ALKALIMAT, PH.D

have written; it is a simple contribution to a very paradoxical, contradictory journey on the road to an African cultural understanding of humanity.

Sankofa Black Studies: Rethinking Origins for the Future

by Abdul Alkalimat, Ph.D. Professor Emeritus Department of African American Studies and School of Information Sciences University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign

Black studies, in all its organizational forms and names, has a history that reaches back for over a century. It is therefore appropriate to use the Sankofa principal of looking back in history to learn what is useful to guide us into the future. Times have changed, but our challenge remains learning lessons from the past that we can use today. This short essay is based on my recent book, The History of Black Studies (2021). At its origin, Black studies combines three dialectics: 1) The campus and the community 2) Theory and practical experience 3) Academic excellence and social responsibility Our critical imperative is to understand how these contradictions worked to advance the freedom struggle over the last 50 years and how we can look forward to the next 50 years of social progress toward freedom. Black studies originated from the agency of Black liberation based on the community, both directly and indirectly, through the efforts of students coming to campus with the selfdetermination politics of the community. The practical experience of confronting institutional racism stimulated students and faculty in Black studies to investigate Black intellectual history and embrace the theories and methods found there—as summed up in the slogan I created for NCBS, “academic excellence and social responsibility.” In summation, the creation of Black studies in the academic mainstream was a project of the Black Power Movement. The movement fought on many battlefronts, including electoral

politics, job advancement, business development, and integration into sectors of society that had been segregated by law and then by practice. These experiences, and their historical development, became foundational elements for courses in the curricula of Black studies programs. Over the course of 50 years, Black studies has been increasingly shaped by the institutional norms of higher education. Faculty careers are guided mainly by decisions of faculty and administrators, not forces in the community. The relative privilege of academic freedom has facilitated personal choices delinked from accountability to the needs of the community, both in terms of research and curriculum development. The goal of Black liberation is no longer the dominant tendency in Black studies, but it is not entirely gone. The challenge is to bring it back as the guiding principle it once was. There has been abundant research on aspects of the Black liberation movement. This is important documentation that anchors our history in the memory of library collections. What is needed now is for Black studies scholars to link their work with the veterans of the movement, and with the current activists. This is the link between academic excellence and social responsibility, top scholarship and the rebirth of the movement, that we need to advance our people’s struggle toward liberation. In the 1960s, the Black liberation movement was a dominant force, creating the basis for social progress, including Black studies. Today, the dominant force is a rising fascist tide that has reached from the rural districts of every state all the way into both houses of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the White House. The police killings, the court decisions, and the antiscience disinformation campaign in the media is set on reversing all forms of social progress. This forms the social environment for the current attack on critical race theory. The full meaning of this is that actually, Black studies are under attack. What can we learn from history? The slogan Black Power was attacked, and we countered with a forceful embrace of that concept. We made it acceptable first and foremost among Black people, and then we proceeded to turn it into public policy with the Black caucus organizational form as a self-determination initiative. Today, our challenge is to embrace the concept of critical race theory as a central tenet of Black studies. The battle is on, and we must close ranks and beat back the attack. Of course, the attack is first being made in the community, with the target placed on local school boards. The challenge is for the Black studies programs in each state to respond, to rally support by holding Zoom sessions or even personal appearances by scholars at local meetings in the community. This is not a side issue, but a direct attack on Black studies. Another lesson from history is the value of Black studies professional organizations entering into discussion with Black liberation organizations. Two such examples include a 1974 forum jointly sponsored by the African Liberation Support Committee and the African Heritage Studies Association, and the 1982 sixth annual national convention of NCBS. The challenge is to motivate scholars to get more active in the Black liberation struggle, and to prompt movement activists to study and raise their level of theoretical understanding. To follow through on this initiative, we need an action plan for Black studies. The many hours of student research can be directed to an action program based on our great mission: academic excellence and social responsibility. Rebuilding our role as intellectual workers in

defense of the Black community must be done in the coming struggles against the growing tide of fascism and white supremacy. These proposals can be worked into the curriculum in Black studies, and in that way can bring about a renaissance of student relevance.

1) We need a history of Black studies on every campus: This will document the importance of the Black Power Movement as the origin of Black studies. The ancestors must be remembered. 2) We need a history of all local Black communities: Every community has survived based on mass struggles against all forms of racist exploitation and oppression. The ancestors must be remembered. 3) We need to document Black community institutions: Every institution represents resources that can be activated in the struggle for social justice. The ancestors must be remembered. 4) We need to document the Black liberation movement: Black studies can play an archival function for movement campaigns, assisting activists in understanding their practice. The ancestors must be remembered. 5) We need to document Black organizations: The details of organizational life are the life blood of our resistance. We need to replicate the skills necessary for organizational sustainability. The ancestors must be remembered. 6) We need to compile comprehensive bibliographies: We secure memory with a record of what has been done. This documents the contribution of every generation. The ancestors must be remembered. 7) We need to document curricula in Black studies: After 50 years, we have developed courses that map a multitude of intellectual concerns. There is no need to keep reinventing the wheel from scratch. The ancestors must be remembered. 8) We need to document our conferences: Each time we gather for discussion and debate, we create a treasure trove of intellectual content. The tools for digital documentation are at our command. This is work that must be done. The ancestors must be remembered. 9) We need to compile comprehensive webliographies: The content we create in cyberspace can be shared to build a common body of knowledge for activists and scholars alike. The ancestors must be remembered. 10)We need to find new ways to publish: If we can say it, we can put it into print. This applies to every presentation, conference panel, or even class lectures. In fact, we need to dig out the tapes of the past and get them transcribed. The ancestors must be remembered. Of course, this action plan is but the start of what needs to be done. The main lesson is that Black studies was a creation of the Black Power Movement. We need to reconnect and rebuild. The biggest battles against the fascist white supremacy movement are yet to come. More will likely be killed, and more injustice will prevail. We must reorganize Black studies and get prepared. We must pay attention to this comment in George Orwell’s novel 1984: “Who controls the past, controls the future: Who controls the present, controls the past.”