
earl y summer
about 20
st udent s
and si x
prof essors recei ved
regi s-
t eredl et t ers
of di smi ssal .
The man-
ner of
sel ect i ng t he vi ct i ms
was
i ndi cat i ve of
t he general
conf usi on,
hyst eri a and
i nef f i ci ency of
t he
admi nst rat ors,
who hel d
several
46
( Cont i nued onpage
70)
pri vat e
meet i ngs wi t h st udent
spi es
andf acul t y i nf ormant s . There
were
no
heari ngs f or di smi ssed
f acul t y
members or st udent s,
amount i ng
t o a
di rect deni al of due
process
and t he
chance t o conf ront
accus-
ers,
vi ol at i ng t he Fi rst and
Fi f t h
Amendment s of
t he Const i t ut i on
of
t he Uni t ed
St at es . P
True, some
mi ddl e- l evel admi n-
i st rat ors,
i ncl udi ng Cl yde Ferguson,
deanof t he Law
School , andFrank
Snowden, dean of
t he Col l ege of
Li beral Art s, went
on record as
opposi ng t he
di smi ssal s. Dean
Snowden, who
rel uct ant l y si gned
t he l et t ers
di smi ssi ng t he prof essors
andwho, up t ot hat
t i me, hadri sen
f romone of t he
f avori t e Howard
prof essors of t he l at e
Fort i es t ot he
most hat ed
admi ni st rat or, wrot e
t wol et t ers, bot h
pri or t o t he cl ose
of
school , opposi ng
t he di smi ssal s.
One of Dean Snowden' s
l et t ers t o
Act i ng
Presi dent Worml ey
pl eaded
i npart
:
. . . seri ous anxi et y
wi l l ari se
among ot her f acul t y
members as
t o t he goodf ai t h
of t he uni ver-
si t y . . . I bel i eve t hat
t he whol e
mat t er shoul d be
reconsi dered
bef ore any announcement s
are
made . . . because
t here seems t o
me
t o
be a st rong
possi bi l i t y t hat
t he
cont empl at edact i on
may re-
sul t
not onl y i n seri ous harm
t o
t he
Uni versi t y' s posi t i on
i n t he
academi c
communi t y but
al soi n
creat i ng
obst acl es f or
our recrui t -
ment of
f acul t y i nt he
f ut ure. '
More
obnoxi ous by
anybody' s
March 1968
NEGRODI GEST
NEGRODI GEST March 1968
I n t he days of my vi si t at i on,
Bl ack hands t ended me and
cared f or me .
Bl ack mi nds, heart s and soul s l oved
me
.
And I l ove t hembecause of t hi s .
I n t he earl y days of my vi si t at i on,
Bl ack hands t ended me and cared f or me;
I can' t f orget t hese t hi ngs .
For
bl ack heart s, mi nds and soul s l ove me-
And even
t oday t he overt ones f romt he f i re
of t hat l ove are
st i l l burni ng
I n t he earl y days of my
vi si t at i on
Whi t e rul es and l aws
segregat ed me .
They hel ped t o make me what I am
t oday
And what I am, I am.
Yes, what I am, I ambecause of t hi s
And because of t hi s
My
i mage of paradi se i s chromat i c bl ack.
Those who segregat e di d not segregat e i n vai n
For I am,
And
I amwhat I am.
-SUNRA
I n a hot dark room-
cel esti al tomb
al l hushed
andsti l l as Death
wai ti ng l i f e, wai ti ng warmth
Love wai ts-al i ve wi th oozi ng
sweat .
Crystal dropl ets on earth brown thi ghs
nowmel t i n desi re' s heat
nowf l ow i n mergi ng ri vul ets
al l
coursi ng toward l i f e' s
source
streami ng f roma Bl ack Creator
smoothi ng hi s way to l eap f rom
nothi ngness
wi th hot l ava' s potent f orce
Bl ack seari ng f l esh penetrates a sof t-soi l ed crevi ce
i nundati ng al l i n sei smi c surge cease rhythms .
Scorched obsi di on l overs
tossed hi gh by f ri cti on' s f orce
Shri ek away the hush
Quake the si l ent tomb
ANDLI FEFORCECOMES
Heavi ng, Panti ng, Groani ng
i t si ghs Contentment
I nto a hot dark room
terrestri al womb
al l hushed
al l sti l l as l i f e .
l . rrecc ti on
-' -TENAL. LOCKETT
48

March 1968 NEGRODI GES7
ACal l ToConcerned
Bl ack Educat ors
Last
Summer, Davi d W. Kent , Di rect or
of Admi ssi ons at Li ncol n
Uni versi t y (Pennsyl vani a) draf t ed a
proposal f or a conf erence on t he
bl ack Ameri can' s access t o
hi gher educat i on.
I nOct ober, a bl ack cot eri e of col l ege
admi ssi ons personnel caucused
at t he nat i onal convent i on
of a prof essi onal associ at i on t oconsi der t hei r
f eel i ngs of f rust rat i on
andi ndi gnat i on- f eel i ngs whi ch were
aroused
by
t he f act t hat t he bl ack
represent at i on t o t hi s convent i on of 1800
was
t ypi cal l y sparse and,
f urt her, t hat t he convent i on di d not
address i t sel f
t o THEI Rpri mary
concern- bl ack yout h.
Shari ng an et hni c,
soci al and prof essi onal mut ual i t y, 12
educat ors
di scussed common
concerns, exchanged phi l osophi cal vi ews,
def i ned
t hei r rol e as bl ack
prof essi onal s i n hi gher educat i on and
concl uded
t hat , f i rst , t he i ssue
proposed by Mr . Kent shoul d be deal t
wi t h on a
nat i onal l evel ; second,
any resol ve t o expand t he opport uni t i es
f or bl ack
chi l dren i n hi gher
educat i on i s meani ngl ess wi t hout
a consol i dat ed at -
t ack on t he
f undament al educat i onal probl ems
of bl ack chi l dren AT
EVERY
STEP OFTHE EDUCATI ONAL LADDER
; and, t hi rd, t he
need f or
di al ogue among- andact i on i ni t i at ed
by- bl ack educat ors
i s
overwhel mi ng.
A
nat i onal conf erence wi t h semi nar- workshops
was concei ved
of
as
t he most appropri at e means by whi ch
t o arouse t he bl ack prof essi onal
t o demonst rat e hi s concern and
si mul t aneousl y t o put t o use
our vast
resources of expert i se. Bl ack educat ors
are uni quel y equi pped
t o st at e
what must be done i n order
t o rai se t he educat i onal achi evement
of
bl ack chi l dren. Wemust si t down"f ami l y
st yl e," real i gn our pri ori t i es,
and mobi l i ze t o remedy t he educat i onal
i l l s at Ni ct i ng our
chi l dren.
The wheel s were set i n mot i on
l ast Oct ober . I n I l l i noi s .
t he Associ -
at i on of Af ro- Ameri can
Educat ors was chart ered. Ast eeri ng
commi t -
t ee was f ormed t o l ay t he groundwork
f or a nat i onal
conf erence t o
be hel d earl y t hi s summer .
Chi cago wi l l be t he pl ace;
J une 6- 9 t he dat es
.
We
need your hel p.
i f you wi sh t o
become i nvol ved i n t hi s ef f ort ,
l et us hear f romyou
TODAY. Cont act
Mrs. Myrna C. Adams,
coordi nat or, Nat i onal Con-
f erence
St eeri ng Commi t t ee, Associ at i on
of Af ro- Ameri can Educat ors,
72 E.
75t h St reet , Chi cago, I l l . , 60619.
Ot her members of t he St eeri ng Commi t t ee
f or t he Nat i onal
Conf er-
ence
of Af ro- Ameri can Educat ors
i ncl ude: Cl ara B. Ant hony;
Dr.
Nancy L. Arnez; LeroneBenuet t
J r
. ;
Ti muel D. Bl ack; Shel l y
Fl et cher;
Hoyt W. Ful l er; Mi l dred Gl adney;
Dr. Charl es V. Hami l t on;
Everet t
Hoagl and; Arnol d P. J ones;
Davi d W. Kent ; Hugh Vf .
Lane; Harol d
Pat es; Marvi ni a Randol ph; Dr.
Donal d H. Smi t h; Anderson
Thompson;
Donal d Vanl i ew; Syl vest er
Wi l l i ams; Radf ord Wi l son;
andDr. Nat han
Wri ght J r.

- MYRNAC. ADAMS
NEGRODI GEST
March 1968

4q
The Fi r st Gwend~t l vn
Last Febr uar y, poet - publ i sher
Dudl ey Randal l j our neyed fr omDe-
t r oi t t o pr esent a $200 pr i ze t o t he
wi nner
of a novel l a compet i t i on
sponsor ed by poet Gwendol yn
Br ooks i n her Chi cago wr i t er s' wor k-
shop. Mr . Randal l had r ead t he
submi t t ed novel l as wi t hout knowi ng
t he aut hor s, and
i t
was a coi nci dence
t hat t he wi nner was Mi keCook, who
al so was wi nner
of
anot her fi ct i on
cont est sponsor ed by Mi ss Br ooks
i n l at e summer
1967. (See
t he No-
vember 1967 NEaxo DI GEST. )
Ear l i er i n
1967, Mi ss
Br ooks had
pr oposed t he est at ~l i shment of an an-
nual compet i t i on for l i t er at ur e
t o be conduct ed t hr ough NEGRODI -
GEST,
wi t h t he
wi nni ng manuscr i pt s
(Cont i nued
Br ooks Fi ct i on Awar cl
publ i shed i n t he magazi ne. The
wi nni ng aut hor s, of cour se, woul d
r ecei ve cash awar ds as wel l , t he
pr i zes awar ded by Mi ss Br ooks .
NEGRODI GEST i s pl eased t o an-
nounce t hat Mi ss Br ooks' pr oposal
has been accept ed and t hat annual
Gwendol yn Br ooks Li t er ar y Awar ds
wi l l bemade, begi nni ng i n t he spr i ng
of 1969. Det ai l s of t he compet i t i on
wi l l be announced i n a l at er i ssue of
NEGRODI GEST, i ncl udi ng t he t i me
and manner of submi ssi on of mat e-
r i al , el i gi bi l i t y, t he amount of t he
awar ds, and t he names of t he
j udges .
Whi l eMr . Cook r ecei ved t he pr i ze
for hi s novel l a, "Whoever Sai d
Ther e' s A Pl ace Cal l ed Home?", al l
on page 53)
Pr i ze
wi nner : A beami ng Mi keCook (cent er ) accept s
congr at ul at i ons fr om
j udge Dudl ey
Randal l and awar d- gi ver Gwendol yn
Br ooks fol l owi ng t he
announcement
t hat Mr . Cook had won t he fi r st annual
Gwendol yn Br ooks
Awar d for
fi ct i on. The compet i t i on was confi ned t o
member s of Mi ss
Br ooks'
Chi cago wor kshop. Fut ur e awar ds wi l l be open t o
al l wr i t er s .
50

Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
BOOK
"Gr eat Li t er at ur e i . s s i mpl y l anguage
char ged wi t h meani ng
t o t he ut mos t
pos s i bl e degr ee. "

-Ezr a
Pound
"Not hi ng
i s ever f i ni s hed, except t he medi ocr e
or t he pr et ent i ous
. The
onl y peopl e
who s houl d be cons i s t ent l y
i nt er es t ed i n mas t er pi eces
ar e
mus eums and ot her -
peopl e who have no us e f or
t hem. "
-LeRoi J ones
S I HAVEof t en
s ai d
bef or e,
t o t he
poi nt
of
r epet i t i on
cr amps , cr i t -
i ci s m of
wr i t i ng by
Af r o-Amer i cans
i s -
and
s houl d be-t he
r es pons i bi l i t y
of Af r o-Amer i can cr i t i cs .
Not t hat
bl ack cr i t i cs ar e mor e
per s pect i ve
or
anal yt i cal or , f or
t hat mat t er ,
bet t er
wr i t er s of cr i t i ci s m;
but ,
whi t e
cr i t i cs have not i n t he
pas t
( as i n t he
pr es ent ) been abl e
t o
ex-
pl ai n
or t r ans l at e bl ack l i t er at ur e
accur at el y.
Thi s i s not
her es y
but
f act , and
t he f ewr evi ews
t hat wer e
wr i t t en,
by whi t es , of J ohn A.
Wi l -
l i ams ' The Man Who Cr i ed
1 Am
( Li t t l e,
Br own, $6. 95 )
s uppor t
t hi s s t at ement expl i ci t l y.
Mos t good f i ct i on bor der s
on
t r ut h, i . e. , i t i s a
r ef l ect i on of t he
t r ut h. I f Newar k and
Det r oi t of
1 967 had not happened, one
coul d
have, i n al l l i kel i hood, r ead
Mr .
NEGRO
DI GEST Mar ch 1 968
The Man Who Cr i ed
I Am
NOTED
Wi l l i ams ' book
wi t h l es s f ear and,
i ndeed, coul d
have s mi l ed at t he
uncommon
endi ng. One coul d have
cont ent edl y
put t he book as i de
as
an excel l ent
wor k of f i ct i on and,
of
cour s e,
r ecommended i t t o f r i ends
and as s oci at es
; you know, l i ke we
r ecommended
The St r anger , Por -
t r ai t of t he
Ar t i s t as a Young Mar r ,
Bl ack Boy,
et cet er a, et cet er a. One
coul d have
s ugges t ed t hi s book wi t h
t he s ame eas e
and del i ght as one
s ugges t ed t he ear l y
J ohn Col t r ane.
However , t he s ummer
of 1 967 was
not f i ct i on ; t her ef or e
i t added a new
di mens i on t o t hi s
novel : t he di men-
s i on of pr ophes y.
As wi t h bl ack
mus i c, bl ack l i t -
er at ur e cont i nues
t o gr ow, ext end,
and ceas es
t o
be
i nvi s i bl e . Our l i t -
er at ur e now
cut s and you do bl eed.
Mr . Wi l l i ams '
l at es t book i s t hi s
t ypeof wor k ; a bl ood
br i nger , caus -
i ng you t o hur t and
f or ci ng you t o
5i
r edef i ne
your r el at i onshi p wi t h your
sur r oundi ngs
. I t makes you open
your
eyes and enabl es you t o see
much
mor e t han what i s i n f r ont of
you. Whi l e r eadi ng
t hi s book, we
see t hr ough
mi r r or s, acr oss cont i -
nent s, i nt o
ot her cul t ur es, and un-
consci ousl y
we f eel - t hat i s, i f we
ar e capabl e of f eel i ng . J ohn A. Wi l -
l i ams has wr i t t en an ext ensi vel y
handsome and danger ous novel .
J ean- Paul Sar t r e sai d, " I t i s t r ue
t hat al l ar t i s f al se . " He l i ed, or he
was t al ki ng about whi t e West er n
ar t . The book i n quest i on i s a wor k
of Ar t . That i s, i f ar t , among ot her
t hi ngs, i s a cr eat i ve ef f or t t hat
ot her s can i dent i f y wi t h, an accent
on
a
par t i cul ar l i f e- st yl e,
commu-
ni cat i on,
a
br i nger of
knowl edge, a
mi nd wakener ,
movabl e
pr ose
52
J OHN_ A. ~~I LLI A~I S
whi ch i s est het i cal l y
pl easi ng and
meani ngf ul
and, i n essence, one
ar t i st ' s comment on l i f e as
he
vi ews
i t . The
wor k of Ar t i s The Man
Who Cr i ed I
AMand t he ar t i st i s
J ohn A.
Wi l l i ams .
Mr .
Wi l l i ams' f our t h novel suc-
cessf ul l y
deal s wi t h t he many acut e
pr obl ems
t hat conf r ont t he bl ack
wr i t er as wel l as t he bl ack man.
Thi s novel shoul d be of t he ut most
i nt er est t o t he bl ack wr i t er , f or i t
cover s t he l i t er ar y wor l d of t he
bl ack wr i t er over a span of about
30 year s, t hat whol e bl ack- whi t e
er a of i nt er dependency. The pr o-
t agoni st i s one Max Reddi ck, who
coul d ver y wel l be Wi l l i ams hi m-
sel f , a bl ack j our nal i st f or a `' Ti me-
st yl e"
magazi ne
and
a
novel i st of
some st at ur e. The mai n suppor t i ng
char act er i s t he " f at her " of bl ack
l i t er at ur e, Har r y Ames ( Ri char d
Wr i ght ) . The act i on f l uct uat es be-
t ween
t hese
t wo men.
As t he novel unf ol ds, we ar e i n-
t r oduced
t o
f acsi mi l es of
t he
maj or
bl ack wr i t er s and whi t e cr i t i cs of
t he
l ast
20
year s
. Ther e
ar e
char -
act er s who r esembl e J ames Bal d-
wi n, Chest er Hi mes, Ral ph E1l i son,
Fr ank Yer by, Car l Van Vecht en,
Gr anvi l l e Hi cks, \ \ ~i l l i amFaul kner ,
and
ot her s .
On t he ci vi l and human r i eht s
scene, t her e i s
Mar t i n L. Ki ng,
Mal col mXand t he phi l osophi es of
Mar cus Gar vey and
W. E. B. Du
Boi s .
Max
Reddi ck
i s
what one mi ght
cal l an i nt er nat i onal i st . Aonce
( Cont i nued on page 77)
Mar ch 1968 NEGRO
DI GEST
t he members of Mi ss Brooks'
work-
shop ended up as "wi nners. ' ' The
f amed poet present ed t he
young
wri t ers wi t h copi es of t wo very pop-
ul ar books by bl ack aut hors, J ohn
A. Wi l l i ams' novel , Tl 7e Mun Who
Cri ed I Am, and Haral d Cruses
anal ysi s of t he bl ack i nt el l ect ual
On St age: The year
got of f
t o
an
auspi ci ous
st art wi t h t he openi ng i n
NewYork of t he
Negro Ensembl e
Company' s product i on of
Pet er
Wei ss' Song of t he husi t ani an
Bogey,
whi ch i s ment i oned el sewhere i n
t hese pages . . . Aone- act pl ay by
Wi l mer Lucas, Pat ent Leat her Sun-
day, was schedul ed f or product i on
i n Seat t l e, Wash. , i n February and
March . . . Aone- act pl ay byCharl es
Sel f , of Kenner, La . , was produced
by t he Free Sout hern Theat er dur-
i ng t he February Fest i val of Af ro-
Ameri can Art s at l l i l l ard Uni ver-
si t y . . RobCurry perf ormed t he
f eat ured rol e of Randal l , t he mes-
meri zi ng murderer, i n t he Parkway
Theat er' s product i on of Wi l l i am
Hanl ey' s Sl owDance on t he ki l l i ng
Ground i n Chi cago. The Parkway
Theat er i s
one of t he branches ( t he
Sout h
Si de on' e) of t he ci t y' s f amed
Hul l House . .
Duri ng "Soul
Week, " t he
Fest i val
of
Bl ack Art
produced at Lake Forest Col l ege
by t he col l ege' s bl ack st udent s i n
J anuary, a st udent product i on of
. l ean Genet ' s The Bl acks was f ea-
t ured. There are onl y 60 bl ack st u-
dent s among t he 1, 250 st udent s at
t he col l ege on Chi cago' s ri ch Nort h
Shore . . . Si dney Poi t i cr' s debut as
NEGRODI GEST Mo"ch 1968
( Cont i nued f rompi ne , i Q)
scene.
The Cri si s of t he Negro i n-
t el l ect ual
.
Meanwhi l e, Mi ss Brooks was ap-
poi nt ed poet l aureat e of
I l l i noi s by
Gov
.
Ot t o
Kerner, as
a
hi ghl i ght of
t he st at e' s sesqui - cent enni al cel ebra-
t i on. The previ ous poet l aureat e of
t he st at e was Carl Sandburg.
di rect or of Carrv Me Back To
Morrzi ngsi de Hei ght s came af t er
N~cxo DI Gf i ST had gone t o press.
Whet her or not t he showwas a suc-
cess shoul d
be
general news by t he
t i me t hi s i s publ i shed. Loui s Gos-
set t and Ci cel y Tyson
have
f eat ured
rol es i n t he
pl ay . . As a
member
of t he Li ncol n Cent er Repert ory
Theat er,
Di ana
Sands has a rol e i n
t he Cent er' s product i on of Ti ger At
The Gat es. Mi ss Sands' st i nt as St .
Town brought her mi xed not i ces . . .
The pl ay, The Great Whi t e Hope,
wi l l undergo ext ensi ve cut s bef ore i t
openson Broadway i n t he f al l . J ames
Earl J ones, who port rayed t he J ack
J ef f erson ( read J ack J ohnson) rol e
i n t he Washi ngt on, D. C. , product i on
( at t he Arena Theat er) , wi l l st ar i n
t he Broadway product i on . . J o-
sephi ne ( Baker) t he Great l ai d t he
groundwork f or a seri es of spri ng ap-
pearances duri ng her February vi si t
t o t he Uni t ed St at es . . . The Febru-
ary f i re t hat
gut t ed t he NewLaf ay-
et t e
Theat er i n Harl em
ended- at
l east t emporari l y- anot her dream.
Because
of
f i nanci al
di f f i cul t i es, t he
di rect ors had post poned t he produc-
t i on of Ed Bul l i ns' I n The Wi ne
Ti me. Nowt he f ut ure of t he t heat er
i s uncert ai n.
53
54
~4 Short Story
Marth f968 NEGROAfGEST
BYCHRISTINEREAMS
' . . . If o . s at t hor t > . . . l
di t Ln' t l nt zl t at , / ani r ~r b~~z
at t w
/ di dn' t want 1
or s : azt l /
t l r i zzk maybe" . s hz
"
di dn' t l umk
at m~ bm~aus ~"
. , ho di dn' t
zuar zt
t o
wvr i t hr " r . . .
TW. ASs ohot t hat s um-
mer t hat t heai r s t ood
s t i l l and I had t r oubl e
br eat hi ng. Somet i mes
1woul d s i t
on t he
f r ont
por ch and br eat hes l owl y.
I f el t
as
i f
I wer e br eat hi ng t he s ame ai r
over
and
over agai n.
I t ur ned mo
s hades
dar ker
t hat
s ununer . I al -
mos t
got as
bl ack
as
Mi s s Mabel .
Thegr ownups s ai d i t was n~t r eal l y
t het emper at ur e
;
i t was
t he
humi d-
i t y-what ever t hat i s . Anyway. i t
was a bl i s t er i n<~, hot s ummer . and
I hat ed i t .
Our hous ewas pr obabl yt hehot -
t es t onei n t own. Vdedi dn' t own i t
or
anyt hi ng l i ke t hat .
Weonl y r ent -
ed t hr ee r ooms of
i t . Mi s s Mabd
and her t wo
chi l dr en, Mi ke and
, l i m,
l i ved ups t ai r s
over us . Mi ke
was
12,
and I t hi nk J i mwas a near
younger . Mi ke was dar k l i ke hi s
mot her , and
J i m
was al mos t whi t e
l ooki ng
. Someof
t he f ol ks i n t he
d
NEGRODf GEST Mor c ;
196E
nei ghbor hood
s ai d
t hat J i m' s f at her
w
as
a whi t eman. I don' t knowany-
t hi ng about t hat ; 1 never s aw
' yl i ke' s or J i m' s f at her . Mr . Fr ank
and hi s wi f e, Mi s s Sal l y, l i ved up-
s t ai r s on t he ot her s i de of t he
hous e. " 1_ i na, t hei r daught er ,
w
: cs
about t he s ame a~~e as Mi ke and
l i m. Thet hr eeof t hemwer eal w: ms
hangi ng ar ound t oget her . Si nce [
mas onl y s even at t he t i me, t hey
di dn~t
want
me
ar ound. In t het i r ~t
v, cck of
. l one, Mi s s Rut h moved
i nt o t he
downs t ai r s apar t ment on
Ti na' s

s i de

of

t he

hous e.

I

was
happy
becaus e Mi s s Rut h hoc{
daught er ,
. l ani ce; and 1j us t knew
s he was goi ng t o pl ay wi t h me.
J ani ec was much cl os er t o myage
t han t he ot her s . Bes i des , t heot her s
s wor e i n bl ood t hat t hey woul dn' t
pl aywi t h her . Nat ur al l y, I t hought
s hedi dn' t haveanyonet o pl ay
wi t h
-except me. Wel l , i t di dn~t t ur n
out
t hat
way. J ani ec di dn' t want t o
pl ay wi t h anyone. Shewas a r eac! -
er : and ever yt i me I t ur ned ar ound.
s hew<t s r eadi ng. Her f at her was a
s ol di er . Mi kes ai d hewas i n Sai , ~an
.
t don' t r emember t hel as t names ut
. . ny of t hepeopl ewho l i ved i n t he
c>! d hous e. Wewer e t ol d t o put
cc
Mr. or Mi ss
bef ore t re f i rst names
of grown- ups
and address t hem'
t hat way. We
di dn' t knowi t was
wrong unt i l
we had grown ol der.
By t hen, i t di dn' t
mat t er.
Everybody
t hought Mi ss Rut h
was pret t y.
Men l i ked her. They
were
al ways comi ng around t o see
her.
There was one who used t o
come
around a l ot . He was very
t al l - much
t al l er t hanmydad, who
was f i ve f eet t en. Hehad curl y hai r.
Mama used t o say t hat men l i ke
t hat are bl essed wi t h t he hai r t hei r
si st ers shoul d have had. Af t er al l .
what ' s good hai r t o a man? Curl y' s
yel l ow ski n was smoot h and sof t
l ooki ng
. I al ways want ed t o t ouch
i t t ~ see i f i t were real l y as sof t as
i t l ooked. One of Curl y' s eyes was
smal l er t han t he ot her. When he
l ooked
at you, i t seemed as i f one
eye was l ooki ng
at
you whi l e t he
ot her one was l ooki ng at somet hi ng
on t he ot her si de of
t he
room. I
used t o hang around wai t i ng f or
Curl y. Somet i mes I pl ayed j acks on
t he f ront porch and wat ched Mi ss
Rut h
and Curl y out of t he corner
of my eye. She sai d he was her
cousi n.
But
one day
I overheard
Mi ss Mabel t el l Mama t hat t hey
were "t he f unni est cousi ns" she had
ever seen. Then she l aughed.
Mama shook her head sadl y and
t al ked about t he
Lord.
Mama
knew
al l about t he Lord because she was
saved. I t hi nk she was t he
onl y per-
son i n t he whol e house who was
saved.
Most of t he t i me, Curl ycame t o
see Mi ss Rut h at
ni ght .
He
usual l y
5
6
brought a
cart on of beer wi t h hi m.
We woul d
st ay upl at e pl ayi ng hi de
and seek and Curl y
woul d
st i l l be
around when
we went i nsi de. Once,
I evensawhi ml eavi ng Mi ss Rut h' s
house earl y i n
t he
morni ng. Then,
f or no
reasonat al l ,
Mi ke,
J i m, and
Ti na
st art ed whi speri ng and gi g-
gl i ng
every t i me Curl y came t o t he
house. Ont hat day, t he game st art -
ed. I
don' t remember who st art ed
i t ,
probabl y Mi ke. He was al ways
t hi nki ng of t hi ngs t o do. Anyway,
I
want ed t o pl ay t oo.
One eveni ng, whi l e Mama and
Dad
were
l ooki ng at T. V. , I went
out
t o pl ay on t he porch. J ani ce
was
al ready t here. She sat i n a
ki t chen
chai r,
on her si de of t he
porch. Her head was buri ed i n a
book, and her f eet were propped
up on t he banni st er. I l ooked at her
wi t h envy. She had on a pai r of ol d
bl ue j eans whi ch someone had cut
of f at t he knees and a di rt y whi t e
shi rt . My mot her woul dn' t l et me
wear short s . I sat downon t he t op
st ep and t ook a smal l rubber bal l
out of my ski rt pocket . I t ossed t he
j acks on
t he
f l oor. J ani ce
di dn' t pay
any at t ent i on t o me. I bounced t he
bal l on
t he
porch several t i mes. But
she di dn' t even l ook up. I wai t ed
unt i l Ti na came out .
"Hey, Ti na, " I sai d, "wi l l you
pl ay j acks
wi t h
me?"
Ti na shookher head "no. "
"Why?"
I
asked.
"cot t a t al k t o Mi ke, " she sai d.
"Can' t
youpl ay unt i l he comes?"
"No. He' s comi ng now, " Ti na
sai d. She rushed t o t he screendoor
March 1968 NEGRODI GEST
as Mi ke
and J i mdashed
down t he
st eps .
"J ust
onegame, " I begged
.
"Li st en
honey, " Ti na sai d, t ur n-
i ng t o
f ace me. "Doyou wanna
pl ay
hi de and seek
wi t h us t oni ght ?"
"Sur e. "
"Okay.
Keep qui et when
we' r e
t al ki ng busi ness, "
she sai d.
"Busi ness, " I mumbl ed
. "Hey
you, hey gi r l , "
I sai d, cal l i ng t o
J an~ce. I st oppedwhen
I sawTi na' s
di r t y l ook
and pr et ended I was
t al ki ng t o mysel f . I
pi cked up my
ones . I
hear d t he scr een door open
as I st ar t ed my
t wos . I gl anced up
and saw
Mi ss Rut h st andi ng next
t o J ani ce. Mi ke
whi st l ed sof t l y.
Mi ss
Rut h smi l ed as she
l ooked
acr oss t he por ch
at us . She was a
shor t , t hi n woman, j ust f i ve
f eet t al l
i n heel s .
And she al ways wor e
heel s . She l ooked cool
i n her pi nk
sl eevel ess
dr ess . I smi l ed at her
shyl y. Shel ooked l i ke
a f r agi l e t oy,
l i ke
somet hi ng you woul d pi ck
up
car ef ul l y and hol d
gent l y wi t h bot h
hands
.
"Hel l o, " she
sai d i n a sof t voi ce.
She
al ways spoke sof t l y ar ound
us .
I mumbl ed
and l ooked down at
her
t i ny f eet .
` ` Hi ,
Mi ss Rut h, " Mi ke sai d.
"Hi , " Ti na and
J i msai d at t he
same
t i me. They l ooked
at each
ot her and gi ggl ed
.
Mi ss Rut h t ur ned away
f r omus
and l eaned
over J ani ce. "Why
don' t you pl ay wi t h
t hem?" she
asked
.
"I wanna r ead, "
J ani ce sai d. Her
NEGRO
DI GEST Mar ch 1968
voi ce sounded har d
compar ed t o
her mot her ' s .
"You r ead
t oo much, " Mi ss
Rut h sai d. She
put her hand on
J ani ce' s shoul der .
"Honey, you
ought
t o pl ay wi t h
ot her ki ds . "
J ani ce di dn' t
say anyt hi ng. She
di dn' t seem
t obe l i st eni ng.
"I ' mgoi ng
t o get some
beer , "
Mi ss
Rut hsai d. "Shoul dn' t
be gone
l ong. I f
Cur l y comes bef or e
I get
back, t el l
hi mt o wai t . "
"Awr i ght , "
J ani ce sai d.
Mi ss
Rut h wal ked down
t he
st eps,
her smal l hi ps
swayed sl i ght -
l y f r om
si de t o si de. I wat ched
her
unt i l she
di sappear ed. I l ooked
over
at Ti na.
She was st andi ng i n
a
cor ner ,
t al ki ng t o Mi ke and J i m
.
I
l ooked
at J ani ce. Shewas wat chi ng
us wi t h st r ange dar k
eyes
.
I hel d
t he
j acks up and
beckoned t oher .
But she
seemed t o be l ooki ng
t hr ough me. I t hr ew
t he j acks on
t he f l oor
and pi cked up my
t hr ees .
"I ' mgl ad t o
see you back f r om
t he
ar my f r ont , " Mi ke
chant ed. I
pi cked up t he j acks
and st ar ed at
hi m
cur i ousl y. Hemar ched
acr oss
t he por ch.
"Hey now, " he cont i n-
ued, "I ' mgl adt osee you back
f r om
t he ar my
f r ont . "
Ti na put her
hands over her
mout h
and gi ggl ed. J i ml aughed
out
l oud. Somet hi ng
f unny was goi ng
on. As usual I was l ef t
out of i t .
"Hey,
hey, " J i msai d, "I ' mgl ad
t o see you back f r om
t he ar my
f r ont . "
J ani ce l ooked up
at Mi ke and
t hen at J i m
and Ti na. At f i r st ,
she
seemed puzzl ed. Then
Mi ke began
57
t o swi t ch hi s
hi ps
t he
way Mi ss
Rut h di d . J ani ce' s
mout h swi vel l ed
up unt i l
i t became
ver y smal l . Her
eyes nar r owed. They wer e al most
cl osed. She j umped up f r omt he
chai r and sl ammed t he door as she
went i nsi de
t he house. Mi ke and
J i mmar ched over
t o J ani ce~s si de
of t he por ch. I hesi t at ed
onl y f or
a f ewseconds bef or e
j oi ni ng t hem.
"I ' mgl ad t o see you
back f r omt he
ar my f r ont , " I
shout ed i n
a
hi gh
pi t ched voi ce.
The l i ght s went out i n
J ani ce' s
l i vi ng r oom. "I ' mgl ad
t o see you
. . . " I st opped
abr upt l y. J ani ce' s
ski nny f ace peer ed
out t he wi ndow
f aci ng t he
por ch. She made a f i st ,
br ought i t up t o
her nose and shook
i t at me. St ar t l ed
and f r i ght ened, I
backed over t o our si de of t he
por ch. J i m, Mi ke, and
Ti na wer e
st i l l chant i ng
when Mi ss Rut h and
Cur l y wal ked i nt o t he yar d
.
Cur l y
was car r yi ng a si x- pack of
beer under hi s ar m. Hi s
l i ght ski n
was
br i ght ened by hi s yel l ow shi r t .
He di dn' t wear abel t .
Hi s hi ps hel d
hi s
br own sl acks up; and t hey
l ooked as i f t heywer e goi ng t o
f al l
down
.
"Wher e' s J ani ce?" Mi ss
Rut h
asked, l ooki ng
ar ound.
"Aw, she went i n, " Mi ke sai d.
Mi ss Rut h t hanked
hi mwi t h a
smi l e.
Bef or e ent er i ng t he house,
she and Cur l y st opped at
t he door
and
whi sper ed t oget her f or a f ew
mi nut es . Af t er war ds
t hey went i n-
si de of t he
apar t ment ; and J ani ce
dashed out as
qui ckl y as she had
dashed
i nsi de .
5
8
Mi ke never st opped
when he had
a good game
goi ng. Ar my f r ont
was a good
game. Ever y t i me one
of us
mar ched acr oss t he por ch,
J ani ce' s
eyes woul d get nar r ow
and
her mout h
woul d shr i nk. We
di dn' t have t o say
anyt hi ng : al l we
had t o do was mar ch
. One af t er -
noon, when we wer e
al l on t he
por ch, Mi ke j umped
down t he
st eps and r an down t he
si dewal k
f or about a bl ock. He
t ur ned and
mar ched back t owar d
us . He
st opped i n f r ont of t he
house and
l ooked ar ound. Then he
mar ched
i nt o t he yar d and up t he
st eps . ai m
dashed over t o
J ani ce' s si de of t he
por ch and st epped
i nsi de of t he
scr een door . He put
hi s l ef t hand
on hi s hi ps and pat t ed
hi s hai r wi t h
t he ot her
one .
"Wel l , hel l o wi f e, "
Mi ke aai d .
He st opped
i n f r ont of t he scr een
door .
Ti na
and I gi ggl ed .
"I t ai n' t ` hel l o
wi f e, ' " I sai d .
"I t ' s ` hel l o
dar l i ng. ' "
"Onl ywhi t e f ol ks t al k
t hat way, ' '
Mi ke sai d
.
I st ar t ed t o di sagr ee.
But t hen, I
had never
hear d Dad cal l Mama
"dar l i ng. " Maybe
Mi ke was r i ght .
"Hel l o
wi f e, " Mi ke sai d agai n
.
"I ' mback f r omt he ar my
f r ont . "
J i mopened
t he scr een door and
st epped
out on t he por ch
. "Hel l o
husband, " he
sai d. He put bot h
hands
on hi s hi ps . "I ' mgl ad t o
see
youback f r om
t he ar my f r ont ; " he
chant ed sof t l y.
"Ohhhh, " Ti na
sai d, r unni ng her
hand
t hr ough her shor t , nappy
hai r .
Mar ch 19b8
NEGRO[ 1f GEST
"Oh, myhai r i ~ so cur l y,
so cur l y. "
J ani ce l ooked
l i ke an ani mal
about
t o at t ack.
` "I r eal l y do have t hat
good
st uf f , " Ti na cont i nued. "I t ' s
so
cur l y
. Heynow, ai n' t I
got cur l y
hai r ?" she mar ched
acr oss t he
por ch wi t h Mi ke and J i m
.
Suddenl yI was act i ng
cr azyt oo .
"1' mgl ad t o see you
back f r omt he
ar myf r ont , " I shout ed.
` ` We t hank t he Lor d f or
your
r et ur n, " Ti na sai d. She
t hr ew
her
hands up i n mock
pr ayer
.
"Oh,
v~e' r e so bl ad
t o
see you
back f r om
t he ar my
f r ont . Yes, Lor d! We' r e
gl ad t o have hi m
back. Ai n' t we
gl ad t o have hi mback? Yes,
Lor d,
we i s . "
"I st i l l l ove cur l yhai r , " J i m
sai d
sadl y. "I j ust l ove
cur l y hai r . Do
you l ove cur l yhai r ?"
"Ever ybody
l oves cur l y hai r , "
Mi ke sai d.
"Shut up!" J ani ce
scr eamed,
t hr owi ng
her book on t he f l oor .
"Shut up! You sayone mor e
wor d
about my
mama!"
"Who' s t al ki ng
about your ol d
mama?" Mi ke asked.
"You
j ust say one mor e wor d,
one mor e wor d, "
she whi mper ed,
` ' and I ' l l knock t he shi t out t a you . "
"I ' mgonna t el l
your mama, " I
sai d, i mpr essed i n spi t e of mysel f
.
"You sai d
a
bad
wor d. "
J ani ce enj oyed her sel f f or
a f ew
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
mi nut es . "Be
t oo l at e, af t er I knock
i t out t a you. "
"I ' mr eal l y gonna
t el l now, " I
sai d.
"You gonna knock
t he shi t out t a
me t oo?" Mi ke
asked
.
He st r ut t ed
up t o J ani ce
and pushed hi s chest
out unt i l hi s
body t ouched her s .
"Go on, hi t
me, I dar e you, " he
sai d as
he l ooked down i nt o her
f ace. "Hi t
me, hi t me, I dar e you. "
"You
sayone mor e wor d about
my
mama, " she sai d.
"We ai n' t t al ki ng about your
ol d
mama, " Ti na sai d.
"Yeah, " I
sai d, dr awi ngcour age
f r omt he
ot her s . "We' r e j ust pl ay-
i r _ g
a game. We' r e j ust pl ayi ng
ar my
f r ont . Ai n' t we j ust
pl ayi ng
ar my
f r ont ?"
Mi ke t hr ust hi s
f ace i nt o J ani ce' s
and
l aughed. "I ' mgl ad
t o see
you . .
J ani ce gr abbed
hi mby t he
t hr oat .
He t r i ed t o pr y her hands
awayf r omhi s neck;
she woul dn' t
l et go.
Then he hi t her i n t he
f ace.
She swung at hi mso
har d t hat t hey
bot h f el l
on t he f l oor .
"C' mon Mi ke, " J i m
shout ed.
"Get her ! Get her !" Ti na
shr i eked.
I was shocked. Mi ke
was on t he
bot t om!
J ani ce was si t t i ng on hi s
st omach, bashi ng
hi mi n t he f ace
wi t h her f i st . J i mcoul dn' t
st and i t
anyl onger .
He j umped on J ani ce' s
back and pul l ed her
of f hi s br ot her .
Then Ti na
l eaped on J ani ce and
t he t hr ee of t hem
wr est l ed her .
J ani ce
bi t , ki cked and swung her
f i st wi l dl y. The
noi se gr ewl ouder ,
59
and
I
was af r ai d Mamawoul d
hear
us. I backed t o our si de of t he por ch
and sat downon t he t op st ep.
Al l at once, I l ooked up and saw
Mamast andi ng at t he scr een door
.
She st epped out on t he por ch. Her
f ace was wet wi t h per spi r at i on, and
her st omach st uck out so f ar t hat i t
l ooked as i f she had swal l owed a
wat er mel on.
"What ' s al l t he noi se f or ?" she
asked cr ossl y . Ti na, Mi ke, and J i m
r el eased t hei r hol d on J ani ce and
st ood
up.
I st ood up t oo. J ani ce
r ose sl owl y . Her nose was bl eedi ng.
She wi ped her f ace on t he bot t om
of her bl ouse . We al l l ooked
ashamed and gui l t y, t he way you' r e
supposed t o l ook wr en gr own- ups
cat ch you
doi ng somet hi ng wr ong.
But J ani ce put her hands on
her
hi ps and gl ar ed at my
mot her . Wi t h
bl ood
st i l l dr i ppi ng f r omher nose,
she l ooked as i f she
wer e goi ng t o
at t ack
Mama. Mama l ooked at her
wi t h di st ast e.
"Wel l ! " Mama sai d. She wai t ed
f or an expl anat i on.
"I t ' s al l
her f aul t , " Mi ke sai d
qui ckl y .
"Sur e was,
Mama, " I sai d.
"We was out her e pl ayi ng, mi nd-
i ng our own busi ness,
Mi ss Dor o-
t hy. " Ti na
sai d. "Then she st ar t s
f i ght i ng
and car r yi ng on
. "
"Sur e di d,
Mama. She sai d a bad
mor d, "
I sai d.
"She' s al ways
causi ng t r oubl e,
Mi ss
Dor ot hy, " J i m
sai d. "Can' t
nobody get
al ong wi t h her . "
"Do you know
what she sai d,
Mama?"
I sai d eager l y .
6 0
"I don' t want t o hear none
of her
nast i ness, " Mama sai d. "You
l i t t l e
hei f er , why don' t you
st ay on your
si de of t he por ch i f you
can' t pl ay
ni ce l i ke t he ot her s. "
"I amon my si de, " J ani ce
sai d.
I f I had spoken t hat
way, I
woul d have been whi pped.
"Don' t you t al k back t o
me, ' '
Mama snapped. "I don' t pl ay
wi t h
chi l dr en. "
J ani ce cl osed her mout h t i ght l y .
Even t hough she was si l ent ,
she
( coked def i ant . Mama was f ur i ous.
Sl . e coul dn' t bear t o have anyone
st and up t o her . Agai n, I
was i m-
pr essed wi t h J ani ce . "I
don' t want
t o hear no mor e f ool i shness
f r om
any of you, " Mama sai d.
I l ooked away f r omMama t o
t he
ot her si de of t he
por ch, and I saw
Mi ss Rut h peer i ng t hr ough
t he
scr een door at us.
I di dn' t know
howl ong she had been t her e nor
what she had hear d.
My f ace
gr ewhot wi t h embar r assment and
shame. For t he f i r st t i me, I
r eal l y
began
t o f eel t he summer heat .
Mi ss Rut h opened t he scr een
door
and
poked
her head out of i t .
Appar ent l y she had been sl eepi ng,
f or she wor e a r ed bat h
r obe whi ch
was unf ast ened. She hel d i t t o-
get her wi t h one hand.
"What ' s
wr ong?" she
asked i n a sof t voi ce.
"These ki ds ar e f i ght i ng
agai n, "
Mama sai d.
She l ooked at Mi ss
Rut h as i f she wer e l ooki ng at si n
i t sel f
. "I done t ol d ' emI don' t want
no mor e of t hi s f ool i shness. I f t hey
di st ur b me wi t h t hei r noi se one
mor e t i me,
I ' m
gonna gi ve
ever y
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
one of them
a good whi ppi ng, no
matter who
they bel ong to. " She
l ooked
at
Mi ss Ruth
to see
how
she woul d take her thr eat .
Mi ss Ruth
came out on the
por chandl et
the scr een door cl ose.
She put her ar m
ar ound J ani ce.
" Mi ss Dor othy, "
Mi ss Ruth sai d
qui etl y, " I
know you mean wel l .
But I
don' t l et no outsi der s touch
my chi l d.
i f she does somethi ng
wr ong,
you tel l me and I ' l l puni sh
her
. "
" Mi ss
Ruth, " Mama l ower ed her
voi ce
to match Mi ss Ruth' s, " a
body can' t
be ever ywher e al l the
ti me
. Wecan' t al ways see the devi l -
ment our
chi l dr en star t . "
Mi ss
Ruths_ni l edf ai ntl y. " That' s
tr ue,
Mi ss Dor othy, " she conceded.
Her
smal l mouth l ost i ts sof tness .
" I tr y to do r i ght by ever ybody, "
Mama conti nued. " When a body
sees Bctty doi ng wr ong, they know
they can chasti se her .
l t' s
gonna be
the same f or thi s ene
her e. " She
touched her stomach.
" Youdo what youthi nk
best
f or
your chi l dr en, " Mi ss Ruth sai d.
` ' But nobody better touch
my
J an-
i ce . Why, I don' t whi p her mysel f . "
" I can bel i eve that, " Mama sai d.
I suddenl y had
a
vi si on of Mi ss
Ruth attacki ng my mother the way
J ani ce had attacked Mi ke
. Coul d
l i ttl e Mi ss Ruth beat up Mama, or
woul d Mama beat up Mi ss Ruth?
What woul d Daddy say when he
came home and f ound that Mama
had beaten up Mi ss Ruth? I di dn' ` _
l i ke what was goi ng on.
" She don' t have no br i ngi ng up
at al l , " Mama conti nued. " You' d
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
r ather car r y on mth that one- eyed
boy than to do r i ght by your own
chi l d. "
Mi ke exchanged a gl ance wi th
Ti na, and they l aughed. J i m,
wi th
hi s hands j ammed i n hi s pockets,
l eaned agai nst the wal l . I began to
f eel uneasy and hot . I di dn' t want
to pl ay ar my f r ont any mor e. I j ust
wantedever ybody tc stogy tal ki ng.
" Don' t tal k about my mama, "
J ani ce
sai d suddenl y
.
Her
voi ce
was al most a pl ead.
" See ther e. Tal ki ng back to l _er
better s al r eady, " Mama sai d. " I al -
ways say you
r eap
what you
sow.
And someday, thi s chi l d her e
i s
gonna pay you back
f or
not doi ng
r i ght by her . "
" Don' t say no mor e . . . "
" Hush, " Mi ss Ruth sai d to J an-
i ce.
" I don' t mean no har m, " Mama
sai d, " but I bel i eve i n tel l i ng thi ngs
the way they i s
.
Nowyou can
l i ve
the wi l d l i f e
i n
thi s wor l d.
But
you' r e gonna have to come bef or e
the Lor d i n the next one. " Mama' s
voi ce r ose as she began to f eel the
Spi r i t .
Mi ss Ruth was
speechl ess
.
Ever ybody was qui et . I was
getti ng
hotter
. I
f el t water
r unni ng
of f my
back
. For
a
mi nute, I was
af r ai d
that Mama woul d f eel the Hol v
Ghost . Then she woul d begi n
shouti ng andthanki ng the Lor d f or
61
bei ng good enough t o f eel t he
Hol y
Ghost .
" I ' ve
l i ved a good
l i f e, " Mama
cont i nued
. " Di dn' t go
r unni ng
ar ound andcar r yi ng on and l eavi ng
a
chi l d
t o go
ever y whi chway. "
" Don' t t al k about
my
mama, "
J ani ce sai d. She was br eat hi ng har d
now.
Mama l ooked at her sadl y. " I
don' t f aul t t he chi l d none. L t ' s your
t eachi ngs t hat ' s maki ng her what
she i s. L ook at Bet t y. She never
t al ks back. Knows bet t er t han t o t r y
i t .
Mi ss Rut h gl anced at me qui ckl y
and I t r i ed t o back away f r omher
l ook .
" Don' t yousay . . . "
" Be qui et , " Mi ss Rut h sai d
har shl y.
" Thenmake her shut up, " J ani ce
scr eamed. " Make her shut her
damn mout h!"
Mi ss Rut hr el eased her r obe and
sl apped J ani ce
acr oss t he f ace. Be-
wi l der ed, J ani ce backedaway f r om
her mot her . They
l ooked at each
ot her f or a l ong t i me. Theyl ooked
as i f t hey, bot h, wer e
goi ng t o
cr y. J ani ce' s mout h t r embl ed. She
j umped of f t he por ch st eps and
r an
down t he st r eet .
Mi ss Rut hl ooked at Mamawi t h
t ear s i n her eyes. " I ' m
sor r y, " she
mumbl ed. " I
don' t know what ' s
wr ong wi t h me. I knowbet t er
t han
t o f uss wi t h you i n
your condi t i on.
I know
I ai n' t l i vi ng r i ght , Mi ss
Dor ot hy, " she sai d. " But
I don' t
mean no har m.
I j ust can' t hel p my-
sel f
. I don' t mean t o hur t
nobody.
6
2
Never hi t t he chi l d
bef or e
i n
my
l i f e. Don' t know
what ' s
wr ong wi t h
me. Pr ay f or
me,
Mi ss Dor ot hy.
Pr ay f or me!"
Mamawi ped t he per spi r at i on of f
her f or ehead wi t h t he back
of
her
hand. " I ' l l pr ay f or
you, "
she
pr omi sed.
I
l ooked ar ound f or Mi ke. He
was
whi sper i ng somet hi ng t o J i m
and Ti na.
They wer e
pr obabl y
maki ng up a newgame or
t hi nki ng
of
newways
t o pl ay t he
ol d one
. I
di dn' t want t o be wi t h anyof t hem
anymor e. Whi l e Mama and Mi ss
Rut h wer e
di scussi ng Mama' s
con-
di t i on, I wal kedof f
t he
por ch. Then
Mamayel l ed
at
me. I di dn' t r un or
anyt hi ng
. I
j ust kept wal ki ng down
t he st r eet .
" Bet t y, " Mamayel l ed, " you
get
your sel f onback her e. "
I di dn' t t ur n ar ound, I j ust kept
wal ki ng. I f oundJ ani ce i n t he
al l ey,
about a bl ock f r omt he house. She
was l yi ng, f ace down i n t he
mi ddl e
of
t he st r eet
.
" What ' r e you doi ng?" I
asked
as
I wal ked
up
t o
her .
" Go away, " she sai d. " I hat e
you, t oo. " She
l ooked f unny. Ther e
was di r t and bl ood al l over her
f ace.
" C' mon, get up. "
" I ' mgonna st ay her e
f or ever , "
she sai d, " unt i l
I di e. "
" You gonna get r un
over , " I
sai d.
" I don' t car e. I wannadi e. "
" Why?" I asked.
" Who car es?" she asked.
I t hought about her
quest i on f or
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
a whi l e. I di dn' t know what she
meant by i t . But I knew t hat I
di dn' t hat e her , and I di dn' t want
t o make f un of her anymor e. " I
. . . I . . .
car e, "
I sai d. " C' mon
J ani ce, get up. "
As usual ,
J ani ce
di dn' t
pay
any
at t ent i on
t o me. " I hat e
ever y-
body, "
she sai d . " I hat e mama, t oo.
I ' mgonna st ay her e t i l l I di e. Then
she' l l be sor r y. "

i
I was al r eady sor r y abo~ever y-
t hi ng. " Pl ease get up, " I sai d, f i ght -
i ng
back t he t ear s . She woul dn' t
move.
I wal ked over t o t he
si de-
wal k and sat down. I wasn' t i n any
hur r y
t o go home. I
knew I
was
goi ng t o get i t when I got t her e. I t
woul dn' t be any l i t t l e ol d sl ap
ei t her .
Besi des,
I knew
J ani ce
coul dn' t l i e i n t he st r eet f or ever .
Peopl e dr ove t hei r car s t hr ough
t hat al l ey. And
one
way
or
anot her ,
t hey woul d
make
her move. I sat
f or a l ong t i me t hi nki ng about J an-
i ce, Mi ss Rut h, and Mama.
Fi nal l y
J ani ce
got up
and
came
over
t o
t he
si dewal k
.
She sat down next t ome.
I di dn' t knowwhy she moved f r om
t he st r eet . Maybe she t hought t hat
someone car ed af t er al l . Maybe she
j ust got t i r ed of l yi ng t her e. Any-
way, she moved . We sat t her e
f or
a whi l e l onger . I di dn' t
l ook at J an-
i ce because I di dn' t want t o cr y;
and I t hi nk maybe she di dn' t l ook
at me because she di dn' t want t o
cr y ei t her .
Chr i st i ne Reams, aut hor of t he shor t st or y, " ' The Game, " i s a st udent
of Hi st or y at Washi ngt on Uni ver si t y i n St . Loui s, Mo. Af t er gr aduat i on
i n J une, Mi ss Reams pl ans t oj oi n t he Peace Cor ps f or a per i od of t wo
year s . Thi s i s her f i r st publ i shed st or y.
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968 63
especi al l y one
at a
predomi nant l y
Negro i nst i t ut i on- i s
suspect .
Hi s
i nt el l ect ual i nf eri ori t y
i s assumed.
I f
he i s wri t i ng about Negroes, hi s
bi as i s presumed. I t i s a pai nf ul
j ob- but a f act - t hat when a whi t e
man st udi es t he cul t ure of Ne-
groes, hi s work
i s sent t o
anot her
whi t e man f or apprai sal
. When a
Negro
wri t es about Negroes, hi s
work
i s sent t o t hree whi t e men.
What
i s publ i shed. and publ i ci zed,
consequent l y, general l y repeat s
what ever whi t e men al ready be-
l i eve about t he Negro.
What i s needed i s a Negro press,
a bl ack publ i sher t hat wi l l publ i sh
and publ i ci ze t he book- l engt h re-
search of Negro
schol ars .
I f i rst
heard
such a request i n 1957. Af t er
a decade, Negro educat ors and
busi nessmen have not t aken t he
f i rst st ep t owards such a company.
Negro publ i shers of magazi nes evi -
dence t hei r f ears t hat Negroes wi l l
not buy schol arl y publ i cat i ons,
f or
t hey have concent rat ed
t hei r ef f ort
and money on peri odi cal s
wi t h
popul ar appeal .
Unf ort unat el y,
t hey may be cor-
rect
. Langst on
Hughes was among
t hose who, 30years ago, depl ored
t he unwi l l i ngness of Negroes
t o buy
books . Hughes, of course,
ref erred
t o popul ar books- f i ct i on
and
poet ry. I nt erest i n
schol arshi p i s
even
l ess .
64
( Cont i nued
/ rompage 20)
FACULTY
Negro t eachers are needed. But
t he
t ask of securi ng t hemi s not as
si mpl e
as mi ght be presumed f rom
l i st eni ng t o t he bri ght young edu-
cat ors who demand a bl ack uni -
versi t y .
Let us
assume t hat we are con-
si deri ng
est abl i shi ng a uni versi t y
of 10, 000
st udent s- smal l by
st andards of
t he prest i ge uni versi -
t i es,
col ossal f or a Negro i nst i t u-
t i on. Let
us al so propose one
t eacher f or every 20 st udent s .
cert ai nl y
not a f ar- f et ched st and-
ard
f or an i deal i nst i t ut i on. That
amount s t o onl y 500t eachers, pl us
admi ni st rat ors and secret ari es
.
Onl y 500. But t hat
number wi l l
not be f ound
among Negroes who
earn graduat e
degrees i n 1968. I
do not
propose t o excl ude arbi t rar-
i l y any
candi dat e who l acks a doc-
t orat e
degree . Nor do I wi sh t o
deni grat e t he i nt el l ect ual abi l i t y
and
t he ent husi amof peopl e who
may appl y. But desi re
i s not
suf f i -
ci ent . Knowl edge
and t eachi ng
abi l i t y are requi red.
Furt hermore,
because i nst ruct i on
must be pro-
vi dedi n al l
areas of t he curri cul um,
even t he
capabl e and wel l - t rai ned
i nst ruct ors must be screened t o
make cert ai n t hat t hei r
qual i f i ca-
t i ons are suppl ement ary
rat her
t han dupl i cat i ng.
For i nst ance, i t
i s usel ess t o have
f our t eachers
wel l - t rai ned i n zool ogy i f
t here i s
no one suf Fi ci ent l y t rai ned
i n
bot any.
March 1968 NEGkODI GEST
Si nce suf f i ci ent t eacher s cannot
be secur ed f r omnewgr aduat es not
al r eady commi t t ed t o par t i cul ar i n-
st i t ut i ons, i t wi l l be necessar y t o
r ai d t he f acul t i es of est abl i shed i n-
st i t ut i ons . As anyone knows who
has t r i ed i t , money
does
not
al ways
pr ove suf f i ci ent l y
st r ong t o pr y a
t eacher
f r oman i nst i t ut i on and a
communi t y
wher e he has pl ant ed
r oot s
f or hi msel f and hi s f ami l y.
I n
t i me, a newi nst i t ut i on wi t h
suf f i ci ent money and sat i sf act or y
f r i nge benef i t s- such as geogr aphi c
l ocat i on, adequat e l i br ar y, l i mi t ed
t eachi ng l oad, and cul t ur al
act i vi -
t i es- can bui l d as
sat i sf act or y
a
f acul t y as di d Duke and
Chi cago,
t o name onl y t wo i nst i t ut i ons
whi ch compet ed successf ul l y
wi t h
wel l - est abl i shed i nst i t ut i ons . But
t i me i s r equi r ed.
Adecade may not
be an unr easonabl e mi ni mum
.
Meanwhi l e, i t may be necessar y
t o devel op t he pr ogr am
at an i nst i -
t ut i on
al r eady est abl i shed, f or one
may st r engt hen
a compet ent f acul t y
mor e qui ckl y t han cr eat e a new
one . Nat ur al l y,
t he i nst i t ut i on must
be sel ect ed car ef ul l y, and
means
must be
devi sed t o excl ude f r om
t he pr ogr am- - - or at l east mi ni mi ze
t he i nf l uence of - t enur ed f acul t y
member s who, apat het i c, i ncompe-
t ent , or
host i l e, cannot cont r i but e
whol esomel y.
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch
1968
ADMI NI STRATI ON
Negr o
admi ni st r at or s have been
cr i t i ci zed f or
i ncompet ence, aut o-
cr at i c behavi or , and
egocent r i ci t y.
Al t hough t he char ges
ar e of t en
j ust i f i abl e,
compet ent admi ni st r a-
t or s can
be secur ed f r omamong
t hose al r eady i n hi gher educat i on.
Li ke t eacher s, however , admi ni s-
t r at or s may be unwi l l i ng t o aban-
don est abl i shed post s t o gambl e
wi t h uncer t ai nt y. I cannot
easi l y
condemn a man- bl ackor
whi t e-
who hesi t at es, and f i nal l y
r ef uses,
t o dedi cat e hi msel f
t o a
cause
whi ch may r equi r e hi s
sacr i f i ci ng
ever yt hi ng whi ch he has
spent
a
l i f et i me bui l di ng. Per haps, t her e-
f or e, t he pr oposed pr ogr amshoul d
be pl aced under t he j ur i sdi ct i on of
a pr esi dent who has
demonst r at ed
excel l ence at an i nst i t ut i on al r eady
est abl i shed.
Bef or e r ej ect i ng t hi s suggest i on,
l et us exami ne t he maj or
obj ec-
t i ons- t hat i s, t he cr i t i ci sms t r a-
di t i onal l y hur l ed
at Negr o admi ni s-
t r at or s . Aut ocr at s have gover ned
and do gover n
some Negr o col -
l eges . But t he Negr o r ace owns
no
monopol y on t yr anni cal pr esi dent s .
Aut ocr at i c
admi ni st r at i on may de-
vel op wher ever a
weak, i nsecur e
f acul t y sur r ender s i t s r i ght s .
Ther e i s l i t t l e need t o
f ear t hat
aut ocr at i c pr act i ces wi l l gover n t he
i deal bl ack uni ver si t y
. Fi r st , t he
pr esi dent wi l l al r eady have demon-
st r at ed
excel l ence. Compet ent ad-
mi ni st r at or s r ecogni ze
t hat educa-
t i onal
pr ogr ams wor k best when
t he f acul t y assi st s i n
det er mi ni ng
65
pol i cy. Second,
t he st r ong f acul t y
r equi r ed
f or t he i deal i nst i t ut i on
wi l l not
sur r ender i t s r i ght s .
Negr o admi ni st r at or s al so ar e
accused
of i ncompet ence. Agai n,
t he f ai l i ng
shoul d not be i dent i f i ed
wi t h
a par t i cul ar r ace. I ncompe-
t ent whi t e men pr esi de
over col -
l eges, j ust as i ncompet ent
Negr oes
do . Conver sel y,
many Negr oes ad-
mi ni st er pr ogr ams
ef f ect i vel y, j ust
as whi t e
men do.
The
f act t hat some pr esi dent s
have
pr oved t o be i ncompet ent
mer el y
emphasi zes t he need t o se-
l ect
a pr esi dent car ef ul l y. Some
men
cannot cope wi t h t he r api d
expansi ons
of col l eges t oday.
For
exampl e, an admi ni st r at or who
has
gover ned successf ul l y
as
a
f at her -
i n- r esi dence f or a f ami l y
of f i ve
hundr ed
st udent s and sevent y
t eacher s may
l ear n t hat hi s met h-
ods f ai l when t he
popul at i on
doubl es .
Tr adi t i onal l y,
mi ni st er s and pr o-
f essor s have been
sel ect ed as pr esi -
dent s of Negr o col l eges . Mi ni st er s
ar e pr esumed
compet ent t o gui de
t he mor al as wel l as t he i nt el l ect ual
devel opment of
st udent s . I t i s f ur -
t her assumed t hat br i l l i ant
pr of es-
sor s can r eshape t he cur r i cul um
i magi nat i vel y
and can st i mul at e
academi c per f or mance
char act er -
i st i c of t hei r own wor k.
The
f act i s, however , t hat t he
compl exi t y of
col l ege admi ni st r a-
t i on t oday r equi r es t he t al ent s of a
cor por at i on execut i ve r at her t han
t hose of a schol ar or a spi r i t ual
counsel or . Hi gher educat i on i s bi g
bb
busi ness . Some key admi ni st r at or
on
t he campus must know how t o
secur e
gr ant s, how t o or gani ze st af f ,
how
t o handl e per sonnel , how t o
pr epar e and pr esent budget s and
pr oposal s : i n shor t , someone must
knowhowt o oper at e a bi g
busi ness
successf ul l y . I deal l y,
t her ef or e.
some t op admi ni st r at or - a
vi ce-
pr esi dent ,
per haps- shoul d be ex-
per i enced i n
busi ness management .
But how many Negr oes have been
gi ven
t he oppor t uni t y t o exer ci se
t hei r
t al ent s as execut i ves i n l ar ge
cor por at i ons? Wher eas some whi t e
col l eges may compl ai n t hat t hey
cannot f i nd busi ness execut i ves
wi l l i ng t o accept l ower
sal ar i es as
vi ce- pr esi dent s, Negr o
col l eges
must compl ai n of t he
scar ci t y of
Negr oes wi t h suf f i ci ent
execut i ve
exper i ence t o ser ve even
as
vi si t i ng
consul t ant s .
An i deal i nst i t ut i on
needs a t r i -
umvi r at e of key admi ni st r at or s-
one man,
exper i enced i n managi ng
a cor por at i on, who
manages t he
oper at i on;
a second man - an
i magi nat i ve
schol ar - who spear -
heads t he academi c pr ogr am
; a
t hi r d man,
knowl edgeabl e about
budget s, t axes, and
l aw, who ser ves
as f i nanci al of f i cer . Nat ur al l y,
as
a
schol ar , I
woul d name t he academ-
i c man t o t he
post of pr esi dent .
Each of t he t hr ee, however ,
i s es-
sent i al
t o a successf ul oper at i on,
and each must f i nd
suf f i ci ent pr es-
t i ge and
sat i sf act i on i n hi s own po-
si t i on t hat he
wi l l not seek t o usur p
t he r esponsi bi l i t i es of t he
ot her
t wo.
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
NEWPROGRAMS
ANDEXPERIMENTATION
Thenewcour ses
pr oposed ear l i er
do not compl et e
t he academi c r e-
f or ms whi ch ar e
needed. Newcur -
r i cul a must
pr epar eNegr o st udent s
f or occupat i ons
pr evi ousl y cl osed
t o t hem
. Many pr edomi nant l y Ne-
gr o col l eges, st ar vi ng f i nanci al l y,
cannot af f or d t he addi t i onal ex-
pense of newpr ogr ams, no
mat t er
howdesi r abl e t hey may
be.
For exampl e, i f onl y f i ve
st u-
dent s seek t r ai ni ng f or
col l ege per -
sonnel posi t i ons,
an i mpover i shed
i nst i t ut i on may ar gue
t hat i t can-
not af f or d t o of f er
such a pr ogr am.
Inst ead, i t wi l l cont i nue
t o pr epar e
t he f i f t y st udent s
i nt er est ed i n el e-
ment ar y and
secondar y school
counsel i ng.
Thus, col l eges, eco-
nomi cal l y
f or ced t o per pet uat e
t he
t r adi t i onal ,
f ai l t o pr epar e
Negr o
st udent s
f or newoccupat i ons
.
The Bl ack Uni ver si t y
may suf f er
si mi l ar f i nanci al
har dshi ps ; vet i t
must of f er newpr ogr ams
. Ot her -
wi se, i t wi l l
bet r ay i t s st udent s
and,
i n
f act , may l ose
pr ospect i ve st u-
dent s
t o l ar ger uni ver si t i es whi ch
can af f or d such
pr ogr ams .
The
Bl ack Uni ver si t y
al so must
di scar d t he
char act er i st i c conser v-
at i vi smof most Negr o
i nst i t ut i ons .
Fear i ng
cr i t i ci sm f or f ai l ur e,
Ne-
gr o i nst i t ut i ons
r ar el y have gam-
bl ed on
educat i onal exper i ment s
.
Many of t he
so- cal l ed exper i ment s
i n
cur r i cul umand met hod
mer el y
r evi ve ant i quat ed
and abandoned
pr act i ces . Or t hese "exper i ment s"
abandon
academi c st andar ds under
NEGRODIGEST Mar ch
1968
t he pr et ext of r espect i ng
t he so-
cal l ed cul t ur e of t he Negr o.
Exper i ment at i on
must be en-
cour aged. Ther e shoul d
be exper i -
ment s i n met hods of t eachi ng,
ex-
per i ment s wi t hnon- gr aded
cour ses,
exper i ment s wi t h
t ut or i al sessi ons .
But exper i ment s
must be con-
duct ed
syst emat i cal l y. Cont r ol
gr oups
shoul d be compar ed wi t h
t he
exper i ment al gr oups, and st u-
dent per f or mance shoul d be
t est ed
and
eval uat ed. Al ways, t he exper i -
ment shoul d be desi gned t o
di s-
cover
t he most ef f ect i ve means of
achi evi ng desi r ed r esul t s,
never
mer el y t o conf i r mt he val i di t y of
a
pr e- det er mi ned hypot hesi s .
Possi -
bl y,
exper i ment at i onwi l l pr ove
t hat
many
st udent s cannot r each
t he r e-
qui r ed
l evel of compet ence
wi t hi n
f our year s . If so,
t he st udent s must
be r et ai ned l onger
. Col l egeeduca-
t i on, t hus, wi l l
not be envi si oned
as f our year s
of cour ses pr oduci ng
a
di pl oma as aut omat i cal l y
as ni ne
mont hs of
devel opment pr oduce a
chi l d. Inst ead, i t shoul d
be vi ewed
as t he
movement t owar d a goal ,
t he
dur at i on det er mi ned
by t he knowl -
edge,
st ami na, and qui ckness of
t he
st udent .
The need f or new
pr ogr ams and
exper i ment at i on
i s a pr obl em
f or
al l of hi gher
educat i on, not mer el y
f or
Negr o i nst i t ut i ons
. I must r e-
emphasi ze,
however , t hat t he
t er m
"exper i ment " or
"cur r i cul um de-
vel opment "
shoul d not
mask a con-
descendi ng
accept ance of i nade-
quat eper f or manceby
Negr oes . For
exampl e,
some educat or s
cur r ent l y
67
advi se t eacher s t o r espect t he di a-
l ect and t he cul t ur e of Negr o st u-
dent s . Si nce no st udi es have de-
t er mi ned what t hat di al ect i s, some
educat or s woul d accept al l habi t s
of l anguage usage,
no
mat t er how
f ar
t hey
devi at e f r omt he st andar d.
Si nce st udi es do
not descr i be t he
Negr o' s cul t ur e, some educat or s
excuse i r r esponsi bi l i t y, f or exam-
pl e, as char act er i st i c of t hat cul t ur e.
Such per mi ssi veness f ur t her i nj ur es
t he Negr o st udent , who, af t er gr ad-
uat i ng, seeks a pr of essi onal or t ech-
ni cal posi t i on. The pr of essi onal
wor l d expect s t hat col l ege gr adu-
at es wi l l use l anguage i dent i f i ed
wi t h pr of essi onal peopl e and t hat
t hey wi l l demonst r at e r esponsi bi l i -
t y. For exampl e, f ew empl oyer s
wi l l hi r e secr et ar i es who wi l l say,
" I
ai n' t got none of t hem. "
Whet h-
er t he secr et ar y speaks wi t h t he ac-
cent of Bost on or Char l est on does
not mat t er , but t he
empl oyer ex-
pect s a di f f er ent l evel of usage.
The
empl oyer - bl ack or
whi t e- does
not car e whet her t he secr et ar y' s
par ent s and f r i ends speak t hat way .
He assumes t hat i f she wi shes t o
r et ai n t hat pat t er n of usage, she
shoul d wor k among t hemr at her
t han i mpose her " di al ect " on hi s
busi ness . Si mi l ar l y, no one-
whet her a whi t e man or a r ace-
pr oud bl ack man- want s an i r r e-
sponsi bl e doct or or even an i r r e-
sponsi bl e pl umber .
68
THEATRE, MUSI C, ART
The Bl ack Uni ver si t y shoul d
pr ovi de a t r ai ni nggr ound f or young
act or s, pl aywr i ght s, composer s,
musi ci ans, and ar t i st s. No t heat r e
t oday pr ovi des adequat e oppor t u-
ni t y f or st r uggl i ng act or s and pl ay-
wr i ght s t o devel op t hei r t al ent s
.
Once agai n, t he pr obl emi s not r e-
st r i ct ed t o t he Negr o ; a youngwhi t e
pl aywr i ght exper i ences equal di f f i -
cul t y i n gai ni ng exper i ence by st ag-
i ng hi s dr amas . We ar e concer ned,
however , wi t h t he devel opment of
Negr o ar t i st s .
An adequat el y f i nanced uni ver -
si t y shoul d be abl e t o mai nt ai n a
r esi dent company of youngwr i t er s
and per f or mer s who coul d shar e
wi t h st udent s t hei r pr of essi onal ex-
per i ences, l i mi t ed t hough t hey
may
be, and who
woul d have a st age on
whi ch
t o devel op t hei r t al ent .
Si mi l ar l y, t he Bl ack Uni ver si t y
must house a subst ant i al col l ect i on
of wor ks by Negr o wr i t er s and
schol ar s and a museumof ar t by
bl ack men. Bot h col l ect i ons r e-
qui r e money and t he ser vi ces of
f ul l - t i me di r ect or s who have t i me
and t r avel expenses t o sear ch f or
t he necessar y mat er i al s .
The r esi dent company, t he l i -
br ar y, and t he museumcan
be es-
t abl i shed and mai nt ai ned as easi l y
at a pr edomi nant l y Negr o i nst i t u-
t i on al r eady est abl i shed
as at a new
i nst i t ut i on.
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
TRUSTEES
I f I seemi ndi f f er ent t o t r ust ees,
t he r eason i s onl y t hat , as a t each-
er and
quasi - or
semi - admi ni st r at -
or , I have
consi der ed t r ust ees
onl y
as busi nessmen who gi ve t he bl ess-
i ng of
t he pr act i cal wor l d t o t he
dr eams of educat or s. I f or esee l ess
di f f i cul t y i n secur i ng t r ust ees t han
i n secur i ng anyt hi ng el se f or t he
Bl ack Uni ver si t y. J acki e Robi nson,
Ral ph Bunche,
Mayor Car l St okes
of Cl evel and or Mayor Ri char d
Hat cher of Gar y,
Publ i sher J ohn
H. J ohnson- t hese ar e onl y
a
f ew
who ar e possi bl e.
Tr ust ees- al l -
bl ack
or al l - Negr o or al l - Af r o-
Amer i can or
what ever you wi sh t o
cal l "t hose peopl e"- can bef ound.
PRESTI GE
Thef i nal need of t he
Bl ack Uni -
ver si t y i s f or pr est i ge. Even newl y
est abl i shed whi t e i nst i t ut i ons r e-
qui r e t i met o bui l d r eput at i ons. But
I f ear t hat , i n Amer i ca, a bl ack
uni ver si t y wi l l never ear n nat i onal
r eput at i on as l ong as i t uses onl y
bl ack t eacher s t o i nst r uct onl y
bl ack st udent s. And I wonder how
l ong Negr o st udent s wi l l r et ai n
pr i de i n t hei r
i nst i t ut i on unl ess t hat
pr i de i s r espect ed by non- bl acks.
Thi s i s per haps t he f i nal r eason
r eaf f i r mi ng f or memy or i gi nal con-
el usi on
t hat t he desi r ed
r esul t s may
be obt ai ned mor e
ef f ect i vel y by
bui l di ng upon an
al r eady est ab-
l i shed pr edomi nant l y Negr o
uni -
ver si t y r at her t han at t empt i ng
t o
est abl i sh a newi nst i t ut i on.
Secur e t he necessar y money-
whet her f r ombl ack men or whi t e
men, and add t hi s t o t he money al -
r eady
i n
t he budget of
a school .
Secur e admi ni st r at or s whose t al -
ent s suppl ement t hose of a compe-
t ent admi ni st r at or who al r eady has
exper i ence. Secur et eacher s- bl ack
or whi t e- who havet he knowl edge
and t he abi l i t y t o t each t he desi r ed
cour ses, and uset hemt o st r engt hen
a st af f whi ch al r eady has number s
and compet ence. Accept st udent s
- whi t e
or
bl ack- who wi sh t o
exper i ence t he educat i on pr ovi ded.
Then r evi se t he cur r i cul umt o meet
t he needs and demands.
What r esul t s wi l l not be t he
Bl ack Uni ver si t y, f or i t accept s
whi t e money, whi t e f acul t y, and
whi t e st udent s. But i t shoul d
be
t he
ki nd of i nst i t ut i on best desi gned t o
pr ovi de adequat e oppor t uni t y f or
bl ack t eacher s and st udent s
t o de-
vel op t hei r
capabi l i t i es f ul l y, t o
ser ve
t he bl ack communi t y ef f ec-
t i vel y,
t o gai n pr i de i n and knowl -
edge of t hei r her i t age and t hem-
sel ves, and t o achi eve r ecogni t i on
f or t hei r abi l i t y. And t hese, af t er
al l , ar e t he maj or pur poses f or
whi ch a Bl ack
Uni ver si t y i s pr o-
posed.
Dar wi n T. Tur ner , aut hor of "The Bl ack
Uni ver si t y: A Pr act i cal Ap-
pr oach, " i s dean of t he gr aduat e school
at t he Agr i cul t ur al and Tech-
ni cal
St at e Uni ver si t y of Nor t h Car ol i na, Gr eensbor o.
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
69
st andar ds wer e t he met hods of se-
l ect i ng di smi ssed i ndi vi dual s .
Dr . Nabr i t sai d- al l t he
peopl e have uni f or ml y sai d-
"We' ve used t he schol ar shi p
met hod- we' ve r ead i n t he pa-
per
somewher e, r i ght l y or wr ong-
l y, t hat
t hese peopl e wer e i n
some way associ at ed wi t h t he
di st ur bance.
And t hat ' s a scho-
l ast i c way t o
appr oach t he
si t uat i on
. '
Geor ge
Hayes, Howar d at t or -
ney,
assumed a Lawyer Cal houn
demeanor
and wai l ed t hat "t her e
has been a
suggest i on of b- l ack
pow- wuh"
( del i ver ed i n t he Bap-
t i st pr eacher ' s
f i r e- and- br i mst one
t ones) . He f ur t her
i nsi nuat ed t hat
I had caused
t he f i r es, ` ' r eadi ng a
st at ement f r oman ar t i cl e on
How-
ar d I had wr i t t en i n
t he Washi nb
t on Fr ee Pr ess. Ther e
I had sai d of
t he admi ni st r at i on:
"They don' t
seemt o hear t he
t hunder . . . and
so, t he boycot t
l ast Wednesday, t he
f i r e next t i me"
( obvi ousl y empl oy-
i ng t he t i t l es of t wo
wel l - known
novel s about t he
r aci al scene) . "'
I n a conf i dent i al
r epor t t o hi s
super i or , t he associ at e
dean of st u-
dent s, Car l Ander son,
set f or t h
l udi cr ous and, needl ess t o say,
er -
r oneous
concl usi ons, based
on t he
vi ewi ng
of
a f i l mby 30
member s of
t he
st af f and t wo st udent s
em-
pl oyed as spi es . The f i l mof
a Her -
shey hear i ng had been
t ur ned aver
t o
Howar d by a l ocal
t el evi si on
7 0
( Cont i nued / t una page - 16)
st at i on whose whi t e r epor t er had
got t en i nt o
an ar gument wi t h bl ack
mi l i t ant st udent s out si de t he bui l d-
i ng
and
was knocked down and
hospi t al i zed.
The t r oubl e wi t h t hi s
was t hat t he
Howar d i nvest i gat or s
had a f i l m
wi t h no sound. Conse-
quent l y, t hey
wat ched Ant hony
Gi t t ens, i n t he r oom
l egi t i mat el y as
a wi t ness, and J ay
Gr eene, who
sought t o
br i ng
t he
mi l i t ant cr owd
under
cont r ol , and concl uded f r om
t hat t hat
t hey wer e i nci t i ng t he
cr owd
t o
r ebel l i on .
The
"conf i dent i al " r epor t al so
er r oneousl y
decl ar ed t he Bl ack
Power
Commi t t ee under t he con-
t r ol of SNCC
and t he Communi st
Par t y and l abel ed
t he f at her of one
st udent a
communi st . The r epor t
l i st ed t he names of 12
"member s of
t he Bl ack Power
Commi t t ee" ; onl y
one of t hem
was act ual l y a mem-
ber . One st udent
who was l i st ed as
a member ,
Ar t Gol dber g, was
whi t e.
Fr omt hi s
ki nd of evi dence an
ad hoc kangar oo
di sci pl i nar y com-
mi t t ee of 15
f acul t y of f i ci al s met ed
out
puni shment ( f r om di smi ssal s
t o war ni ngs
and dor mi t or y pur ges)
t o 60 st udent s,
i ncl udi ng Andr e
McKi ssi ck, daught er
of CORE' s
Fl oyd McKi ssi ck.
Facul t y member s
di smi ssed wer e mer el y
out spoken
f acul t y member s
whose cont r act s
conveni ent l y
expi r ed t hat year .
They had vi ol at ed
t he cul t of medi -
ocr i t y or i gi nat ed
i n Howar d' s ear l y
Mar ch 1963 NEGRO
DI GEST
year s when
' `Chr i st i an char act er
and r epubl i can
pr i nci pl es" wer e,
j ust as pol i t i cal
doci l i t y i s now, t he
pr i me
pr er equi si t es f or empl oy-
ment and
pr omot i on. ' ~ The onl y
ot her accusat i ons,
asi de f r omAct -
i ng Pr esi dent
St ant on L. Wor m-
l ey' s l abel i ng
of me and Pr of . l van
Eames
as f el l ow " r aci st s, " came
f r om
Pr esi dent Nabr i t (who
was
al most
never on campus) who sai d
t hat
t her e had been" showi ngs and
some ki nd
of physi cal cont act .
These
t eacher s had been i nvol ved
i nt hi s ki nd
of act i vi t y . " ' ~ Thi s, of
cour se, was a
bal df aced l i e. I n t he
r ecent mont hs,
f our addi t i onal
pr of essor s of
unquest i oned pr of es-
si onal per f or mance
have been r e-
f used r eappoi nt ment
appar ent l y
f or pol i t i cal vi ews
. Mor e r et al i a-
t i ons ar e t o
come wi t h each year ' s
expi r at i on of
cont r act s- as t hi ngs
nowst and- unt i l
al l per sons of a
di ver gent pol i t i cal
hue have l ef t i n
di sgust or beendi smi ssed
.
When news
of l ast summer ' s
f i r i ngs r eached
me, I had beenl ec-
t ur i ng at t he
Uni ver si t y of Wi scon-
si n at Mi l waukee
. Af t er some
weeks I
r et ur ned t o Washi ngt on
a: nd
suggest ed, i n passi ng, when
r espondi ng i nt he l ocal pr ess t o
Na-
br i t ' s boast s of hi s past ci vi l r i ght s
l egal
wor k, t hat at l east now, hav-
i ng
out l i ved hi s usef ul ness, af t er
ser vi ng wel l
i n
hi s
day and r ecei v-
i ng hi s r ewar d,
he shoul d have t he
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
decency
t o get out of t he way . I
l ef t t own
agai n shor t l y and Nabr i t ,
who had
one year l ef t bef or e r each-
i ng
t he mandat or y r et i r ement age
and
who had spent hal f of t he pr e-
vi ous
year of f i ci al l y wor ki ng away
f r om
Howar d as a " sal esman"
of
LBJ ' s f or ei gn pol i cy, announced
hi s
" r et i r ement . "
I was si t t i ng at a
conf er ence
br eakf ast t abl e whenI
r ead t hi s i n
t he Washi ngt on
Past and I i mmedi -
at el y excl ai med t o my
compani ons
t hat i t was a pr opaganda,
a publ i c
r el at i ons, st unt . My skept i ci sm
was
based, i n par t , onl ong
exposur e t o
t he conni vi ng, di shonest
appr oach
of t he Howar d
admi ni st r at i on.
Lat er , I was t o l ear n
t hat Howar d' s
publ i c r el at i ons di r ect or ,
who hi gh-
l i ght ed t he Her shey af f ai r whent he
sel ect i on
of st udent def endant s
cl ear l y i ndi cat ed
t hat t he Bl ack
Power
Commi t t ee was t he
t ar get ,
had r ecei ved
a speci al ci t at i on f r om
t he Amer i can Associ at i on
of Col -
l ege Publ i c Rel at i ons Of f i ci al s .
He
al so
pl ayed up t he bl ack power
i ssue af t er
t he f i r i ng of si x pr of es-
sor s (f our of t hem
whi t e, and I
t he onl y
bl ack power advocat e i n
t he

si x ) .
Unf or t unat el y,
a gr oup of di s-
mi ssed st udent s and
f acul t y mem-
ber s
mi sr ead Nabr i t ' s " r esi gnat i on"
(as di d j ust about
ever ybody el se)
and
cal l ed a pr ess
conf er ence t o
announce i t as a vi ct or y
f or our
cause. They al so
suggest ed Ken-
net h B. Cl ar k (a
member of
Howar d' s Boar d of Tr ust ees!
) as
a
successor t o Nabr i t , whi ch
caused
71
me
t o
excl ai munconsci ousl y
al oud
as soon as I had
r ead i t . 1 was
awar e t hat i f you
wr i t e a book
cal l ed TanGhet t o peopl e
wi l l t hi nk
you moder at e; Dar k
Chet t o, a mi l i -
t ant ; and Bl ack Ghet t o,
a f l ami ng
r adi cal . Hence i t di d
not sur pr i se
mea
f ewpar agr aphs l at er
when I
r ead
t hat Cl ar k had denounced
our
movement as
"psychot i c"
whi l e
commendi ng
t he ways of Nabr i t
.
I n Sept ember ,
Nabr i t was t o
an-
nounce t hat
he had never
wr i t t en
a l et t er of
r esi gnat i on and
woul d
not , i ndeed,
t hat hemi ght def y
t he
mandat or y
r ul e and st ay on
sever al
year s.
Then, t he day af t er t he
f i r st
f i ght of my
cur r ent boxi ng
come-
back i n
December , i n whi ch
1 won
by a knockout
i n 2 mi nut es
and 22
seconds of
t he f i r st r ound,
Nabr i t
announced i n t hepr ess f or
t he sec-
ond t i met hat he
woul d not r et i r e.
Wewent t o
cour t i n August - I
bel at edl y
and r el uct ant l y, f or
I f el t
t hat t hat woul d t ur n
t hemat t er over
t o
t he mer cy
of t he Gr eat
Whi t e
Cour t s
whi ch mi ght r ul e
on a l egal
t echni cal i t y r at her
t han on pur e
j ust i ce.
Al so, Howar d st udent s
and
t eacher s, shoul d
any st i l l car e or
r emember by
Sept ember ,
woul d
t end t o
accept t he cour t ' s
deci si on
as i nf al l i bl e
or , equal l y
as bad,
awai t
i t passi vel y . Our
l awyer s as-
sur ed us t hat
t he case woul d be
over by
Sept ember and I f el t
I had
t o go al ong
because ot her f acul t y
member s t hought
t hat my
st ayi ng
out
woul d hur t t hei r
case. The
j udge who
handl ed i t , an
oct oge-
nar i an, had a
r eput at i on f or
con-
7 2
ser vat i smas wel l as
f or maki ng t he
wr ong
deci si on i n t heopi ni on
of t he
Cour t s
of Appeal s ( wher e
t he case
i s
now) . Wedi d not ,
t her ef or e, ex-
pect a f avor abl e deci si on,
and t i me
and agai n dur i ng t he
cour t r oom
pr oceedi ngs t hebi ased and
i l l ogi cal
comment s
of
t he el der l y
j udge
br ought
down t he cour t r oom
i n
l aught er
.
1
di scover ed, meanwhi l e,
t hat
t he member s
of t he Bl ack
Power
Commi t t eehad been i mpr i soned
i n
a summer
"r i ot - pr event i on" r ound-
up of
bl ack mi l i t ant s, i n t hi s
case
f or
"conspi r i ng t o i nci t e a
r i ot . " As
bai l
money coul d not be
r ai sed f or
t hemat t he t i me,
t hey coul d not
r et ur n t o
Howar d. Thi s l ef t
me
st andi ng on t he
bat t l ef i el d wi t h no
f or ces ; and so I
wor ked al ong wi t h
ot her
st udent l eader s who pl anned
a boycot t f or
Sept ember . I al so r e-
member ed
al l t he hel p l ocal
bl ack
l eader s- not t o
ment i on Howar d
st udent s and
pr of essor s- unsol i ci t -
ed by
me- had pr omi sed
t hr ough-
out t he pr ecedi ng
year , and I
pl anned
at l ast t o sol i ci t t hei r
ai d.
However , st udent
l eader s wer e
st r ongl y agai nst
"out si de" f or ces .
Then, j ust
bef or e school
st ar t ed,
t he
st udent s wer e
r ei nst at ed,
t hough most o
t hemwent el se-
wher e, gener al l y t o
bet t er school s .
Oneof
t hemi s sai d t o have
t ol d
t heot her
st udent s t o wor kon f or m-
i ng a "st udent
j udi ci ar y
commi t -
t ee" i nst ead of
r i ski ng pr ot est .
I
per sonal l y
hear d a di smi ssed
pr o-
f essor
di scour age r ebel l i on
bef or e
hel ef t f or
anot her col l ege.
St udent
Mar ch 1 968 NEGRO
DI GEST
l eader s
and pr of essor s
posi ng as
mi l i t ant s
echoed t hi s
advi ce. Now,
st udent s
who pr evi ousl y
had ur ged
me not
t o r ound up and
br i ng i n
"out si de"
f or ces, i nf or med
me t hat
t her e woul d
be no boycot t
and sug-
gest ed
t hat I use t he
out si de f or ces .
They
had j ust l ear ned
t hat mem-
ber s
of t he Bl ack
Power Commi t -
t ee,
whi ch had
st ol en t he campus
l eader shi p
f r omt he
l i ber al - moder -
at e st udent est abl i shment
t he year
bef or e, wer e now
away i n j ai l .
At about t hi s
t i me t he l ocal af -
f i l i at es
of Newar k' s
Nat i onal Bl ack
Power
Conf er ence
f or med a Wash-
i ngt on
Commi t t ee f or
Bl ack Power ,
of
whi ch I was el ect ed
chai r man. I
sought
hel p wi t h t he
Howar d move-
ment
f r om t hem and
f r om ot her
bl ack
mi l i t ant s,
but none came
f or war d
. Nor di d
any bl ack gr oup
r ai se
f unds or cont r i but e
t o t he bi l l
f or cour t
cost s, al t hough some
ar ea
whi t e
pr of essor s
hel d a f und- r ai si ng
par t y and
some Amer i can
Uni ver -
si t y st udent s
hel d a
f und- r ai si ng
concer t . Howar d
st udent s di d not h-
i ng al ong
t hese l i nes, al t hough
t he
mi ~i t ant s put
on a par t y t o r ai se
bai l money
f or a per son
never con-
nect ed wi t h
Howar d and
who had,
i n
f act , hel p
per suade t he Wash-
i ngt on
Commi t t ee f or
Bl ack Power
t o evade t he
Howar d st r uggl e
.
On t he f or mal
openi ng of
How-
ar d,
a wal kout was
pl anned by mi l -
i t ant
st udent s f or
Pr esi dent Nabr i t ' s
addr ess . Onl y
t hr ee
pr of essor s-
agai n
al l whi t e- - coul d
be per -
suaded t o t ake
an act i ve par t .
Kei t h
Lowe,
Har var d- t r ai ned
Engl i sh
NEGRODI GEST
Mar ch 1968
pr of essor
who
had been par t of
t he
summer ' s pur ge,
st ood wi t h me
on
t he si dewal k
t o gr eet st udent s
and
f acul t y
member s wal ki ng out
of
t he audi t or i um
. As st udent s
gat her ed r ound and
cheer ed, t he
voi ce
of Pr of essor
Lowe, an Or i -
ent al r ear ed
i n J amai ca,
gr ew
hoar se as
he i mpl or ed: "I
have
seen you
act as f ul l human
bei ngs
Don' t
l et your
st r uggl e sl i p
back. " I
war ned t he
st udent s t hat
t he onl y
hope i s t o cl ose
Howar d
down i ndef i ni t el y
unt i l
a r ut hl ess,
hel t er - skel t er
admi ni st r at i on
buck-
l es under
i n r epent ance . I di d
not
knowt hat
t hat al so had
been t he
vi ewof
Mor decai J ohnson,
f or mer
pr esi dent
of Howar d,
when t he
Congr essi onal
Appr opr i at i ons
Commi t t ee
at t emped
t o suppr ess
academi c f r eedom
at Howar d ear l y
i n
t he McCar t hy
er a.
But ,
as i n t he case
of l ast year ' s
boycot t ,
st udent
mi l i t ant s,
mi s-
t akenl y
seeki ng "wi de
par t i ci pa-
t i on, "
had t ur ned t he
l eader shi p
of
t he
pr ot est over
t o est abl i shment
st udent s . I know
nowt hat
t he ma-
j or
r eason f or
t he Bl ack
Power
Commi t t ee' s
r el at i ve
st r engt h l ast
year r est ed
i n i t s excl usi veness,
al -
t hough t hi s
anger ed
many st udent s
who r egar ded
t hemsel ves
as "bl ack
r adi cal s"
and had
r eput at i ons f or
const ant
espousal s
of t he gl or y
of
bl ackness
and
r evol ut i onar y r het o-
r i c
. These
st udent s may
st i l l be
7 3
f ound at t hi s game, beat i ng t hei r
chest s and r eadi ng and par r ot i ng
Fr ant z Fanon and Mao-Tse Tung;
and i t i s cl ear nowt hat t hey cannot
be expect ed t o
do
much el se.
Then t her e ar e t he gr and or gan-
i zer s . I r ecent l y at t ended a uni f yi ng
meet i ngof t her epr esent at i ves of 19
di f f er ent gr oups,
each
pr oposi ng
t o
have t he cur e
f or
Howar d' s
i l l s
.
When I f i nal l y l ef t t he meet i ng at
mi dni ght t hey had not managed t o
get t oget her on anyt hi ng ot her t han
t he pr ohi bi t i on of campus act i vi t y
by any
si ngl e member -gr oup.
Lat er ,
1
l ear ned t hat t hey agr eed on
a col l ect i ve name whose acoust i cs
f or med an Af r i can wor d but t hey
have done not hi ng si nce, whi ch-
r emember ?-i s what t hey agr eed-
t hat no member -gr oup shoul d do
anyt hi ng.
Thi s not hi ngness per vades t he
ai r at Howar d,
al t hough St eve
Abel , st udent chai r man of t he
Uni t ed Bl ack Peopl es Par t y, ap-
pear s t o
t r y
har d and t o mean
busi -
ness ; but he has l i t t l e or no hel p ;
and f r eshman cl ass pr esi dent
Mi chael
Har r i s, who has much
pr omi se but has not yet had t he
t i me t o l ose hi s f ai t h i n t he l i ps and
pr omi ses of Howar d' s admi ni st r a-
t i on
and est abl i shment -st udent
l eader s, di d st age a si t -i n i n Pr esi -
dent Nabr i t ' s of f i ce, pr ot est i ng
compul sor y ROTC. Agai nst Abel ' s
wi l l , t he 100 st udent s wer e per -
suaded by
est abl i shment -l eader s t o
br eak up t he
si t -i n on t he pr omi se
t hat Nabr i t
woul d el i mi nat e com-
pul sor y ROTC.
Thi s pr omi se may
7 4
yet be f ul f i l l ed, but ,
i n any case, at
best i t i s a paper vi ct or y i n mor e
t han one sense of t he wor d.
Under st and
me,
t her e st i l l
ar e
maybe 10 t r ul y mi l i t ant st udent s
l ef t at Howar d, whi ch woul d be
enough t o det onat e t he movement
shoul d t hey ever manage t o shake
of f t he cont r ol of t he admi ni st r a-
t i on' s st udent
f l unki es,
st udent -
l ounge
r adi cal s and ot her phoni es .
Adr i enne Manns, edi t or of t he
Hi l l t op, f or
exampl e, has done a
br i l l i ant
j ob,
al ong wi t h
Ant hony
Gi t t ens, chai r man of Pr oj ect
Awar eness,
i n maki ng st udent s
awar e
.
Al so,
i t i s
sai d
t hat
t i me
makes mor e conver t s t han r eason,
and i t may come t o pass t hat t he
next t i me Nabr i t announces hi s r e-
t i r ement , Howar d st udent s (90per
cent of whomoppose hi s admi ni s-
t r at i on, accor di ng t o a Hi l l t op sur -
vey) may have t he cour age t o r un
hi mout of t own.
As of t hi s wr i t i ng, t he at mos-
pher e
at Howar d appear s t o t he
casual vi si t or t o l oomt hi ck wi t h
t he si ckness of a st r ange and eer i e
apat hy. Admi ni st r at or s cl i ng
t o t he
er r oneous not i on t hat a uni ver si t y
can st and upon guns, cunni ng and
conni vance, unwar y,
i t
seems, of
t he f act t hat hi st or y i s a vengef ul
l ady and, when once i t r et al i at es,
can be a vi ci ous execut i oner . St u-
dent s and pr of essor s wal k ar ound
vi r t ual l y wr apped i n a caut i ous
t r ance, as i f r eady t o r un at t he
sound of "boo. " Some wear t he
f aces of gr i nni ng mummi es, huckl e-
bucki ng nol ess i n mock gl ee i n and
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
out of "The Punch
Out " and
ot her
st udent hangout s
.
I wal k
t hr ough t he campus on
occasi on
and, nowand agai n, st u-
dent s
wave
or gr i n
at me; or come
over t o shake
myhand and t o i n-
qui r e
about mywel f ar e; and i t sad-
dens me t o see t hat t hey ar e not
concer ned about t hei r own. I t i s
sadder st i l l t o see i n t hei r f aces and
r eact i ons ( and, f r equent l y, f r ank
apol ogi es and r at i onal i zat i ons) a
r ecogni t i on t hat t hey have pl ayed
i nt o t he hands of di shonest y and
di sgr ace
t o
t hei r own
her i t age, bar -
t er ed away sel f - r espect f or
i nsul a-
t i on agai nst t he r i sk of
del ay or
i nconveni ence i n get t i ng t hemsel ves
r at i f i ed ( no pun i nt ended) f or t he
r at r ace t hey f eel l i es ahead. Some
of t hemmay never r eal i ze
how
cheapl y t hey
sol d out
.
But st udent s,
unl i ke pr of essor s,
ar e not st uck
f or ever i n t he cess-
pool of
Howar d' s medi ocr i t y. Many
wi l l be abl e
t o shake of f t he cr i p-
pl i ng
i nf l uences of t hei r col l ege
year s
and someday r ecl ai m t hei r
l i ves el sewher e
and make f ul l con-
t r i but i ons
t o t he wor l d andt o t hei r
r ace. The
pr of essor s who r emai n
must ei t her
f ace di smi ssal or be l ef t
t o qui ver ai ml essl y
i nt he qui cksand
of
i nduced doci l i t y. I havewat ched
t hem, daybyday, young pr of essor s
wi t h st yl e andpr omi se al r eady l os-
i ng t hei r spar k, gr umbl i ng i n t he
dar k
but f al l i ng si l ent and t eet hy
when admi ni st r at or s wal k by; ol d
mennowdi ssat i sf i ed, but power l ess
at t hi s l at e dat e t o move, dr i ven
t o
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch
1968
( See Foot not es on Next Page)
dr i nk i n bar s near t he campus di s-
cussi ng t he books begun f i ve t o 10
year s ago whi ch t hei r f r ozen pens
wi l l nownever f i ni sh.
The day bef or e Chr i st mas Eve,
I st opped by an asyl umt o vi si t a
f or mer Howar d pr of essor and
f r i end i ncar cer at ed t her e. He had
been one of
t he deans of Negr o
l i t er at ur e
and bl ack t hought i n t he
days
when Howar d was i n i t s hey-
day,
sought out f or gui dance by a
gener at i on of bl ack st udent s when
Howar d' s f acul t y di r ect or y r ead
l i ke
a Who' s Who Among Negr o
Schol ar s . I n l at e November some-
one had t ol d me howhe st ood i n
a f acul t y meet i ng and angr i l y
t hr eat ened, shoul d Howar d go
t hr ough wi t h a pr oposal t o gi ve al l
t hi s year ' s honor ar y degr ees t o
whi t e i ndi vi dual s, he woul d wr i t e
exposes whi ch woul d "make Na-
t han Har e' s seemmi l d. " Wi t hi n
t wo weeks t hey compel l ed hi mt o
r et i r e ( "l eave of absence" begi n-
ni ng t he second semest er unt i l t he
end of t he
year and
t hen
goodby)
af t er
over t hi r t y year s on t he f ac-
ul t y. I n a f ewdays
he
was
t aken
byf or ce t o St . El i zabet h' s hospi t al .
Comi ng down t he cor r i dor on
t he
dayof myvi si t , he l ooked wel l f or
hi s age and i n
good
heal t h
. On ap-
pr oachi ng
cl oser he r ecogni zed me
and
r ef used t o see me, st at i ng t hat
he
di d
not wi sh t o see anybody
f r omHowar d
agai n.
I
amgl ad I was a Howar d pr o-
f essor ,
but
I al so amgl ad t hat
Howar d f i r ed me.
75
1 .
Wal ter Dyson, HowardUni versi ty: The Capstone of Negro Educa-
ti on.
Washi ngton: HowardUni versi ty Graduate School , 1 942, passi m.
2. I bi d. , p. 1 9. "Whi ttl esey Testi mon, " HowardI nvesti gati on (Con-
gressi onal ) , 1 870, p. 2. See al so NathanHare, "Behi ndthe Bl ack Col -
l ege Student Revol t, " Ebony, August, 1 967,
pp.
58-61 .
3. The Speci al Court of I nqui ry upon Charges Agai nst General How-
ard,
May5, 1 874. "The Prof i t of Godl i ness-a Pi ous Bri gadi er, " The
Capi tal
of Washi ngton, D. C. , J une 22, 1 873.
4. The NewYork Eveni ngPost, J une 1 8, 1 875. I bi d. , J ul y 1 0, 1 875.
5. Hare et . al v. Howard, Ci vi l Acti on no. 2037-67.
6. I bi d.
7. I bi d.
8. Attorney Ri chardMi l l man, Ameri canCi vi l Li berti es Uni onl awyer,
Hareet . al . v. Howard.
9.
George
Hayes,
HowardAttorney, Hare et . al . v . Howard.
1 0. Washi ngton FreePress, May, 1 967.
1 l .
Wal ter Dyson, op. ci t. , p. 90.
1 2. Hareet. al . v. Howard.
NathanHare, author of
the arti cl e, "The Decl i ne andI mpendi ngFal l
of A`Bl ack' Uni versi ty, " i s
author of the book, The Bl ack Angl o
Saxons, anda popul ar spokesmanf or the
"Bl ack Consci ousness" move-
ment. He recentl y recei vedan
appoi ntment as coordi nator of a pro-
j ected
Bl ack Studi es Programat SanFranci sco State
Col l ege.
76

March 1 968 NEGRODI GEST
penni l ess
wr i t er ,
he t r avel s t he
gamut f r ombeans and hamhocks
t opl ush meal s i n Eur ope. Hel eaves
t he Negr opaper f or a mor e pr of i t -
abl e posi t i on on a " l i ber al " whi t e
one . Hi s publ i shed novel s become
a measur ed success, so successf ul
t hat one event ual l y goes i nt o paper -
back. He j oi ns t he Whi t e House
st af f as a speech wr i t er f or a " Ken-
nedy- t ype" Pr esi dent , and l eaves
unhappi l y because t he Pr esi dent
doesn' t use any of hi s speeches . He
emascul at es hi s manhood t hr ough
hi s r el at i onshi ps wi t h bl ack and
whi t e women and soon becomes a
car bon- copy of t hat whi t e boy.
Li l l i an Pat ch, who i s ki l l ed be-
cause of an abor t i on, was, of
cour se, t he pr ot ot ype of t he " Ne-
gr o" pr of essi onal woman, one who
had acqui r ed
al l
t he
whi t e
" val ues"
of her soci et y and who wi shed t o
l i ve t hose " val ues
. " Li l l i an
and
Max woul d have got t en mar r i ed
had Maxhad a bet t er payi ng j ob,
andhad he movedmor e swi f t l y i nt o
t he Amer i can " mai nst r eam. "
Max
made t he mi st ake of l et t i ng Li l l i an
wear t he pant s, and i n ef f ect l ost
hi msel f
and
Li l l i an .
Af t er a shor t depr essi on per i od
br ought on by
t he
deat h of
Li l l i an,
Maxi s r egener at ed t hr ough a j ob
wi t h t he New Yor k
Cent ur y- a
l i ber al whi t e paper - and t he pub-
l i cat i on of hi s t hi r d novel
.
Af t er a
successf ul st ay at t he Cent ur y, Max
l eaves andj oi ns Pace ( a Ti me- st yl e
NEGRO
DI GEST ' Mar ch f 968
( Cont i nuedf r om
pn e 52)
magazi ne) and wor ks hi s way up
t o chi ef of i t s Af r i can bur eau.
The scene of t he novel shi f t s
f r omt he Uni t ed St at es t o Af r i ca
and Eur ope. Whi l e i n Af r i ca
we
l ear n such t hi ngs as t he t r ut h about
t he Af r i can sl ave t r ade, t hat bl ack
Af r i cans own a ver y smal l per cent -
age of t hei r l and, t hat t he bl ack
masses of Sout h Af r i ca, wi t h i t s
own syst em of apar t hei d, have a
hi gher st andar d of l i vi ng t han t he
masses of Af r i cans i n ot her ar eas
of t he cont i nent . We l ear n t hat
t he
maj or i t y of bl ack l eader s i n t he
" i ndependent " nat i ons of Af r i ca
ar e
j ust
as devi ous, sel f i sh
and
pr o-
West er n as t he bl ack mi ddl e- cl ass
i n t he Uni t ed St at es
.
I n Eur ope, we have gl i mpses of
J ean- Paul Sar t r e, Al ber t Camus
and t he whol e Fr ench- bl ack i nt el -
l ect ual associ at i on. As i n t he Eur -
ope of
Hemi ngway, Pound, El i ot ,
J oyce and Fi t zger al d, bl ack wr i t er s
ar e not want edor
needed. Fi nal l y,
whi l e we ar e i n Eur ope, we come
t o
t he
r evol ut i onar y di scover y of
t he " Ki ng Al f r ed Cont i ngency
Pl an" f or t he
det ent i on and sys-
t emat i c ext er mi nat i on of t he Af r o-
Amer i can peopl e. Whi l e at t endi ng
t he f uner al
of
Har r y Ames, Maxi s
gi ven t hi s hi ghl y secr et i nf or mat i on
by Har r y' s whi t e mi st r ess .
As Max r eads t he l et t er f r om
Har r y expl ai ni ngt he
pl an, hi s phys-
i cal pai n ( cancer of t he r ect um)
l eaves hi mandi s r epl aced wi t h
t he
77
pai n
of knowi ngt oo much, and we
shar e
t hi s pai n as Max
r eads :
"Pani c i n Washi ngt on
ensued
when
i t was di scover ed
t hat J aj a
not
onl y had i nf or mat i on
on t he
Al l i ance, but on Ki ng Al f r ed,
t he
cont i ngency pl an
t o det ai n and ul -
t i mat el y r i d Amer i ca
of i t s Negr oes .
Mer eAmer i can
member shi p i n t he
Al l i ance woul d
havebeen suf &dent
t o r ack
Amer i ca, but Ki ng Al f r ed
woul d have
madeNegr oes r eal i z e,
f i nal l y
and angr i l y, t hat al l t he new
moves- t he l aws and commi t t ees
- t o
gai n democr acy f or t hemwer e
f r audul ent ,
j ust as Mi ni st er Qand
t he
ot her s have been sayi ng f or
year s . Your
own l et t er t o medays
af t er
you
l ef t t heWhi t eHouseonl y
under scor ed what so many Negr o
l eader s bel i eved. Theone al t er na-
t i ve l ef t f or Negr oes woul d be not
onl y t o
seek t hat democr acy wi t h-
hel d f r omt hemas qui ck and as
vi ol ent l y
as possi bl e, but t o f i ght
f or t hei r ver y sur vi val . Ki ng Al -
f r ed, as
you
wi l l
see, l eaves no
choi ce. "
Have bl ack peopl e ever had a
choi ce?
NO. Yet , t he NewYor k
Ti mes r evi ewer sai d of t he Ki ng
Al f r ed pl an, " . . . her e bel i evabi l -
i t y f al t er s . " The Sat ur day Revi ew
adds t o whi t e Amer i ca' s i l l usi ons
wi t h
t he asser t i on, "I t r eads r at h-
er l i ke an ant i - whi t e, Pr ot ocol s of
t he El der s of Zi on. " The Nat i on
sai d
of
t he Cont i ngency, "I t
i s
an
unl i kel y possi bi l i t y t hat def l ect s
at t ent i on f r omt heways power and
pr ej udi ce act ual l y wor k. I nevi t abl e
bl ack genoci de i s a
r i sky
t hi ng t o
7 8
base your whol e vi si on upon. " A
whi t e cr i t i c r evi ewi ng
a
bl ack book
f eel s t hat "t he Ki ng Al f r ed Con-
t i ngency Pl an" i s not onl y f i ct i on
but bor der s on sci ence f i ct i on.
Wer e Det r oi t and Newar k f i c-
t i on? Wer e t he deat hs of t hr ee
col l ege st udent s i n Sout h Car ol i na
( t wo shot i n
t he back)
f i ct i on? I s
t he f or mat i on
of one t housand
vi gi l ant es
( posse) i n Chi cago t o
f i ght
of f "r i ot er s" f i ct i on? And
what
about t he pur chasi ng of ar -
mor ed car s, "Mace" ( an eye- i r r i -
t at i ng, nauseous gas) , "banana
peel " ( a chemi cal t hat makes a
st r eet
t oo sl i pper y t o wal k on) ,
pol ycar bonat e Ri ot Shi el ds, gr e-
nade
l auncher s f or 12- gauge shot -
guns, and ot her weapons by ci t y
and st at e gover nment s? One can
go f ur t her , even af t er r eadi ng t he
so- cal l ed schol ar l y cr i t i ci sm i n
Tr ans- Act i on
and r ef er t o t he Re-
por t f r omI r on Mount ai n.
The "Repor t " not onl y l egi t i -
mi z es war , but suggest s t hat t he
gover nment r econsi der t her ei nt r o-
duct i on of sl aver y :
"Anot her possi bl e sur r ogat e f or
t he cont r ol of pot ent i al enemi es of
soci et y i s t he r e- i nt r oduct i on, i n
some f or mconsi st ent wi t h moder n
t echnol ogy and pol i t i cal pr ocesses,
of sl aver y. l "
As a bl ack wr i t er , I can l ook at
The Man
Who
Cr i ed
I AMf r oma
di f f er ent per spect i veand i ndeed see
"Ki ng Al f r ed" bei ng i mpl ement ed
t oday.
3 Repor t

Fr om

I r on

Mount ai n,

Di al
Pr ess .
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
Nodoubt about i t, Mr. Wi l l i ams
can wri te ; he proved that wi th
Ni ght Song andSi ssi es but the Wi l -
l i ams of thi s novel transcends the
arti st and becomes the seer, the
prophet .
One of the poor poi nts of the
bookwas the author' s mai ncharac-
ters' consi stent rel ati onshi p wi th
whi te women. MaxandHarry had
whi te wi ves, and Max f orever
wanted a redhead. When wi l l we
stop hati ng oursel ves and start l ov-
i ngour own women? As one bl ack
woman put i t, "Wi l l i ams makes a
f ool of hi msel f i n thi s respect . I
guess he coul dn' t wri te any other
way si nce he has one f or a wi f e. I t
i s i nteresti ng to note that the bl ack
man wi l l share hi s hard ti mes wi th
the bl ack woman, but when i t
comes tof ame and f ortune, i t l ooks
better wi th a whi te woman at hi s
si de. " Wi l l i ams i s ambi guous when
he states that, "I t was one thi ngto
sl eep wi th whi te women, but qui te
another to marry them. " Yet the
twomai n f i gures i n hi s novel had
whi te wi ves- a part of bei ng ac-
cepted, I guess.
Af ter seri ousl y thi nki ng about
the endi ngf or some ti me, my con-
cl usi on i s that i t coul d happen . . .
Mai nl y because we
knowf or
a
f act
that bl ack FBI and CI Aagents do
exi st ; they are bei ng used
today i n
Af ri ca and i n the bl ack communi -
ti es of the Uni ted States . As
f or
the
50- mi nute transatl anti c cal l
Max makes to
Mi ni ster Q( Mal -
NEGRODI GEST March 1968
0
eol mX)
to tel l about the `' Ki ng
Al f red
Conti ngency, " I regard i t
as
extreme
stupi di ty, but then,
mai n,
what el se
woul d
a "negro"~do?
Max, as Ki ng"negro, " hadi n actu-
al i ty
l ost meani ngf ul contact
wi th
hi s
peopl e . He had l ef t "home a
l ongti me agoand had no
i ntenti on
of comi ngback. I f Maxhad been
i n tune he woul dhave had brothers
i n Europe whowoul d have hel ped
hi m.
The val ue of thi s novel cannot
be measured i n terms of copi es sol d
or revi ews wri tten. Todate i t has
not sol d as wel l as Conf es . si or~. s of
Nat Turner f or obvi ous reasons,
and most of the maj or whi te cri ti cs
compl etel y overl ooked i t .
Thi s, I
bel i eve, i s an i ndi cati on of i ts
i m-
portance. Ramparts magazi ne
cal l ed i t the "toughest novel of the
f al l " and ran an excerpt i n i ts De-
cember 1967 i ssue. Thi s, too, i n-
di cates i ts val ue f or thi s i s the f i rst
ti me, i f 1 amnot mi staken, that a
novel by an Af ro- Ameri can has
been excerpted i n a maj or whi te
publ i cati on.
*
Yes, J ohn A. ~~l ' i l -
l i ams has wri tten a dangerous novel
and when the order comes down
f romthe Regi me that "books
wi th
dangerous teachi ngs shoul d be pub-
l i cl y burnt, " The Man WhoCri ed
AMwi l l start the f i re. - Do: v L.
LEE
' The wri ter i s mi staken. The newnovel
of J ames Bal dwi n, Tel l Me Hog+~ Long
The Trai n' s Been Gone, f or exampl e,
was excerpted i n the February 1967 i s-
sue of McCal l ' s magazi ne . - F~i ~Ox
79
whi ch even t he
t r adi t i onal "j uni or
year
abr oad" coul d not gi ve hi m.
And
st udent t r avel coul d concei v-
abl y be
subsi di zed i n much t he
same
manner t hat such pr ogr ams
ar e
under wr i t t en, and woul d be
vast l y cheaper .
And what about
t he t eacher s
t hemsel ves? As I sai d
ear l i er , t hey
coul d be Bl ack
Humani st s or "Spe-
ci al i st s i n
Sl ackness . " The Bl ack
Humani st s
woul d i ncl ude bl ack
t eacher s i n t he
t r adi t i onal humani -
t i es who have been
"cur ed, " so t o
speak. They woul d
knowChaucer ,
l et ' s say, but t hey
woul d al so know
t he Scot t i sh poem,
"The Lady wi t h
t he Mi ckl e Li ps . "
They woul d t al k
about bl ues poet r y wi t h a
f ul l ap-
pr eci at i on of t he bal l ad
maki ng
pr ocess whi ch t ook pl ace
i n Nor t h-
er n Engl and and i n
Appal achi a.
The Speci al i st s i n
Bl ackness woul d
i ncl ude t hose compet ent
and dedi -
cat ed peopl e who, wi t h degr ees
or
not , have t hor oughl y
acquai nt ed
t hemsel ves wi t ht he
hi st or y and cul -
t ur e of bl ack peopl e
i n Af r i ca,
Eur ope, and t he
Amer i cas . They
woul d i ncl ude hi st or i ans,
behavi or -
al sci ent i st s, soci al sci ent i st s, et hno-
musi col ogi st s, t eacher s of l an-
guages
and l i t er at ur e, poet s, nov-
el i st s,
composer s, t eacher s of dance
musi ci ans
and ot her per f or mi ng
ar t i st s . Some
of t hese peopl e wi l l
by def i ni t i on be bl ack peopl e. Ot h-
er s woul d be gr een
i f
t hey
had t he
i nf or mat i on,
and i f t hey had a sym-
80
(Cont i nued f r ompage
26)
pat het i c i dent i f i cat i on wi t h t he r eal
(as di st i ngui shed f r omt he ar r o-
gant l y pr esupposed) pur poses of
t he Bl ack Uni ver si t y. Al l of t hese
f i el ds ar e hi gh- pr i or i t y f i el ds, so, i t
seems t o me, t hat a gr eat emphasi s
woul d have t o be pl aced on i den-
t i f yi ng gi f t ed st udent s and i mbui ng
t hemwi t h t he desi r e t o pr epar e
t hemsel ves f or t he academi c pr o-
f essi on.
The musi ci ans and t he ot her
ar t i st s, but especi al l y t he musi ci ans,
coul d pr ovi de a basi c gr ass- r oot s
r el at i onshi p wi t h t he communi t y,
l i mi t ed onl y by t hei r
t al ent and
commi t ment . Pover t y
and degr ada-
t i on, ar en' t necessar y
f or
t he pr o-
duct i on of gr eat ar t . Why t hen do
we cont i nue t o negl ect our gr eat and
t or t ur ed musi ci ans, i gnor i ng t hem
even i n deat h? No one has wr i t t en
t he bi ogr aphy of Cl i f f or d Br ownor
Fat s Navar r o? And t he bl ood of
Char l i e
Par ker i s st i l l on our hands .
At
l east hal f of t he Negr o col l eges
as
t hey exi st t oday coul d pr obabl y
suppor t a gi f t ed j azz gr oup f or at
l east a semest er . The Bl ack
Uni -
ver si t y must make i t possi bl e f or
such
ar t i st s
t o
l i ve and cr eat e i n
di gni t y.
I t must al so
t ake a pr i mar y r e-
sponsi bi l i t y f or
doi ng t he ki nd of
schol ar l y r esear ch
i nt o t he cul t ur e
of bl ack peopl e t hat
onl y bl ackpea
pl e t hemsel ves can do. I n al most
any di sci pl i ne t hat one can con-
cei ve of , t her e ar e
vi t al pr obl ems of
Mar ch 1968 NEGRODI GEST
r esear ch cr yi ng f or t he
ki nd of
cl ar i f i cat i on whi ch i s essent i al
t o
our sel f hood
. Some aspect s
of t hi s
r esear ch coul d
be
car r i ed out even
by ser i ous
"C" st udent s .
Cer t ai nl y
any "B"
st udent wor t h hi s
sal t
coul d
f i nd enough, say i n
ur ban
cont empor ar y f ol kl or e, t o make a
nat i onal r eput at i on f or hi msel f
.
Fundament al document at i on of
bl ack l i f e- i n- pr ocess needs ser i ous
at t ent i on f r omour cr eat i ve f i l m-
maker s and ar t i st s, f or somehow
st at i st i cal st udi es f ai l t o capt ur e t he
vi t al i t y and whol eness embodi ed i n
t he concept of Soul . I n t he mod-
er n wor l d, our r esear cher s need
mast er y of moder n t echnol ogy and
met hedol ogy.
Our t ext books need ser i ous r e-
vi si on. Many need si mpl y t o be
wr i t t en. I n my own f i el d, I haven' t
seen a si ngl e r el evant t ext i n t he
t eachi ng of wr i t i ng i n
t he past f i ve
or si x year s .
Our humani t i es
cour ses ar e of t en
ar chai c, and st u-
dent s ar e under st andabl y
bor ed.
And al l t hi s whi l e
we
ar e i n t he
mi dst
of an i dent i t y r evol ut i on.
Our pr of essi onal
or gani zat i ons
can st i l l be r el evant i f t hey woul d
wel come
i ncr eased par t i ci pat i on by
gr aduat es and
under gr aduat es
al i ke. We need t hese
st r uct ur es .
Thei r
evol ut i on was t oo sl ow
and
pai nf ul
f or us t o di scar d t hemnow.
Let t hement er
i nt o t he cont em-
por ar y di al ogue. Let
t hemshar e
t hei r wi sdom, t hei r hi st or i cal
per -
spect i ve, wi t h
t he young. Per haps
i n t he pr ocess t hey
wi l l r egai n
somet hi ng of t hei r or i gi nal vi si on .
NEGRODI GEST
Mor ch 1968
Let us t ur n, f i nal l y, t o a di f f i cul t ,
pr act i cal and t heor et i cal pr obl em:
t he r ol e of t he nat ur al sci ences i n
t he cur r i cul umof t he Bl ack Uni -
ver si t y. I n t he f or egoi ng di scussi on
I have del i ber at el y begged t hi s
quest i on. The r eason f or t hi s shoul d
be obvi ous . How,
as
one of my
col -
l eagues r ecent l y asked, ar e
you
goi ng t o t each bl ack chemi st r y?
Howar e you goi ng t o t each bl ack
ast r onomy? Al t hough t hey r epr e-
sent an over - si mpl i f i cat i on of t he
whol e concept of t he Bl ack Uni -
ver si t y, t hese quest i ons do have
some r el evance, whi ch I shal l br i ef -
l y t r y
t o poi nt out .
At t he out set , I suggest ed t hat
t he f acul t y of t he Uni ver si t y be
st af f ed wi t h Bl ack Humani st s
and
Speci al i st s i n Bl ackness . I
al so
i n-
di cat ed t hat such a uni ver si t y
woul d al most by def i ni t i on i nvol ve
chi ef l y t hose di sci pl i nes whi ch ar e
human- cent er ed, i . e. , t he soci al
sci ences, t he behavi or al sci ences,
l i t er at ur e, ar t and t he l i ke. Thi s,
however , as t he quest i ons i mpl y,
does not answer t he f undament al
quest i on of t he r el at i onshi p be-
t ween t he humani st i c st udi es and
t he nat ur al sci ences
and mat hemat -
i cs . What i s t o be such
a r el at i on-
shi p i n a Bl ack Uni ver si t y?
Fr ank-
l y, I amnot cl ai r voyant
enough,
nor r ash enough, t o say;
but I must
say t hat t hi s pr obl emi s
not t he ex-
cl usi ve concer n of
t hose of us who
81
ser i ousl y
concei ve of such a
Uni -
ver si t y. I t
has been a gener al
pr ob-
l emi n West er n educat i onever
si nce
t he advent of t he new
sci ence. I t
was par t i cul ar l y cr yst al l i zed
i n t i r e
19t h cent ur y i n t he exchange
be-
t ween
Mat t hewAr nol d and
Thom-
as Huxl ey .
I t i s st i l l wi t h
us i n
t he
cr i si s of t he t wo cul t ur es
as
descr i bed
by C. P. Snow. I t
i s st i l l
wi t h us i n
t he gr owi ng di ssat i sf ac-
t i on wi t h
Gener al Educat i on
pr o-
gr ams, as wel l as
a r at her common
awar eness t hat
Sci ence al one
can-
not sat i sf y al l
of t he compl ex
needs
of human
soci et y and cul t ur e
. I t i s
st i l l wi t h
us i n t he wi despr ead
f ear
t hat a
soci et y compl et el y
domi -
nat ed by
sci ence mi ght event ual l y
depr i ve us
of t hose ver y
val ues
whi ch make
human l i f e
meani ng-
f ul . Thus, i f
anyt hi ng, i f t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y i s
pr edi cat ed upon
t he
i nt r i nsi c human
val ue of phi l o-
sophi cal
bl ackness, or SOUL,
t he
conf l i ct bet ween t he
humani st i c
st udi es and t he
nat ur al sci ences
coul d
concei vabl y be
hei ght ened
st i l l f ur t her . And
i f , as I assume, t he
Bl ack
Uni ver si t y woul d
pr obabl y
come
i nt o exi st ence as a
r esul t of
modi f yi ng t he
st r uct ur e of some
one or mor e
of t he exi st i ng
l i ber al
ar t s col l eges
whi ch have
sci ence de-
par t ment s f i r ml y
ent r enched i n t he
academi c l i f e,
ot her pr act i cal and
t heor et i cal
pr obl ems ar e
gener at ed .
Suppose,
f or exampl e,
t hat at
Col l ege Xan i deal
si t uat i on exi st s
i n whi ch t he
admi ni st r at i on and t he
boar d
of t r ust ees agr ee
t o change
t he
i dent i t y of
t he col l ege i n or der
82
t o make i t a
Bl ack Col l ege or
a de
f act o uni t
i n a l ar ger Bl ack
Uni -
ver si t y.
What shoul d be t hei r
at -
t i t ude
t owar d t he mat hemat i cs
cour ses and t he
cour ses i n t he
nat -
ur al
sci ences? What shoul d be
t hei r
at t i t ude
t owar d t he Bl ack
Human-
i st s, assumi ng
agai n an i deal
si t ua-
t i on,
who t each t hese
cour ses?
What shoul d be
t hei r at t i t ude
t o-
war d t he bl ack
st udent who i s
al -
r eady di scover i ng
hi msel f and
hi s
wor l d t hr ough
an expl or at i on
of
t he Bl ack
Exper i ence but who hap-
pens t o be a
physi cs maj or ?
Shoul d
t hey, wi t h a
bl ack st r oke of t he
pen,
wi pe out as
ant i - Soul , and
t hus
ant i - bl ack,
t he ent i r e
depar t ment ' ?
Of ' cour se
not , f or such an
act i on
woul d be i n
i t sel f di vi si ve and
hence
ant i - Soul
. I t woul d chop bot h
st u-
dent and
pr of essor st r ai ght
down
t he
mi ddl e, pr oduci ng
t he ver y
ki nd
of f r act ur ed
sensi bi l i t y whi ch
i s t he t r agi c
i nher i t ance of
moder n
West er n
l i f e .
Then what
r ecour se i s t her e? A
r et ur n t o a
pr e- sci ent i f i c st at e?
Thi s
i s
cl ear l y i mpr act i cal ,
even i f i t wer e
desi r abl e. As
I see i t , i t i s not
onl y
undesi r abl e
; i t i s f ool i sh
. Sci ence i s
her e t o st ay.
Technol ogy, a st ep-
si st er of sci ence,
i s al so her e t o
st ay .
Not
onl y must
Af r o- Amer i cans
come
t o gr i ps wi t h
t hat f act , so al so
must t he so- cal l ed
Thi r d Wor l d.
And so
i n f act t hey have
Wi t ness
t he Aswan
Hi gh Dam. Wi t ness
t he
br i l l i ant successes
of t he Chi nese
i n
nucl ear
physi cs . Wi t ness
t he hi s-
t or y
of J apan si nce
t he cont act
wi t h t he West
. Lest one
di smi ss t hi s
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
l i ght l y as West ern i nt el l ect ual i m-
peri al i smor moral
cont ami nat i on,
l et
us recal l t hat t he earl y hi st ory of
sci ence t ook pl ace l argel y i n non-
West ernareas of t he worl d- i n
Af -
ri ca, i n t he mi d- East , i n t he Far
East , and i n pre- Col umbi an Amer-
i ca . Lef t t o devel op wi t hout t he
de-
vast i ng
cont act wi t h t he West , any
one of t hese areas mi ght wel l have
evol ved an i ndependent modern
sci ence, and we have no assurance
t hat t he morenegat i veaspect s of sci -
ent i smwoul d not have devel oped
l i kewi se. Thus, si nce t he st udy of
sci ence seems a nat ural and l ogi cal
enough human pursui t , i t shoul d
have, i t seems t o me, an honored
pl ace i n t he curri cul umof t he Bl ack
Uni versi t y . That pl ace shoul d not
be subordi nat e t o any ot her, f or t he
ri gorous di sci pl i ne i mposed by
sci ent i f i c st udy and t he t hri l l i ng
sweep of t he sci ent i f i c i magi nat i on
woul d be ext remel y val uabl e i n al l
of t he ot her academi c pursui t s of
t he st udent . The resul t woul d be a
newst ruct ure, a newbal ance, and,
one
hopes, a new man- a new
vi si on of what i t means t o be a
man. Thi s woul dbe our gi f t t o our-
sel ves, andt hrough oursel ves t o t he
worl d. Perhaps i t i s not t oo l at e.
St ephen E. Henderson, aut hor of "The Bl ack Uni versi t y : Toward I t s
Real i zat i on, " i s chai rman of t he Depart ment of Engl i sh at Morehouse
Col l ege i n At l ant a, Ga. He i s co- aut hor of A Humani t i es
Handbook
and of a number of short st ori es and art i cl es
.
Hi s art i cl e,
"Bl ues f or
t he
Young Bl ackman, " appeared
i n
t he August 1967
Necxo DI GEST.
NEGRODI GEST March 1968 83
j ust ed f or
pr i ce changes i n 1965
dol l ar s so
t hey show t he act ual
si t uat i on
f or al l f ami l i es dur i ng t he
Si xt i es .
The dat a
on f ami l y i ncome ar e
r el at ed t o t he
number of per sons
wi t hi n t he f ami l y who
ar e pr oduc-
i ng an i ncome. I n 1966
mor e bl ack
t han whi t e f ami l i es
had t wo or
t hr ee per sons wi t hi n t he
f ami l y
br i ngi ng home paychecks,
but st i l l
a bl ack f ami l y wi t h
t hr ee per sons
br i ngi ng home a sal ar y
(medi an i n-
come of $6, 583) made l ess
t han a
whi t e f ami l y wi t h j ust
one ear ner
( $6, 877) .
Bet ween 1963 and 1966
me-
di an
f ami l y i ncome f or bl acks
went
up f r om
$3, 465 t o $4, 628, and
f r om$6, 548 t o
$7, 722 f or whi t es .
I n st at i st i cal
t er ms t he medi an i n-
come f or bl ack
f ami l i es i ncr eased
by 34 per cent
whi l e t he i ncr ease
f or whi t e
f ami l i es was 18 per cent .
Consequent l y, bl ack f ami l i es made
53 per cent as
much as whi t e f ami -
l i es
i n 1963 and 60 per cent
as
much
as whi t e f ami l i es i n 1966
. I t
woul d appear f r om t hese
f i gur es
t hat
bl ack f ami l i es wer e
over t aki ng
whi t e f ami l i es
i n t hei r quest f or a
mor e equi t abl e
shar e of t he nat i on' s
r esour ces, but
i f you l ook at t he
st at i st i cs agai n
and do a l i t t l e cal -
cul at i ng you
wi l l see t hat i n 1963
a whi t e
f ami l y made $3, 083 mor e
t han a bl ack f ami l y
and i n 1966
whi t e f ami l i es
made $3, 094 mor e
t han bl ack f ami l i es .
The dat a show
84
(Cont i nued f r ont page 31)
cl ear l y
t hen, t hat i n r ekr t i ve t er ms
bl ack
f ami l i es ar e over t aki ng
whi t es,
but i n absol ut e t er ms t he
si t uat i on i s
get t i ng wor se.
One of
t he host pr of ound and
per pl exi ng pr obl ems
whi ch has
pl agued t he bl ack
communi t y f or
gener at i ons has been
t he conf l i ct
bet ween mal es and
f emal es . The
i ncome pi ct ur e
f or per sons, as di f -
f er ent i at ed f r om
f ami l i es, shows one
under l yi ng aspect of t hi s
conf l i ct .
Bet ween 1959 and 1966 medi an
i ncome f or bl ack mal es
(25 year s
and ol der ) i ncr eased f r om
$2, 610
t o $3, 665, and f or whi t e
mal es
f r om$4, 851 t o $6, 390. The
per -
cent age i ncr ease i n t he medi an i n-
come of
t he bl ack mal e was 40 per -
cent as
compar ed t o a 32 per cent
i ncr ease ' f or t he whi t e mal e.
I n
1959
a
bl ack man made 54 per -
cent as much as a whi t e
man and
i n 1966 he made 57 per cent as
much. I n act ual dol l ar s t he
bl ack
man made $2, 241 l ess
t han a whi t e
man i n 1959 and
$2, 725 l ess i n
1966. J ust as i t was
i n f ami l y i n-
come, t he r el at i ve
si t uat i on f or t he
bl ack man i mpr oved bet ween
1959
and 1966 whi l e t he absoht t c
: si t ua-
t i on decl i ned.
Of even gr eat er i nt er est
t o our
under st andi ng i s t hat hi gher
l evel s
of educat i on di d not si gni f i cant l y
i mpr ove t he r el at i ve or absol ut e si t -
uat i on of t he bl ack man. I n 1959,
a bl ack man wi t h ei ght year s
of
school
made 73 per cent as much
Mar ch 1968 PJ EGRODI GEST
as
a whi t e
manwi t h a si mi l ar edu-
cat i on; a bl ack hi gh school gr adu-
at e made 68 per cent as much as
a whi t e manwi t h a hi gh school di -
pl oma; and a bl ack manwho had
some col l ege made 64 per cent as
much as a whi t e man wi t h some
col l ege.
I n
act ual dol l ar s t hi s meant
t hat
i n
1959 a bl ack manwi t h an
el ement ar y school educat i onmade
$1, 081 l ess t han a whi t e ; a bl ack
wi t h f our year s of hi gh school made
$1, 794
l ess ;
and a bl ack manwi t h
some col l ege made
$2, 507 l ess .
I n
1966,
a bl ack
man
wi t h el ement ar y
school
educat i on
made 80 per cent
as much as a whi t e ; t he hi gh school
gr aduat e made 70 per cent as
much
;
and t he bl ack manwho went
t o col l ege made 66 per cent as
much; and i n act ual t er ms t he i n-
come di f f er ences wer e $930, $1, -
880, and $3, 095
l ess, r espect i vel y.
As we i ndi cat ed
ear l i er , t he pi c-
t ur e i s a
conf usi ng one, but l et us
summar i ze
t he i ncome si t uat i on of
t he bl ack mani n 1966
as compar ed
t o 1959, and bl ack men as com-
par ed t o whi t e
men. I n1966, bl ack
menhad a hi gher medi an
i ncome
t han i n 1959, and t hi s was t r ue at
al l educat i onal
l evel s . I n 1966, t he
r el at i ve si t uat i onbet weenbl ack
and
whi t e menhad i mpr oved at al l edu-
cat i onal l evel s, but t he absol ut e si t -
uat i on
had i mpr oved onl y f or bl ack
menwi t h ei ght year s of
educat i on.
I t had wor sened f or t hose wi t h hi gh
school di pl omas
or who had at -
t ended col l ege.
Fur t her mor e, t he
r el at i ve si t uat i on had i mpr oved
l east , and t he absol ut e
si t uat i onde-
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch
1968
di ned wor st f or t hose who had col -
l ege
t r ai ni ng. Thi s means t hat at
t he hi gher educat i onal
l evel s whi t e
men ar e movi ng so r api dl y
i n
Amer i ca t hat bl ack men at t he
same l evel s ar e bar el y keepi ng up.
The si t uat i on f or bl ack women
f or t he same per i od of t i me and i n
t he same age
cat egor y i s qui t e di f -
f er ent . Medi an i ncome f or bl ack
womenwent up f r om$959 i n1959
t o $1, 561 i n 1966, and f or whi t e
woment he change was $1, 635 t o
$1, 988 r espect i vel y. I n r el at i ve
t er ms, t he i ncome of bl ack women
i ncr eased by 63 per cent and t hat of
whi t e
women by 22 per cent ,
so
t hat whi l e bl ack womenmade 59
per cent as much as whi t es
i n
1959
t hey made
78 per cent as much i n
1966.
I n
1959, bl ack womenmade
$668 l ess t han whi t es and $427
l ess i n 1966. Ther ef or e i n bot h
r el at i ve and absol ut e t er ms t he i n-
come si t uat i onf or bl ack women
has
i mpr oved
si nce
1959
.
The nat ur e of t he r el at i ve and
absol ut e i mpr ovement i s seenmor e
cl ear l y when
we
anal yze
changes by
educat i onal l evel s . I n1959, a bl ack
woman
wi t h ei ght year s of school
made 85 per cent
as much as a
whi t e woman wi t h si mi l ar educa-
t i on; a bl ack womanwi t h a hi gh
school di pl oma
made 76 per cent
as much as a whi t e woman; and a
bl ack woman wi t h some col l ege
made
94
per cent as much as a
whi t e womanwi t h
si mi l ar educa-
t i on. By 1966, a bl ack womanwi t h
ei ght
year s of school made 92 per -
cent as much
as
a
whi t e woman;
85
a
bl ack womanwi t h a hi gh
school
di pl oma al so made 92 per cent
as
much, and a bl ack
woman wi t h
some col l ege made
13 per cent
mor e t han a whi t e
woman wi t h
si mi l ar educat i on. Medi an
i ncome
f or a bl ack womanwi t h some
col -
l ege
educat i oni n1966was $3, 964,
$445 mor et hant hemedi ani ncome
of t he
whi t e womanwi t h si mi l ar
educat i on.
Al t hough t he dat a
on i ncome
t r ends f or bl acks i s
conf usi ng, we
bel i eve sever al
concl usi ons ar e j us-
t i f i ed. I n t er ms of
f ami l y i ncome
t he bl ack popul at i on
has made
somer el at i ve i mpr ovement s
i n t he
Si xt i es, but our absol ut e si t uat i on
has
r emai ned vi r t ual l y t he same.
I f
wer emember
t hat i t t akes at l east
t hr ee
ear ner s i n a bl ack f ami l y t o
pr oduce
a medi an f ami l y
i ncome
anywher e
cl ose t o t hat of a
whi t e
f ami l y wi t h oneear ner , wecancer -
t ai nl y say
t her e has been no i m-
pr ovement
i n t he i ncome si t uat i on
of t he
bl ack f ami l y ; we have
t o
wor k
t hr eet i mes har der andwe
st i l l
do
not keep up wi t h t he maj or i t y
of
Amer i cans. Whenwe consi der
i ncome of
per sons, i t i s appar ent ,
as i t has l ong
been appar ent , t hat
t he bl ack
f emal e i s much mor e
capabl eof mat chi ng
and exceedi ng
her whi t e
count er par t t han i s t he
bl ack mal e.
Fur t her mor e, whi l e
Mack f emal es
wi t h hi gher l evel s of
educat i on exceed whi t e
f emal es,
Sb
bl ack mal es wi t h hi gher l evel s
of
educat i onf al l f ur t her behi nd
whi t e
mal es. Thi s economi c
pi ct ur e ag-
gr avat es somany of t hesubt l e
psy-
chol ogi cal pr obl ems f aci ng
t he
bl ack f ami l y and t he r el at i ons
be-
t weenbl ack menand women.
Ear l i er , wepoi nt ed t o t wo
con-
t r adi ct or y t r ends i nt he bl ack pop-
ul at i on
dur i ngt heSi xt i es . Thegen-
er al soci al
and economi c pi ct ur eof
bl ack f ami l i es
i n t he ci t i es gi ves
some
f oundat i on t o t he bel i ef of
some
exper t s t hat bl ack peopl emay
be
movi ng i n t wo di r ect i ons . Re-
cent speci al censuses i n many of
t he
maj or ci t i es of t he count r y ar e
showi ng t hat , si nce 1960, t her ehas
been
r el at i vel y l i t t l e i mpr ovement
f or many bl ack f ami l i es and, i n
somecases,
a r ever sal i n our si t ua-
t i on
.
I nmany ci t i es,
t heunempl oy-
ment r at es f or bl acks have beenvi r -
t ual l y t he samet hr oughout t he
Si x-
t i es ; t her e
has been no i mpr ove-
ment i n f ami l y i ncome; and
of t en
t her e i s
a
r i se
i nt he pr opor t i onof
f ami l i es whi ch ar eheaded by wom-
en.
A not abl e exampl e i s t he
Hough ar ea of Cl evel and wher et he
mal e
unempl oyment r at e was vi r -
t ual l y unchanged f r om1960 t o
1965, and f ami l y
i ncome decl i ned
by
12 per cent .
Thesi t uat i oni s not get t i ng wor se
f or al l bl ack peopl e
i nmaj or ci t i es,
however ,
and t he t r ends bear ver y
cl ose obser vat i on and caut i ous
i n-
t er pr et at i ons .
Ther e i s no doubt
t hat
a l ar ger bl ack "mi ddl e- cl ass"
i s comi ng i nt o
exi st ence, and t her e
ar e some
whowoul dhol d t hat t hese
Mar ch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
bl acks ar e bet t er of f , but we
must
ask,
bet t er of f i n r el at i on
t o what ?
Ar e t hey bet t er of f i n
r el at i on t o
t hei r pr evi ous si t uat i on,
i n r el at i on
t o l ow- i ncome bl acks
or i n r el at i on
t o whi t es i n t he same ar eas
i n whi ch
t hey
l i ve?
Some
l i mi t ed dat a f r omCl eve-
l and pr ovi de us
wi t h some t ent at i ve
answer s t o what
may be happen-
i ng t o bl ack
peopl e i n var i ous par t s
of t he l ar ge
ci t i es of t he nat i on .
Whi l e
most of Cl evel and' s bl ack
popul at i on
i s gener al l y f ound i n
ni ne nei ghbor hoods,
some bl ack
peopl e l i ve
out si de of t hese ar eas .
I n 1960,
some 8 . 9 per cent of t he
bl ack
peopl e i n Cl evel and l i ved out -
si de of
t he bl ack communi t y ar ea;
and
i n 1965, 15. 0 per cent of t he
bl ack peopl e
l i ved out si de of t hi s
ar ea. I f we assume
t hat , i n gener al ,
t hose l i vi ng away
f r omt he bl ack
communi t y ar e
mi ddl e- i ncome peo-
pl e, and t hose
wi t hi n t he communi -
t y l ow- i ncome bl acks,
we can com-
par e some of
t he char act er i st i cs of
t hese t wo gr oups of bl acks,
and
t hen
compar e t hemt o mi ddl e- i n-
come whi t es i n Cl evel and. The
t abl e l i st s
some of t he soci al and
economi c char act er i st i cs of t hese
t hr ee gr oups i n
Cl evel and f or 1960
and 1965.
I n 1960, mi ddl e- i ncome bl ack
peopl e
had a f er t i l i t y r at i o ( t he
number of chi l dr en under f i ve f or
ever y 1, 000 women aged
15- 49)
much l ower t han t hat of l ow- i n-
come bl acks, i ndi cat i ng t hat poor
bl acks
had
mor e
chi l dr en t o car e
f or and l ess money wi t h whi ch t o
NEGRODI GEST Mar ch 1968
do so t han t hei r mor e pr osper ous
br ot her s . The pr opor t i on of chi l -
dr en under 18 l i vi ng wi t h bot h
par -
ent s gi ves some i ndi cat i on
of f am-
i l y " st abi l i t y, " and her e t he
mi ddl e-
i ncome bl acks wer e al so bet t er of f
f or a hi gher per cent age of t hei r
chi l dr en l i ve i n " st abl e" f ami l i es .
Fur t her mor e, mi ddl e- i ncome bl acks
had
a
f ul l year mor e of compl et ed
school t han di d t hose i n l ow- i ncome
ar eas .
Al t hough mi ddl e- i ncome bl acks
have an empl oyment
r at e l ower
t han t hat
of
l ow- i ncome
bl acks,
bot hgr oups
have hi gh l evel s of em-
pl oyment .
The di f f er ence bet ween
t he
t wo gr oups
i s
most cl ear l y seen
i n t he i ncome st at i st i cs .
Mi ddl e-
i ncome bl acks have a much
l ower
pr opor t i on of f ami l i es and t he
ver y
l owi ncome cat egor y, and
a hi gher
pr opor t i on i n t he cat egor y of t hose
f ami l i es maki ng f r omei ght t o f i f -
t een t housand dol l ar s per year .
Ther ef or e, t he medi an i ncome of
t he poor bl ack f ami l i es was
onl y 86
per cent as much as t he medi an i n-
come of t he bl ack f ami l i es
l i vi ng
out si de of t he bl ack communi t y.
We can conf i dent l y say t hat
i n
Cl evel and i n 1960 mi ddl e- i ncome
bl acks wer e bet t er of f t han l ow-
i ncome bl acks .
By 1965, t he f er t i l i t y r at i o f or
al l bl ack f ami l i es had dec~i ned con-
si der abl y, but t he
mi ddl e- i ncome
bl acks st i l l had muchl ower f er t i l i -
t y t han l ow- i ncome bl acks . The
pr opor t i on of " st abl e"
f ami l i es i n
t wo communi t i es went i n opposi t e
di r ect i ons ; i t got wor se f or t i r e l ow-
s~
SOCIALAND
ECONOMICCHARACTERISTICSOFLOW-INCOMEBLACKS( L. I . B. ) ,
MIDDLE-INCOMEBLACKS( M
. I . B. ) , ANDMIDDLE-INCOMEWHITES
( M
. I . W. ) ,
INCLEVELAND, 1960and1965.
Fer t i l i t y Rat i o
Chi l dr enunder 18l i vi ng wi t h
bot h par ent s ( %)
Medi anyear s of compl et edschool ,
Per sons 25andover
Unempl oyment Rat e :
Mal es
Femal es
Number of Fami l i es by Inco: ~e-
Under 53, 999
54, 000-57, 999
58, 000-514, 999
515, 000andover
TOTAL
Medi anFami l y Income ( S)
L. LB
. M. LB
. M. LW. L. LB
. M
. LB. M
. LW.
570 486 429
SOURCE: U. S. Bur eau of t he Census, Cur r ent Popul at i onRepor t s, Ser i es P-23, No.
27, J anuar y
23, 1967
' , v' '

~' ~
.

,
~' -
62. 1 78. 4 89. 8
10. 0 11. 6 ( NA)
11. 2
8. 1 3. 8
14
. 5 3. 8 5. 9
39. 8 19. 0 16. 1
38. 6
38
. 6
38
. 3
19. 8
40. 1 39. 7
1. 7 2
. 3 5. 8
100. 0 100. 0 100. 0
~i egOr y ( %)
40. 8 26. 7 17. 4
44. 6 48. 4 50. 3
13. 7
22
. 6 29. 0
1.
0
_2. 3 _3. 3
100. 0 100. 0 100. 0
51, 367 5, 072 131, 436
i ncome bl acks and bet t er f or t he
mi ddl e- i ncome bl acks . Whi l e bot h
gr oups i mpr oved i n t hei r educa-
t i onal l evel s, t he mi ddl e- i ncome
bl acks i mpr oved so much mor er ap-
i dl y t hat by 1965 t hey hadover one
anda hal f year s mor e ' of compl - et ed
educat i on t han di d l ow- i ncome
bl acks .
The unempl oyment pi ct ur e i n
1965 was most i nt er est i ng, f or t he
r el at i onshi p of t he mal es t o
each
ot her di d not change even t hough
t he gener al r at es wer e l ower f or
bot h gr oups . The l ow- i ncome bl ack
women hada hi gher l evel of unem-
pl oyment i n 1965 whi l e t he unem-
pl oyment r at e f or mi ddl e- i ncome
bl ack women pl ummet ed t o bel ow
4 per cent . The ef f ect of t hese di -
ver gi ng t r ends i n f emal e empl oy-
r nent i s seen i n t he i ncome dat a
.
I n
t he l owest i ncome cat egor y
t her e
has
been vi r t ual l y no change f or
l ow- i ncome bl acks
and a dr amat i c
i mpr ovement f or mi ddl e- i ncome
bl acks . Whi l e
bot h gr oups sawi m-
pr ovement s i n t he upper i ncome
cat egor i es,
t her e wer e t wi ce as
many mi ddl e- i ncome bl ack f ami l i es
maki ng f r omei ght
t o $15, 000 per
year as t her e wer e l ow- i ncome
bl acks
. Consequent l y, t he poor
bl ack f ami l i es hada medi an
i ncome
onl y 78 per cent as hi gh as t hat
of
t hei r mor e
pr osper ous br ot her s, a
decl i ne f r omt he 1960- si t uat i on.
I n
1960, t he medi an i ncome f or mi d-
dl e- i ncome
bl ack f ami l i es was
$836 mor e t han i t
was f or l ow-
i ncome bl ack f ami l i es, andby 1965
i t was $1, 562 mor e
. The evi dence
NEGRODI GEST ' Mach Y9L8
sugg. ^st s t hat not onl y
wer e
m
: ddl e-
i ncome bl ack peopl e i n Cl evel and
bet t er of f t han l ow- i ncome bl ack
peopl e i n 1965, i n t he per i od si nce
1960 t he mi ddl e- i ncome bl acks
wer e movi ng f ur t her
away f r om
l ow- i ncome bl acks i n
t er ms of f am-
i l y or gani zat i on,
educat i on, em-
pl oyment ,
and i ncome. The bl ack
popul at i on i n one of Amer i ca' s
maj or
ci t i es i s movi ng i n t wo di f -
f er ent di r ect i ons, i t appear s .
Gi ven t he compar at i ve st andi ng
of mi ddl e- and l ow- i ncome bl ack
f ami l i es t o each ot her i n Cl evel and
i n 1960 and 1965, how do t he
mi ddl e- i ncome bl ack f ami l i es com-
par e t o t he whi t e f ami l i es who l i ve
i n t he same ar ea
as
t hey do? Her e
we ar e unabl e
t o
obt ai n
al l
t he
dat a necessar y f or
compar i son l i ke
t hat above, and t he
avai l abl e dat a
ar e not as sat i sf act or y
as we woul d
wi sh, f or t her e wer e si gni f i cant
changes i n t he number of bl ack
andwhi t e f ami l i es i n t he ar ea under
consi der at i on. Whi l e t he number
of bl ack f ami l i es l i vi ng out si de of
t he bl ack communi t y doubl ed i n
t he f i ve year per i od ( an
i ncr ease
of 100 per cent ) ,
t he number of
whi t e f ami l i es decl i ned
by 10 per -
cent , appar ent l y
as whi t es moved
f ur t her away f r om
mi ddl e- i ncome
bl ack f ami l i es.
I n 1960, bl ack f ami l i es
i n mi d-
dl e- i ncome ar eas of Cl evel and
had
a much hi gher l evel
of f er t i l i t y t han
89
whi t e f ami l i es and
a much l ower
l evel of f ami l y " st abi l i t y
. " Bl ack
peopl e were t wi ce as
l i kel y as
whi t es t o be unempl oyed, and con-
sequent l y
t hey had much l ower
i n-
come l evel s
t han whi t es . Over
a
f ourt h of t he
bl ack f ami l i es f el l i nt o
t he l owest i ncome
cat egory as com-
pared t o a f i f t h of
t he whi t e f ami -
l i es, and i n t he hi gher i ncome
cat e-
gori es
t he whi t es consi st ent l y
out -
st ri pped
t he bl acks .
Some
rat her prof ound changes
had t aken
pl ace by 1965. The
f er-
t i l i t y
l evel of t he bl acks was
much
cl oser t o t hat of t he whi t es as
a
consequence
of a sl i ght ri se i n
whi t e
f ert i l i t y
and a l arge drop i n
bl ack
f ert i l i t y.
Bl ack f ami l i es were
st i l l
charact eri zed
by more " probl ems"
t han whi t e
f ami l i es, however, as
onl y 78 percent
of al l bl ack yout h
under 18 were l i vi ng
wi t h bot h par-
ent s as compared t o 90
percent of
t he
whi t e yout h. The
most si gni f i -
cant
change was i n t he
unempl oy-
ment l evel s .
Bl ack men were st i l l
t wi ce as
l i kel y as whi t e men t o
be
wi t hout empl oyment ,
but bl ack
women
had a much l ower
unem-
pl oyment
rat e, t han
whi t e women.
Fi nal l y, t here
was a consi derabl e
equal i zat i on
i n t he di st ri but i on
of
f ami l i es by i ncome l evel s .
I t i s t rue
t hat more bl ack t han
whi t e f ami l i es
were i n t he
l owest i ncome
cat e-
gory,
but t he di f f erence
bet ween
t he t wo groups
was reduced great l y
.
On t he
ot her hand, t he
di f f erence
i n
t he proport i on of
f ami l i es i n t he
hi ghest
i ncome cat egory
was i n-
creased
i n f avor of
t he whi t es, whi l e
90
i n t he
mi ddl e- range cat egori es
t he
bl ack and
whi t e f ami l i es were
al -
most
equi t abl y di st ri but ed.
The
general poi nt we have been
t ryi ng t o
art i cul at e i n t hi s di scus-
si on of
mi ddl e- and l ow- i ncome
bl ack f ami l i es
i n Cl evel and, and
t hei r compari son t o
whi t e f ami l i es,
i s
i n answer t o t he
quest i on: i f
t hi ngs have been get t i ng
bet t er f or
some
bl ack peopl e i n t he
Si xt i es,
what
does get t i ng bet t er mean?
The
dat a woul dsuggest t hat
mi d-
dl e- i ncome
bl ack f ami l i es are
out - di st anci ng
l ow- i ncome bl ack
f ami l i es
i n Cl evel and, so i n rel at i on
t o each ot her
t he absol ut e and rel a-
t i ve si t uat i on
of mi ddl e- i ncome
bl acks i s
get t i ng bet t er and t hat of
l ow- i ncome
bl acks i s get t i ng worse.
However, i n a
compari son of
mi ddl e- i ncome bl acks t o
whi t es i n
t he
same area, t he dat a are
sug-
gest i ve i f not concl usi ve.
I n 1960,
mi ddl e- i ncome bl ack f ami l i es were
i n
a rat her unf avorabl e posi t i on as
compared t o
whi t e f ami l i es . By
1965,
t he si t uat i on had i mproved
f or t wo possi bl e reasons
: ( 1) Many
whi t e f ami l i es
had moved out of
t he
ci t y i n f l i ght f romt he
i nf l ux of
bl ack peopl e, and
t hose whi t es who
remai n
behi nd may f al l i nt o t he
l owest and hi ghest i ncome
cat egor-
i es, and ( 2)
bl ack women carri ed
a
consi derabl e port i on of t he i n-
come- produci ng act i vi t i es of
bl ack
f ami l i es, t hus
maki ngi t possi bl e f or
t hei r f ami l i es t o exi st i n some
rea-
sonabl e compari son
t o t he whi t e
f ami l i es
who remai ned i n t he area.
The si t uat i on
f or bl ack men as
March 1968
NEGRODI GEST
compared t o whi t e men had not
i mproved at al l ; i t was t he cont i nu-
at i on of t he f emi ni ne pract i ce of
support i ng t he f ami l y whi ch has
apparent l y made i t possi bl e f or t he
bl ack f ami l i es i n Cl evel and t o i m-
prove t hei r
si t uat i on
i n rel at i on
t o
t he whi t e
f ami l i es.
I n
t hi s paper we have t ri ed t o
speci f y some of t he maj or demo-
graphi c t rends i n t he bl ack com-
muni t y i n t he Si xt i es t o underscore
some of t he i ssues t hat must be
t aken i nt o account i n t he devel op-
ment of a Bl ack Uni versi t y. The
dat a i ndi cat e t hat bl ack peopl e are
becomi ng a l arger port i on of t he
popul at i on i n t he nat i on' s l argest
ci t i es, and we have moved i nt o a
si t uat i on of i nf l uent i al cont rol i n at
l east one t hi rd of t he 30 l argest
ci t i es. Ot her dat a whi ch
we have
not di scussed herei ndi cat e
t hat t he
bl acks movi ng i nt o
t he l arger ci t i es
t end t o be young peopl e who
are
bet t er educat ed and more l i kel y t o
engage
i n
whi t e- col l ar occupat i ons
t hant he whi t es who remai ni nt hese
ci t i es . Furt hermore, t he dat a i ndi -
cat e t hat i n t he Si xt i es bl ack
peopl e
have been seeki ng educat i on more
t han ever bef ore
.
However, i n occupat i ons,
and
i n
empl oyment , t here has been no
subst ant i al i mprovement
f or t he
bl ack popul at i on, wi t h t he
excep-
t i on
of some not abl e changes f or
bl ack women. Whi l e bl ack
peopl e
have shown i mprovement over
previ ous
peri ods
i n
i ncome, i n rel a-
t i on t o whi t es i n Ameri ca t he si t -
uat i on i s not as f avorabl e. Bl ack
NEGRODI GEST
March 1968
men, part i cul arl y t hose wi t h hi gher
l evel s of educat i on,
are
no
more
abl e nowt hant hey were previ ousl y
t o mat chwhi t e meni ni ncome
.
On
t he ot her hand, bl ack womencom-
pare much
more
f avorabl y
wi t h
whi t e women i n produci ng" i n-
comes. and at t he hi gher educat i on-
al l evel s bl ack womencl earl y
excel
whi t e womeni n i ncome. Whenwe
can separat e mi ddl e- and l ow- i n-
come bl acks, we see
t hat
mi ddl e-
i ncome bl acks are i mprovi ng t hei r
soci al andeconomi c si t uat i on much
f ast er t han l ow- i ncome bl acks ;
t hus t he t wo groups are get t i ng
f urt her apart , andt here
i s evi dence
t hat mi ddl e- i ncome bl ack f ami l i es
have
been abl e t o make gai ns on
mi ddl e- i ncome whi t e f ami l i es but
pri mari l y because of t he i ncome-
produci ng
abi l i t y of bl ack women.
Abl ack uni versi t y
must address
i t sel f t o t he changes t aki ng pl ace i n
t he
bl ack communi t y, and t wo pro-
f ound condi t i ons have been pre-
sent ed i n t hi s art i cl e. We must
caref ul l y consi der t he
consequences
of t he f act t hat , i n t hese t i mes, t he
burden of
f ami l y support st i l l f al l s
heavi l y upont he shoul ders of bl ack
women. Howt hi s af f ect s bl ack men
i n part i cul ar and
bl ack f ami l i es i n
general must be gi ven very
cl ose
at t ent i on as we at t empt t o respond
t o t he condi t i ons and
needs of t he
bl ack communi t y. Secondl y,
we
must consi der t he si gni f i cance of
t he spl i t bet ween mi ddl e- and
l ow-
i ncome
bl acks t hat has cl earl y de-
vel oped i n t he Si xt i es.
I t woul d
91
seem
saf e t o say t hat many pr osper -
ous
bl acks ar e bei ng r ewar ded i n
t hi s count r y whi l e many
poor
bl acks ar e t aki ng t o t he st r eet s.
Ther e must be a phi l osophy
and
i deol ogy whi ch wi l l uni t e t he bl ack
communi t y r egar dl ess of economi c
condi t i on or soci al st at us. I f our
pr osper ous
br ot her s cont i nue t o
pr osper by put t i ng
t hei r wi ves i n
9 2
t he l abor f or ce and begi n t o
f or get ,
i t may wel l be t hat i n t he
1960' s,
one cent ur y af t er t he
Emanci pa-
t i on decade of t he 1860' s,
we may
see t he r ei nst at ement of t he
ol d
"house- sl ave" ver sus "f i el d- sl ave"
di chot omy, usi ng i ncome, educa-
t i on
and pl ace of r esi dence as t he
basi s
of di f f er ent i at i on. "Lor d have
mer cy. "
J . Her man
Bl ake, aut hor of "The Bl ack
Uni ver si t y and I t s Com-
muni t y, " i s
act i ng assi st ant pr of essor of
Soci ol ogy
at
Cowel l Col l ege,
Sant a Cr uz, one of
t he ar ms of t he mul t i - l i mbed
Uni ver si t y of Cal i -
f or ni a. TheNewYor k
Uni ver si t y gr aduat e al so
wr ot e "TheAgony and
t he Rage, " a descr i pt i on
of exper i ences on t he
Cal i f or ni a campus, i n
t he Mar ch 1967NEGRO
DI GEST.
Mar ch 1968 NEGRO
DI GEST
"i ON ONYE
LOCKARD
i s a s el f -
t aught ar t i s t ,
a f act whi ch
mi ght have s omet hi ng t o
do wi t h hi s choi ce of s ub-
j ect s . For , as an ar t i s t ,
Mr . Lockar di s not much
concer ned about t he ar t
cl as s ' geomet r i cs and t he
del i cacy of s hadowon a
r os e; hi s ar t i s di r ect ed
t owar d
human bei ngs
and t o del i neat i ng t hei r
beaut y,
t hei r angui s h and
t hei r
j oys .
The
i mpact of Mr .
Lockar d' s
wor k i s evi -
dent
on t he next t hr ee
pages , but i t i s t o be
r egr et t ed t hat NE~xODi -
cEST
i s unabl e t o r epr o-
duce t he t hr ee pai nt i ngs
i n col or
. For col or - i n mor e t han
one
s ens e- i s mos t i mpor t ant i n
Mr .
Lockar d' s wor k. Thef aces and
t he
hands ar e bl ack, ver y bl ack,
but
t ouched
wi t h t hat deep umber
whi ch
s ugges t s t he ear t h. And t he
backgr ounds ,
whi ch appear
mer e-
l y
dar k i n bl ack and whi t e,
ar e
s hades of bl ue, r ed and f l ame-
or ange i n t he or i gi nal .
Mr . Lockar d, a Det r oi t
nat i ve,
cur r ent l y l i ves and wor ks
i n Ann
Ar bor , Mi ch. , wher e hi s
s t udi o
(Ann Ar bor Ar t Cent r e, 215
S.
Four t h Ave. ) i s l ocat ed.
He
f or -
mer l y oper at ed St udi o 21 i n
De-
NEGRODI GEST
Mar ch 1968
t r oi t , s peci al i zi ng
i n commer ci al ar t
and i l l us t r at i ons , and
at t ended
Wayne St at e Uni ver s i t y
as an ar t
maj or .
He now
concent r at es on
por t r ai t s .
Col or pr i nt s of
t he pai nt i ngs
r epr oduced her e ar e
avai l abl e
t hr ough Mr . Lockar d' s
s t udi o.
They ar e 16 by 20
i nches i n s i ze
and s el l f or $10. 00
each . They al s o
ar e avai l abl e
f r amed at addi t i onal
cos t . Fr amed
8 x 10 pr i nt s ar e
avai l abl e f or $4. 95.
The unf r amed
pr i nt s al s o ar e avai l abl e
at Vaughn' s
Book St or e i n Det r oi t
and at El l i s '
Book St or e i n Chi cago.
93
The B2aek
Messi ah: Descri bi ng
t hi s pai nt i ng,
t he
Rev. Al bert Cl eage
of Det roi t ' s
Cent ral Uni t ed
Church
of
Chri st t ermed
i t a"st rongbl ack
f aceunder a
crown
of
t horns,
suBeri ng, beat en,
humi l i at ed, but
unde-
f eat ed
. " The f i gure
has
symbol i c bl ue i n hi s
eyes.
94

Morch 1968
NEGRODI GEST
Pl eaForASecondChance: Work-wornhands,
l ovel y
i n t hei r t est i mony t o l i f e, ri se i n suppl i cat i on
and
sacri f i re. Terror--al ways present i nhere
bl nck men
l i ve
amongwhi t e men-t hreat ens,
but l i f e wi l l ,be
ren~>u~edevenagai n, andt he hands wi l l , grow
st ronger.
NEGRODI GEST March 1968
95
96
I nterrupti on
: Morethan another
versi onof Mother
andChi l d,
thi s pai nti ng speaks to
thenewvi saonof
bl ack
Ameri cans, whonow
seethei r ownbeauty,
but
i t al so
cel ebrates the wi l l to
endure of the bl ack
peopl e. The
mother succors the
chi l d as f i re rages
.
March 1968 NEGRO
DI GEST
That somethi ng i s gr avel y wr ong
wi th the conventi onal appr oach
to
the educati on of bl ack chi l dr en no l onger
i s ar guabl e. Much of the
pr ob-
l em, of cour se, i s gener al :
ther e i s somethi ng gr avel y wr ong wi th
Amer i -
can educati on,
per i od. However , as al ways i n a soci ety whi ch- bei ng
r aci st by
natur e- assi gns oppor tuni ti es and r ewar ds
accor di ng to r ace
and col or ,
thosepeopl e suf f er most who ar e
r egar ded l east, and those peo-
pl e i n the
Amer i can soci ety ar e bl ack peopl e
. I t i s a hopef ul si gn that some
of the br i ghtest
young peopl e who have
chosen educati on as thei r pr o-
f essi on ar e
deepl y concer ned about the def i ci enci es
of exi sti ng educa-
ti onal
i nsti tuti ons, par ti cul ar l y as these i nsti tuti ons
r el ate to bl ack students
and the
communi ti es f r om whi ch the
students come. These educa-
tor s ar e no
l onger wi l l i ng- as so many
of thei r pr edecessor s wer e-
to si t back
comf or tabl y and gar ner l aur el s
and enj oy status whi l e the
tal ent and
potenti al of the masses of bl ack chi l dr en
ar e cr i mi nal l y wasted.
The i dea of
a Bl ack Uni ver si ty- an i nsti tuti on
desi gned to ser ve the r eal
and total
needs of the bl ack communi ty- has
taken r oot, and ther e i s
ever y
r eason to bel i eve that the i dea wi l l
gr owand eventual l y take con-
cr ete
shape.
The
speci al i ssue of NEGRODI GEST
devoted to a consi der ati on
of the
concept
of the Bl ack Uni ver si ty
devel oped thr ough
di scussi ons wi th
Ger al d
McWor ter , a r ecent Ph. D.
gr aduate of the Uni ver si ty
of Chi cago
now
an assi stant pr of essor of Soci ol ogy
at Fi sk Uni ver si ty i n
Nashvi l l e .
I n hi s
outl i ne l etter to the
other contr i butor s to thi s speci al
i ssue of
NEGRO
DI GEST, Mr . McWor ter
sai d that the ar ti cl es deal i ng
wi th f acets
of the
pr oposed Bl ack Uni ver si ty
woul d concer n themsel ves
wi th "a
vi si on,
the ar ti cul ati on of an `ought'
. . . f or the f utur e . . . "
He made
i t cl ear
that the concept of the Bl ack
Uni ver si ty, as envi si oned
by hi msel f
and
the edi tor s, was concer ned
wi th the enti r e spectr um
of soci al , eco-
nomi c,
psychol ogi cal and
cul tur al i mper ati ves whi ch
char acter i ze, i n-
f l uence
and contr ol the
bl ack communi ty.
I n
a f ur ther cl ar i f i cati on
by the edi tor s,
the Bl ack Uni ver si ty
concept
was
descr i bed as al so
bei ng "concer ned
wi th the ar t of bl ack
peopl e,
and
wi th the devel opment
and ar ti cul ati on
of a bl ack estheti c . I t
i s con-
cer ned wi th the consci ous
str engtheni ng of
those i nsti tuti ons whi ch
make
the
bl ack communi ty
vi abl e, and i t i s dedi cated
to the l i ber ati on of
bl ack
students ( and
bl ack peopl e gener al l y)
f r omthe i nhi bi ti ng and cr i ppl i ng
pr esumpti ons whi ch
have been i mposed
upon bl ack l i f e and
cul tur e f r om
outsi de the bl ack
communi ty. "
NEGRODI GEST Mor ch 1968
The
pr oj ect ed speci al i ssue on t he
Bl ack Uni ver si t y was concei ved
wi t hf i ve
basi c ar t i cl es i n mi nd, pl us t wo
"case st udi es" of exi st i ng bl ack
educat i onal
i nst i t ut i ons . The pr oposed ar eas
of concer n f or t he f i ve
ar t i cl es
wer e as f ol l ows : 1 . "The Bl ack
Uni ver si t y : Towar d a Concept ual
Model " ;
2. "Pol i cy and Suppor t : Tr ust ees,
Admi ni st r at i ons and Fund-
i ng" ; 3 .
"TheAcademi c Pr ocess : Facul t y,
St udent s, Cour ses, Resear ch" ;
4. "The
Bl ack Uni ver si t y and I t s Communi t y
: Soci al Change i n t he
Si xt i es"
; and 5 . "The I nt er nat i onal
Per spect i ve: The Thi r d Wor l d. "
That t he ar t i cl es as pr esent ed f al l shor t
of t he goal set f or t he speci al
i ssue of t he magazi ne
i s t est i mony mor e t o t he i nf l exi bl e demands
of
deadl i nes and t he pr eci ousness
of t i me t han t o any f ai l i ng on t he
par t
of t he cont r i but or s, al l
educat or s of t he hi ghest compet ency.
Despi t e t he
i nadequacy of t i me,
however , t hey have pr esent ed her e an ur gent
and
i magi nat i ve educat i onal pr ospect ,
one whi ch wi l l sur el y engage bl ack
st udent s and educat or s mor e deepl y
i n t he days t o come. For t hei r ef f or t s
and f or t hei r ser vi ce
t o
t he communi t y,
NEGxODI GEST i s most gr at ef ul .
HOYT W. FULLER
Managi ng Edi t or
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ACul t?
A
Fraterni ty?
AWayof
Li f e?
What I s
Thi s
~T' hi nc~
Cal l ed
Negri tude`s
For Af ri ca i n
parti cul ar-and f or
much of the
rest of the
worl d i n general -the
era of West-
ern di scovery,
expl orati on and
occupati on con-
sti tuted a l ong
ni ght of expl oi tati on
and domi -
nati on. And
whi l e Col oni al i smscourged
most of
the non-whi te
worl d, onl y the
bl ack men f rom
Af ri ca were massi vel y
ensl aved, corral l ed
by the
mi l l i ons and
transported i n chai ns
across the seas
to al i en l ands .
Torn f romthei r roots,
f orbi dden
access to thei r
cul tural sustenance,
assi gned rol es
as eternal drones,
the bl ack men f rom
Af ri ca,
drawi ng f romsome
uncommon raci al
reservoi r,
nonethel ess f oundthe
strengthandthe
strategy to endure.
The l ong ni ght i s now
recedi ng
bef ore a newdawn,
but the comi ng
l i ght al one cannot
heal the deep af f l i cti on
i nduced
by the prol ongeddarkness
. Strong medi ci ne
i s requi red to cure
the di sease of
degrada-
ti on, and Negri tude
has been of f ered as
anti dote to the
anci ent evi l of anti -bl ack
raci sm.
I t was
a group of bl ack
i ntel l ectual s i n
Pari s whof i rst advanced
the i dea of
Negri tude
-Cesai re
Ai me, a poet f rom
the French
Anti l l es, and Leopol d
Sedor Senghor,
a poet-
statesman
f romSenegal ,
chi ef among
Them. Senghor, now
Presi dent of the
Republ i c of
Senegal ,
remai ns the
pri nci pal proponent
of Negri tude,
and he sums i t up
i n these
words :
"Negri tude i s the
whol e compl ex
of ci vi l i zed
val ues-cul tural , economi c,
soci al
and
pol i ti cal -whi ch
characteri ze The
bl ack peopl es, or,
more preci sel y,
the Negro-
Af ri can
worl d. . . I n
other words, the
sense of communi on,
the gi f t of myth-maki ng,
the
gi f t of rhythm
. . . a myth
whi chevol ves
wi thi ts ci rcumstances
i nto a f ormof
humani sm. . . "
Uni ted
Nati ons Presi dent
Al ex
Ctuai son-Sackey of Ghana
def i nes Negri tude
as "an
acceptance
and af f i rmati on
of the
qual i ty of ' bl ackness'
. . . a psychol ogi cal
gatheri ng
together of
al l bl ack
peopl es i n the
spi ri tual bonds of
brotherhood. " And
Ameri can
prof essor St.
Cl ai r Drake
terms Negri tude "a
sof t and
resi l i ent rather than a
hard and
mechani cal
approachto
l i f e . . . a deep
resentment over
subordi nati on to whi te
peopl e
duri ng the 400
years of sl ave
trade and the
subsequent
structuri ng of caste
rel ati ons
here andi n
Af ri ca : '
Negri tude,
then, i s al so a f orm
of raci al i sm-Yes,
but i n the words
of Frenchphi l osopher
J ean-Paul Sartre,
"anti raci al
raci al i sm. "
Therei n l i es the di f f erence
. And Dr . Drake
expl ai ns :
"Anti -raci st raci al i sm
was brought i nto
vi ewby i ts
opposi te, whi chi s
aggressi ve,
expl oi tati ve raci sm
. Andthe
whol e concept
of Negri tude assumes
i n i ts di al ecti c that
anti -raci st raci al i smi s
desti ned to
di sappear : `
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