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The Path to Activism: a Qualitative Study of How Six Undergraduates of Color Became Activists While Attending the University of Michigan

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The Path to Activism: a Qualitative Study of How Six Undergraduates of Color Became Activists While Attending the University of Michigan THE PATH TO ACTIVISM: A QUALITATIVE STUDY OF HOW SIX UNDERGRADUATES OF COLOR BECAME ACTIVISTS WHILE ATTENDING THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN by Christine N. Navia A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Education) in The University of Michigan 2008 Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Eric L. Dey, Chair Professor Barry Checkoway Associate Professor Carla O’Connor Adjunct Associate Professor David Schoem ∞ “Every man must decide whether he will walk in the light of creative altruism or the darkness of destructive selfishness. This is the judgment. Life’s most persistent and urgent question is, What are you doing for others?” -- Martin Luther King, Jr. ∞ “Who ever walked behind anyone to freedom? If we can’t go hand in hand, I don’t want to go.” -- Hazel Scott ∞ “Give me where to stand, and I will move the earth.” -- Archimedes ∞ © Christine N. Navia 2008 Dedication For my father from whom I inherited my sense of justice and fair play: Maximiaño Navia For my nephews—known in certain prestigious circles as Bubba and The Peanut—who remind me time and again that the fundamental purposes of our lives are to give love openly and accept love openly: Michael Patrick, Jr. McDevitt and Christopher Max McDevitt In loving memory of the first person to introduce me to the extraordinary enterprise known as higher education: Arthur F. Quern (1942-1996) ii Acknowledgments I read somewhere once that the words we speak rarely fall away into silence; what really happens is that they spiral up through skies, whirling on into the galaxy where they echo over and over again among all of the other words that have been spoken through time. Under different circumstances, I might think twice about uttering one more phrase and sending it into what I’m sure must be an overly crowded, noisy universe by now. But I’ve been the recipient of too much grace, love, and pure kindness to keep these words to myself. May they find their way to the stars and ring out forever. To all of the student of color activists who blazed the trail that ultimately made this work possible: Thank you for your courage, your steadfastness in the face of serious adversity, and your willingness to make sacrifices on behalf of the larger, greater good. I’ll be looking to pay your gift forward every chance I get. I promise. To my advisor, dissertation chair, and friend Eric Dey: I usually credit you for your uncanny capacity to make a bad situation worse. But this time around, you actually did the opposite. When I most needed you, you helped me right my ship and fight off the pirates who tried to plunder it. I’ll always be grateful to you for that, not to mention all of the other moments in my life where you extended yourself in generosity and support. Thanks for seeing me through to the end. To my committee, Barry Checkoway, Carla O’Connor, and David Schoem: Thank you for your critical insight, your helpful advice, and most of all, for embracing my work and recognizing its potential. I am deeply honored that your names grace this dissertation. I could not have asked for better committee. To my Mom and Dad: I’m not sure what I did to deserve such loving, supportive iii parents. What I do know is that I would never have come this far without you. Thanks for picking me up when I was down, for reminding me of what I was capable of when I couldn’t remember myself, and for standing beside me through thick and thin. Everything I am, everything I’ll be, starts with you, you know. I couldn’t imagine it any other way. To Mike, Julie, Bubba, and Peanut, otherwise known as the McDevitts: If there were a contest for the “bestest” family in the whole wide world you’d win in a heartbeat, hands down. Thanks for being my safety net and my champions. I don’t know how I would have survived without the fun weekend visits, the “pizza money” contributions, and most especially the love and laughter you always seemed to have waiting for me. Now that the “book report” is finished, we’ll have loads of time to hang out again. I can’t wait. I love you guys silly. To my brother Maxie & his wife Carol: I’ve always known I could count on the two of you to ease my mind with funny stories about Marvel, each other, and the crazy goings-on at the house next door, uh, I mean Mom and Dad’s place. Thanks too for keeping me up-to-date on all of the latest movies, music, and video games I missed while I was writing. I’m looking forward to long hours on the couch with you guys watching DVDs and old movies on AMC. To my Uncle John, Aunt Rose, and my cousins Torie, Alex, and Bobby: Thank you for all the love and support you’ve shown me throughout the years. No one else welcomes me home like you do and I will always be grateful for your presence in my life. To Jackie, Suzie, and Margaret Quern: You three are the most incredible change agents I know. I’m in awe of the way you’ve devoted yourselves to helping people achieve their dreams and live fuller, richer lives. Keep up the magnificent work. And thank you from the bottom of my heart for all you’ve done, for me, my mom, and my family. I love you women immensely. To my former colleagues at the Illinois Board of Higher Education, especially Dr. Richard Wagner: Even though my time with you was short, I learned an immense amount not only about higher education but more importantly, what it takes to be a true and committed steward of the public good. Thank you iv Dr. Wagner, for taking me under your wing and opening my eyes to possibility of a long, full career in higher education. I will always be proud of my association with one of the best state governing boards in the country. To my friends Suzanne Burke, Tish O’Dowd, Neel Pandya, Dominic Petruzzelli, Taryn Petryk, and Mary Piontek: There isn’t enough room here to catalogue all the ways you’ve enriched my life. I’ve learned so much from each one of you, especially how not to take myself so seriously. I want you to know how grateful I am for having found you all and I hope we’ll be friends for the rest of our lives. And finally, to my furry animal friends Holly, Tillie, and Bella: Thanks for all of the exuberant greetings, the happy tail wags, the sloppy wet kisses, and the comforting hand licks. I’m especially grateful to my gerbil buddies Jack and Houdini, who never once asked when I was going to finish writing even when I suspect they were dying to know. Thanks boys. I love ya. v PREFACE This dissertation represents the culmination of a years-long journey to understand how young people are turned on to the vital, redemptive idea of changing the world. Of all the topics and lines of research I have been introduced to in the classroom, nothing has so fully and completely engaged me than the subject of activism. I am fascinated by the idea that there are people in the world who not only espouse the ideals of freedom, justice, democracy, and brotherhood, but who strive daily to create the social conditions in which they might thrive. The truth-seeker in me is compelled by something more intimate: I hope that in trying to understand how others seek to shape history I might come closer to realizing my own capacity to do the very same thing. To my mind, this is the most compelling aspect of studying those who call themselves activists. History is not a foregone conclusion in their eyes; they believe that history can be—and should be—shaped by their own hands. Time spent wading through the vast ocean of literature on social change as well as my own political experience has taught me, however, that we can be too quick in our explanations of how such a belief takes root and consequently comes to guide human action. More unfortunate is the fact that we tend do so at the expense of our own humanity. The dreams, desires, and hopes of activists have often been taken for some manifestation of self-interest, ego gratification, or the compulsion to acquire resources rather than the soulful, imaginative yearnings they truly embody. What about hope? What about dreams of self-determination, justice and freedom? Or even love, for that matter? Much of the literature is strangely silent on the roles these forces have played—and continue to play—in compelling people to work for social change. Why that is, I am not certain. But I do know that to ignore their influence is to ignore the authentic sources of power that have fueled vi some of this country’s most triumphant social movements. I always think of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement he built in the 1960s. We credit King and the Movement time and again for the sweeping political, economic, and social changes that resulted from their efforts. What we do not acknowledge as readily as we should is the astonishing moral vision by which those changes were borne, what King called the beloved community. This was the true goal of the movement he inspired: a world in which skin color did not keep us from caring for another or when the time called for it, taking up for one another.
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