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The Deconstruction of a Discipline by Melvin Armstrong Jr Dissertation PHILOSOPHICAL BLINDNESS AND THE BLACK SUBJECT: THE DECONSTRUCTION OF A DISCIPLINE BY MELVIN ARMSTRONG JR DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Educational Policy Studies in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2014 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor James Anderson, Chair Professor Michael Peters, Director of Research Professor Cameron McCarthy Associate Professor Ruby Mendenhall Professor Norman Denzin ii Abstract This dissertation is focused on the creation and analysis of the content of the Black American Philosophical and Education Project. Of particular interest to me is the historical pursuit and experience of the study of Philosophy in the American higher education system by Black American students. This study is located at the cross-section of Philosophy, African American Studies, and Education, and it moves between the ideology of philosophical disciplinarily and the actual historical narrative on and about Black practitioners of Philosophy. It is my most earnest attempt to keep the intellectual unity of both enterprises. In my view, much of the discourse on the profession of Philosophy and its social implications is too abstract, absent one locating it in a historical context. I analyze this relationship through the use of key primary documents including autobiographies of Black American students as well as oral interviews from Black Philosophers themselves. iii This work is dedicated to The Sunnyside Housing Projects Webster Cantrell Hall Western Avenue Community Center Osceola, Arkansas Terri Jackson Patty Alsieder Deacon Green Susan Dickey iv Acknowledgments The greatest gospel singer of them all Mahalia Jackson sings the song “Give me my flowers while I yet live,” the refrain from this song is one of my favorites. If I close my eyes sometimes I can still hear the song being sung by the senior choir at Loving Missionary Baptist Church. It is with this I would like to thank a few people. This dissertation is possible only through the support of many people, more than I can list in such an infinitesimal space. The following, however, represents my best attempt to acknowledge some of those people who have made not just this work possible, but have made sizable contributions to my intellectual, spiritual, and personal development. To my friends and peers: April Warren-Grice, Terrence Stevenson, Jonathon Hamilton, Chamara Kwakye, and Tarnjeet Kang, our many study and writing sessions as well as countless debate sessions have been invaluable in both my personal and professional development. I must thank Tasha Marie Love, Mike Cernovich, Beth Gunzel, Ronnie Pride, Keonate Coleman, the legendary Joe Taylor, Pam Grier, Pat Callaghan, and Mark Cowan. Also thanks to Mike Ladue, Charla Cullen, Amy Cottone, James McNeely, Phillip Cotton, Dr Michael Stewart, and Charley Galicia To my cousin, Tony (Baretta) Johnson, whose mention on this page is the closest he will ever get to a college campus. Tony is the last person in my life who I can say with no equivocations right or wrong, has loved me and is one of my few connections to Sunnyside. To Dodie Dunson Sr., without his encouragement, I would not have gone to college or achieved my goals. To Mrs. Lynette Shaw-Smith, who helped me learn how to write a lot better during my crucial first years in college? Thanks, Mrs. Shaw-Smith, for no longer using all that red ink on students’ papers. To Dr. Robert Sipe, I would like to thank you for introducing me to Political v Philosophy, the works of Karl Marx, and the Frankfurt school, and for always challenging me to think of how to make the life of the mind one for me. To Lou Turner thank you for pushing my thoughts; you made me think much more concretely about discourse and its relationship to my own work (and, yes you are right, Foucault is a beast in his own right and is not just Nietzsche in French clothes.). To Daria Roithmayr, thank you for introducing me to first wave Critical Race Theory and for being a dear friend; thanks for talking me out of several incredibly bad decisions. You are an incredible scholar, but more than this, you are a dear friend. To Jaime Alanis and Pat Halbig, my brothers from another mother, I love you, and your friendship, brotherhood and intellectual insight have really been a blessing. To my brother Robert Anthony Ward, your friendship and insights have been key. Thanks for introducing me to many works I would not have discovered absent knowing you. To Brother Olanipekun Laosebikan, your camaraderie has been much appreciated; I really can’t express how much it has meant to me. To Rashid Robinson, I really don’t know where to begin; you have in some ways been my intellectual and spiritual soul mate. I have always had an inexplicable affinity for you, my friend. You are the most spiritually upright person I have or will ever know. You have also helped me reconcile the cost that one has to pay to have a vibrant life of the mind. To the one and only Caitlin Megginson, whose editorial help and insight have managed to make this text far more readable than it would be otherwise? I really don’t know what I would do if not for your help, my sister. You are proof positive that God’s work may not always come when you want him to intercede, but like the old folks say, He is always right on time. Thanks to Conception “Connie” Rivas for making this journey called life more bearable. Your unfaltering support is a true Godsend. vi I wish to thank the members of my committee: Dr James Anderson is to be thanked for graciously agreeing to serve as the committee Chairperson. Dr. Cameron McCarthy is to be thanked for encouraging me to think about the meanings behind my representation more and to not run from inserting myself into my work. To Dr. Norman Denzin, I would like to thank you for being a strong advocate of my use of scholarly personal narrative and other qualitative methods well before I conceived of the topic of this dissertation. I love that you are a disciplinary border crosser; thanks for really clearly articulating to me my epistemological blind spots, as you are certainly right that Critical Race Theory does an ideal amount of work for me. To Dr. Michael Peters, I really don’t know where to begin. You have forever changed the trajectory of my thoughts by helping me think far more globally and additionally, you have been an unwavering supporter. I shudder to think what would have happened to me during the tumult of the last few years if you hadn’t been in my corner. Last and certainly not least, I have to thank Dr. Ruby Mendenhall, who has invested much time and energy in both chastising and encouraging me when I have needed it. I really don’t know how to properly thank you for seeing me through to this point and being unwavering even though I’m not the easiest person to guide. And though our relationship has not always been the best, I would like to thank Carolyn Armstrong who introduced me to the church. vii Table of Contents Chapter 1 Introduction .................................................................................................................1 Chapter 2 Dirty South Born, Sunnyside Raised, and the Reasons I Came to Philosophy.................................................................................................................................. 25 Chapter 3 Family Resemblances, Autobiographical Strands, The Historical Content, And Ontological Implications Of Black American Philosophy of Education ................................................................................................................................... 90 Chapter 4 What it’s like to be a Bat (oops, I mean) a Black (and Woman) Philosopher: Questions of Narrative Particularity: The Meaning Racial of Subjectivity ...............................................................................................................................153 Chapter 5 Actions of Affirmation: Combating Stereotype Threat, the Implicit Biases in Philosophical and Legal Education with Suggestions for the Institutional Future ........................................................................................................192 Chapter 6 Conclusion Can Philosophy Disband its Wheatley Court, Integrating the Problems which Lead to the Questions? ..........................................................232 Bibliography .............................................................................................................................238 Appendix A Exit Poll ................................................................................................................253 viii 1 Chapter 1 Introduction Epistemological and Autobiographical Introduction I remember watching television one day, and if my memory serves me correctly, I was perhaps fourteen or fifteen. I found this brother on television rather striking; he had a large Afro and he wore non-descript black glasses. He sported a pinstriped black suit tailor-made to his wiry frame. In today’s urban vernacular, one would say he was rather fancy. As he appeared to me to be a man of considerable means, certainly means much greater than my family, as we were residents of a small town public housing project, I vividly remember being struck by the manner in which this brother spoke to the White interviewer. He used words that I had never heard before. The command of the English language he displayed was then awe-inspiring for a young Black man like me,
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