The HBCU Syllabus Considering the past, exploring the present, and imagining the future
Curated by Tiffany D. Pogue, PhD
Introduction During early 2017, over one hundred
As the daughter of HBCU graduates, who is
presidents of Historically Black Colleges and
also an HBCU graduate and an Assistant
Universities (HBCUs) met with President
Professor at an HBCU, I felt it important to
Donald Trump. Backlash from this meeting
curate a list of resources that might expand
swiftly traveled across social media. Folks of
our current conversations about these
all walks of life wondered if this meeting
schools. I imagine the syllabus as a dynamic
would benefit HBCUs or if the President
offering that will grow with your help. The
simply used these administrators for a
final page of this syllabus gives greater
convenient photo opportunity.
details on how you can assist me with this endeavor.
I cannot pretend to know what lies in the minds of any of the meetings' attendees. What I do know is that the policy signed after that meeting will hold implications that we may not yet know for these institutions. As I've thought about how people discussed this historic event, I have found that far too many of us lack critical insights into HBCUs and how they've operated within our communities.
Tiffany D. Pogue, PhD WWW.HBCUPROF.COM WWW.TIFFANYDPOGUE.COM
History Resources about the histories of HBCUs
Culture & Ethnic Studies Resources about cultural and ethnic studies related to HBCUs
The Arts Resources about the Arts at HBCUs
Games, Parties, & Homecoming Resources about athletics and game culture at HBCUs
Policy, Reform, & Futures Imagined Resources revolving around the question ""Where to from here?" are included.
The Clever Trickster Nothing is what it seems
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History
a consideration of our roots The resources curated in this section are designed to familiarize you with the histories of HBCUs in the United States. Despite what US Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has suggested, the establishment of our institutions was not about school choice; it was about necessity. What a general understanding of these institutions’ histories reveals is commitment to education, dedication to community, pursuit of excellence, and tremendous effort towards the achievement of social justice and full citizenry rights for all. This section contains resources to outline some of this rich history.
Allen, W. R. & Jewell, J. O. (2002). A backward glance forward: Past, present and future perspectives on historically Black colleges and universities. The Review of Higher Education, 25(3), 241-261. Anderson, J. D. (1978). Northern foundations and the shaping of southern Black rural education, 19021935. History of Education Quarterly, 18(4), 371-396. Brown II, M. C.; Donahoo, S.; Bertrand, R. (2001). The Black college and the quest for educational opportunity. Urban Education, 36(5), 553-571. *This article is part of a special issue dedicated to HBCUs other references in this syllabus come from that same special issue. Gasman, M. & Hilton, A. (2012). Mixed motivations, mixed results: A history of law, legislation, historically Black colleges and universities, and interest convergence. Teachers College Record, 114(7), 1-34. Grandison, K. I. (1999). Negotiated space: The Black college campus as a cultural record of postbellum America. American Quarterly, 51(3), 529-579.
“Isn’t it our responsibility to touch as many lives as we can?” Dr. Johnetta B. Cole
Lemelle, T. J. (2002). The HBCU: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow. Education, 123 (1), 190197. Lovett, B. L. (2011). America’s historically Black colleges and universities: A narrative history from the nineteenth century into the twenty-first century. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press. Pierson, S. G. (2014). HBCU laboratory schools and Alabama State College Lab High in the era of Jim Crow. NY: Peter Lang.
Culture & Ethnic Studies Because of the diversity found on most HBCU campuses, they are prime sites for the consideration of culture and ethnic studies. Not only that, these schools have also helped lead the way in these disciplines. This section presents resources that outline the contributions and speculations about culture and ethnicity created by, and about, these institutions.
Baldwin, J.A.; Duncan, J. A.; & Bell, Y. R. (1987). Assessment of African self-consciousness among Black students from two college environments. Journal of Black Psychology, 13(2), 27-41. Cooper, J.E.; Massey, D.; & Graham, A. (2006). Being “Dixie” at a historically Black university: A white faculty member’s exploration of Whiteness through the narratives of two Black faculty members. Negro Educational Review, 57(1/2), 117-135. Douglas, T.R.M. (2012). HBCUs as sites of resistance: The malignity of materialism, Western masculinity, and spiritual malefaction. The Urban Review, 44(3), 378-400. Exkano, J. (2012). Toward an African cosmology: Reframing how we think about historically Black colleges and universities. Journal of Black Studies, 44(1), 63-80. Freeman, K. & Cohen, R.T. (2001). Bridging the gap between economic development and cultural empowerment: HBCU’s challenges for the future. Urban Education, 36(5), 585-596.
Gubrium, A. C. & Mazhani, T. (2008). Sharing race, the personal, and the political from multiple social locations at an HBCU. Qualitative Inquiry, 15(3), 448-466. Levinson, A. (2000). As different as day and night. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 16(23), 30.
The Arts There is no limit to the number of HBCU alumni that grace popular culture with their presences. In this section, resources related to HBCUs’ and HBCU alumni’s contributions to the arts are offered for examination. Carter, B. A. (2013). “Nothing Better or Worse Than Being Black, Gay, and in the Band”: A critical examination of gay undergraduates participating in historically Black college or university marching bands. Journal of Research in Music Education, 61(1), 26-43. Gates Jr, H. L. (2003). Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Black School: Architecture and Identity at a Historically Black University Jill Bambury, RAIC. Twenty on 20/20 vision, 83. Medford, G. S. (2004). Deconstructing the dominant: Educational theatre in historically Black colleges and universities as critical pedagogy sites. In Teaching theatre today: pedagogical views of theatre in higher education (pp. 175-193). Palgrave Macmillan US. Stewart, P. (2009). HBCU Women Light Up Stage and Screen. Diverse Issues in Higher Education, 26(3), 5. https://hbcubuzz.com/2015/02/50-famous-hbcu-alumni/
Games, Parties, & There’s no time in the world like Homecoming at an HBCU. These periods of celebration are as close to authentic African Diaspora carnivals as any other. Jubilation and reconnection are major themes. This section highlights resources related to the phenomena of HBCU homecoming, athletics, and recreational activities.
"A writer should get as much
Homecoming Gasman, M., & Abiola, U. (2016). Colorism Within the Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). Theory Into Practice, 55(1), 39-45. McCarther, S. M., Davis, D. M., & Caruthers, L. (2012). A place called homecoming: memories of celebration and tradition by successful AfricanAmerican graduates of Lincoln University in Missouri from 1935 to 1945. The Journal of Educational Foundations, 26(3/4), 7. Rodgers, R. P. (2015). It’s HBCU Classic Time!. The Athletic Experience at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Past, Present, and Persistence, 145.
education as possible, but just going to school is not enough; if it were, all owners of doctorates would be inspired writers." _Gwendolyn Brooks
Stone, G. W., Cort, K. T., & Nkonge, J. (2012). An exploratory model of the antecedent factors contributing to fan support/attendance at HBCU basketball games. Atlantic Marketing Journal, 1(1), 2.
Policy, Reform, & Futures Imagined It is no secret that HBCUs face inequitable funding, negative stereotypes, and policy implications that are far from friendly. How these schools face their oppression is something to be examined and imagined. In this section, resources outline policy and reform agendas that affect these institutions as well as the ways scholars and alumni alike have (re)imagined a bright future for our beloved institutions. Albritton, T. J. (2012). Educating our own: The historical legacy of HBCUs and their relevance for educating a new generation of leaders. The Urban Review, 44(3), 311-331. Andrews, D. R.; No, S.; Powell, K. K.; Rey, M. P.; Yigletu, A. (2015). Historically Black colleges and universities’ institutional survival and sustainability. Journal of Black Studies, 47(2), 150-168. Bolden, W. S.; Brown, C. E.; Cole, J. B.; Cole Jr, T. W.; Cook, S. D.; Hatton, B. R.; Jackson, N.R.; Johnson, J.B.; Joiner, B.; Jolley, S.D.; Perdue, W. A.; Smith, H.B.; Taylor, Charles, E.; Tucker, S. J.; Williams, W. C.; & Threatt, R. (2012). Why do we need HBCUs and qualities for successful leadership: Perspectives from past HBCU presidents. *Highlights from this oral history project can be found at https://vimeo.com/61117415 Collins, D. E. (2015). Three Things HBCUs Could Do to Survive and Succeed. Academe, 101(5), 27. Patterson, G. C.; Dunston, Y.L.; & Daniels, K.N. (2013). Extreme makeover: Preserving the HBCU mission through service learning pedagogy. Journal of African American Studies, 17(2), 154-161.
The Clever Trickster The early presidents of HBCUs fought against legislated segregation and threats of violence in order to keep their students safe, control their curricula, and maintain necessary funding. Their private and public faces were not always the same when they did so. Much like Ananse the Spider and Exu the Trickster, early HBCU presidents used slight of hand and clever manipulation to achieve their goals. This section does two things. First, it presents some resources created by these presidents themselves. Second, it juxtaposes these resources with those that provide information from the historical context that help us see some of these individuals’ clever slights of hand. Agazie, M. (2009). Joseph W. Holley: A Leader in Hostile Territory. Leadership & Organizational Management Journal, 2009(3). Anderson, E., & Moss, A. A. (1999). Dangerous donations: Northern philanthropy and southern Black education, 1902-1930. University of Missouri Press. Anderson, J. D. (1988). The education of Blacks in the South, 1860-1935. University of North Carolina Press. Bellamy, D. D. (1976). James H. Torbert: Forgotten benefactor of Black people. Negro History Bulletin, 39(3), 549. Bellamy, D. D. (1977). Henry Alexander Hunt's crusade for quality public education of Black Georgians. The Negro Educational Review, 28(2), 85. Fairclough, A. (2001). Tuskegee's Robert R. Moton and the Travails of the Early Black College President. The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education, (31), 94. Holley, J. W., & Ramsey, R. W. (1949). You can't build a chimney from the top. University Press of America. O’Brien, T. V. (2007). Perils of accommodation: The case of Joseph W. Holley. American Educational Research Journal, 44(4), 806-852. Ramsey, B. C. (1980). The University System Controversy Reexamined: The Talmadge-Holley Connection. The Georgia Historical Quarterly, 64(2), 190-203.
Call for Resources One of the glaring holes in this current edition of the HBCU Syllabus is its lack of focus on academics explicitly. No worries; I am currently working on a 2nd edition now. As I mentioned previously, I imagine this syllabus as a dynamic document that will grow as those of us committed to HBCUs and their legacies work to educate others about our beloved schools. Submissions and recommendations for resources to be added may be emailed by June 10, 2017 to tiffany.pogue@asurams.edu and type HBCU Syllabus in the subject line.
Please feel free to share this syllabus and this call with your networks.
Forward ever...together, tdp