Unrecognized Roots of Service-Learning in African American Social Thought and Action, 1890-1930

Michigan Journal of Community Service Learning Spring 2003, pp. 00-00

Charles S. Stevens DePaul University

African American social thought has evolved to become pragmatic, urgent, and concerned with merging social theory and action. This study examines what may be considered unrecognized roots of service- learning embedded in African American social thought and action. These roots, or precursors, to service-learning are part of a community service agenda using various educational procedures and social welfare initiatives to promote race pride and influence social change. The study argues that the agenda in this historical perspective, which incorporates service-learning ideals, although not specifically identified as such, is organized social action for community-building used by African American social activists, women’s groups, and educators interested in social justice and community empowerment.

African American social thought has evolved to relatively new concept in education. Pioneers in the become pragmatic, urgent, and concerned with field identified with the pedagogy of experiential merging social theory and action. Given the prob- education, including a reflection component and lems identified in the black American existence, students making personal sacrifice (Stanton, Giles, this expression of social thought has focused on & Cruz, 1999). The early service-learning educa- social justice, group empowerment, and encourag- tors operated in a value-oriented philosophy of ing social change to promote real democracy. Such education to promote learning through service a response is understandable since, historically, (Chisholm, 1987), with interest in community African Americans’ social thought has been mar- development, community empowerment, and cam- ginalized from acknowledged bodies of academic pus-community reciprocal learning (Stanton, Giles, social thought, and expressed in action rather than & Cruz). Today, service-learning remains attached print. Social protest activity, political ideology, and to these historical antecedents. Community service social movements to address issues of racial equal- and academic excellence are joined to address ity are some familiar articulations of this social social justice issues that encourage learning thought. through experience and reflection. In the expres- There is a less obvious educational agenda sion of African American social thought, service- obscured in this action-oriented and pragmatic learning is not a formalized educational approach expression of social thought. Revealed in a social or organized social movement. However, service- welfare orientation, this agenda is embedded in a learning is a response in the community service community service ideal that combines intellectual perspective that, combined with other social ideas and education with direct social action to actions, promotes community enrichment and improve conditions and standards in American empowerment. It is a practice and teaching philos- black communities. With careful scrutiny one may ophy seeking to partner community and academe locate important precursors to service-learning for community betterment. pedagogy and philosophy in the community ser- In the black American experience, there is a vice perspective that is an expression of African long-standing interest in the community service American social thought. These precursors, or ideal. This perspective in the context of African early forms of service-learning, are often embed- American social thought is manifested as a racial ded in the community service perspective, sharing legacy dedicated to strengthening community to the social welfare orientation with its practical deal with internal problems and promote broader interest in social betterment, supportive communal social change. Responding to the urgency in systems, and education designed to promote race African American social thought, the community pride and sense of community. service perspective is conceived as a social obliga- Service-learning, though embodied in earlier tion and organizing principle for blacks actively philosophical ideas and issues, has surfaced as a committed to the social advancement of American

25 Stevens black communities. The agenda in this perspective is clubs, and other collective and individual initiatives therefore eclectic, with a social welfare emphasis to early in the 19th century. By the close of that cen- encourage self-help, collective initiatives, and educa- tury, African American women could be found tion for social improvement and cultural enrichment. working in missionary schools and conventional While the perspective does not have an officially social agencies alongside white women, in addition defined agenda, the priority in its service orientation to working independently in their own communi- and educational activities are devoted to promoting ties (Lindsay, 1956). Most of the women were mid- the social, economic, and cultural empowerment of dle class, college-educated and affiliated with the the black community. Given the action orientation black women’s social club movement. The black and pragmatic emphasis in African American social women, like their white women contemporaries, thought, the community service perspective is an saw themselves as social reformers and social interactive process that incorporates various ideas change agents. Many of the women believed that and initiatives to engage people and community in the best way to create a viable black community problem solving and education. and to reform society was to educate, instruct, and The community service perspective was already care for the young and elderly, so they engaged in evident more broadly at the close of the 19th century. teaching, social work, and other communal efforts At this time, the concept of experiential learning (Osofsky, 1995; Reid, 1965). Through their could be found in the progressive education ideas of actions, they intended to promote social change John Dewey and others (Giles & Eyler, 1994; and strengthen the internal social order of commu- Morton & Saltmarsh, 1997), though it was not fully nity. With this mindset and emphasis on using citi- developed. The social settlement movement made zenship, democracy, and unity in the race, black prominent in the United States by Jane Addams and women seemed to embrace the service-learning the Hull House neighbors also experimented with philosophy in programs and social action rather certain forms of interactive education and communi- than as a formal education approach. ty. However, a practical application of experiential For many black women the ideas about citizen- learning and education devoted to race and commu- ship and social action began at the local level. They nity development, and ideas later associated with ser- were expected to demonstrate a commitment of vice-learning, might be observed in most “Negro” service to community and duty to race (Shaw, institutions like the church, black colleges, and other 1995). These values for black women, to a large civic-minded organizations. Social programs, devel- extent, were instilled in a socialization process oped in some black churches that dealt with social lodged in family life and other social institutions. welfare needs and spiritual values, often had an When leaving home to attend college, for example, intentional educational component. African young black women were sometimes reminded that American educators and other groups also participat- their formal education was an investment in their ed in the service perspective, using their traditional community as much as in themselves (Shaw). Janie academic background, skills, and knowledge in com- Porter Barrett, a prominent member in the black munity problem solving and non-traditional educa- women’s social club movement, identifies this as a tional programs. African American women were social obligation in her college experience (Shaw). probably in the forefront of community service, She insists that students at Hampton Institute could not escape this call to duty and service. Barrett improvising with self-styled social welfare systems remembers rejoicing on Sundays because it was the and education programs designed for racial uplift and one day she, “didn’t have to do a single thing for community enrichment (Lindsay, 1956). my race” (Shaw, p. 437). Jane Edner Hunter, anoth- Emphasizing this community service perspective, er product of a black college, felt compelled in this this study examines philosophical and pedagogical service commitment to share the benefit of her edu- precursors to service-learning found in African cation as partial repayment for the warm reception American social thought. The examination covers the she experienced while working her way through period roughly between 1890 and 1930, centering on college. W.E.B. DuBois (1903) was among the the activity of African American women, the agenda male students who were influenced to contribute to of the black women’s social club movement, and the community service perspective when he attend- African American educators. ed Fisk University. This call to service, if not a for- African American Women: Social Services, mal curriculum item, at least had a latent function Citizenship, and the Social Club Movement at most black colleges. There was a resurgence of the black women’s African American women were vanguards, hav- social club movement in the last decade of the 19th ing developed self-styled support systems, social century (Giddings, 1984; Shaw, 1995). While some

26 Unrecognized Roots of Service-Learning in African American Social Thought and Action, 1890-1930 ideas and programs that emerged were pioneering the race. Essentially, this group was comprised of and innovative, many of them were patterned on the poor, migrants, women destined for domestic traditional education and social services. However, service jobs, and other blacks who were cut off most of the activity sponsored by black women’s from traditional educational opportunities (p. 222). social clubs stressed social commitment, skill, and Cooper believed that the mixture of social services knowledge for civic responsibility and participa- with practical learning and instruction, given in the tion, which suggests attributes of effective citizen- spirit of communion that she observed in the set- ship (Eyler & Giles, 1995). tlement house model, was important for this seg- The women of the National Association of ment of the black population, just as it was for the Colored Women (NACW) shared these principles immigrant groups. and activated them organizationally and program- Cooper recognized that an important educational matically, using their motto, “lifting as we climb,” component was vital to the success of the social in a variety of education and social service pro- settlement movement. This educator, who had a grams. Mary Church Terrell, Anna Julia Cooper, long-standing involvement with black social settle- and Ida B. Wells-Barnett were among the promi- ments in Washington D.C., was familiar with Jane nent leaders of NACW who, along with countless Addams’ work, and was favorably impressed with lesser known black women, devoted attention to the interactive education program at Hull House local community programs as well as broader (Lemert & Bhan, 1998). College men and women social change issues. Whereas the obvious intent of at Hull House, Cooper observed, shared experi- the programs was a response to a race mandate, ences with the immigrant groups and interacted black women’s social clubs’ emphasis on social with them socially in a spirit of communion and commitment, knowledge, participation, and on community. The exchange that occurred in this expanding educational opportunities for non-tradi- activity, she further observed, established a rela- tional populations is consistent with present-day tionship with people which offered them practical service-learning commitments. education and learning experiences in social effi- Anna Julia Cooper: A Teaching and Service Model ciency and social economy (p. 219). When neighbors, via social settlement actions, organized with The settlement house concept was important in the college women and men in a collective effort to several black women’s social club projects. The address public issues, raise questions pertaining to social settlement movement, which was identified city services and community life, or for other prob- with social work, gained momentum around the lem solving, such involvement offered valuable turn of the century with a focus on the plight of learning opportunities regarding citizenship and European immigrants and their problems with democracy. Cooper’s observations of Jane assimilation and entry into America’s industrial Addams’ example at Hull House and her personal society. Its programs, rich in social services and experiences with black social settlements suggest self-help interests, were designed to bring higher that education and important learning could take ideals of life and character among immigrants, place through various informal procedures and in preparing them for participation in urban commu- venues not typically associated with traditional nity life and democratic society. The settlement education. houses, combining social services and practical Such efforts, of course, are not service-learning. learning with connections to traditional education, Nonetheless, they share ideals associated with ser- were a valiant attempt to make education meaning- vice-learning and suggest that goals and objectives ful and accessible to poor and working-class immi- of social welfare and education are closely related. grants. Such educational programs could be found For Cooper, there was great promise in this teach- in social settlements in New York, Philadelphia, ing model, especially for the education of non-tra- and Chicago (Lemert & Bhan, 1998). Family and ditional populations such as the immigrant groups home life, neighborhood visiting, and cooperative and the neglected segment of African Americans. endeavors, conceived in a spirit of community, Given her experiences working among the poor were important elements in the success of this and unaffiliated groups, she realized the power of model. the teacher to touch people as much as books could Anna Julia Cooper, an educator and scholar who (Lemert & Bhan, 1998, p. 222). There was person- identified with the problems of the black poor, al growth and a reflection component in this expe- found practical applications in the social settlement rience for Cooper. Through her involvement and concept. Cooper was interested in education and the knowledge she acquired, Cooper came to cultural enlightenment of the disaffiliated, the seg- understand that to be effective in such a non-tradi- ment she described as the most neglected people of tional educational milieu required learning to speak

27 Stevens the language of the people they intend to teach and justice system, and easy prey for the lynching mob demonstrating respect for their social life. (Duster). Recognizing the complex circumstances Cooper’s involvement with education and the for this neglected segment of the race, she urged social settlement concept might be viewed as an her Sunday school class to take social action in the early demonstration in experiential education interest of this group (Duster, p. XXV). Through (Lengermann & Niebrugge-Brantley, 1998). Ida B. her leadership and organizing skills, a center was Wells-Barnett, who was similarly impressed with established in the heart of Chicago’s black belt the Hull House example of Jane Addams, also used (Giddings, 1984, pp. 54-55). that model in Chicago’s black community. The League, conceived as a cooperative effort, Ida B. Wells-Barnett: A Maverick and Practical was designed to become a lighthouse on State Street (Duster, 1972). Wells-Barnett envisioned it Educator as a beacon for incoming black migrants and new- The work of Ida B. Wells-Barnett is another comers to the city, in addition to offering programs example in the history of black community service. for the problematic ex-criminal element. The cen- A pivotal member of NACW, she held leadership ter included a reading room, modest library, and positions in several national organizations that education programs, in accord with the social set- addressed social justice, racial equality, and tlement model. Given its origin in the Sunday women’s issues. Her presence and personal imprint school class, religious values were also espoused. were prominent in the formation of the NAACP Meanwhile, Wells-Barnett mobilized the center as and women’s suffrage movement. She is associated a base for her community research and fact-finding with a group of activist women educators and projects, in which local people participated in col- scholars—Anna Julia Cooper and Jane Addams lecting data. This aspect of the League was per- among them—who have been described as “practi- ceived as education and social action. Local people cal sociologists” because they did not rigidly learned about social problems and were involved in adhere to the prescribed academic canon examining those social conditions affecting their (Lingermann & Niebrugge-Brantley, 1998). It is daily lives. It is through these kinds of activities difficult to identify Wells-Barnett with precursors that Wells-Barnett used the service perspective to to service-learning because she was elusive, a mav- merge social action and education in order to pro- erick and lonely warrior who sometimes deliber- mote civic activity. ately evaded conventional behavior (Giddings, Wells-Barnett might be viewed as an early advo- 1984; Holt, 1982). However, as an advocate of par- cate for action research. The idea that action ticipatory democracy, she not only believed that research should be done with the community seems community people should be involved in problem to be very much incorporated in her fact-finding identification and problem solving, but found projects. Her ability and interest in working with effective ways to engage local people in her ser- community residents to identify social problems vice- and social justice-oriented projects. and their solutions connects learning and action to The Negro Fellowship League, a project that the life of the community. These efforts combined originated in a Sunday school class that Wells- social services and educational ideas to assist peo- Barnett taught, is one such project. Centered ple in becoming proactive participants in commu- around criminal justice issues at its inception, the nity and society. Negro Fellowship League became a social settle- Black Women’s Social Club Movement ment agency in 1910 (Duster, 1972). It evolved as a response to the Springfield, Illinois riot of 1908 The Black Women’s Social Club programs were in which three African American men were committed to a strong social service orientation lynched. A well-known anti-lynching crusader, combined with some form of education (Ovington, Wells-Barnett was particularly concerned about 1996). A program developed by Sara Fleetwood, a black male migrants to Chicago who too quickly leading citizen in the black Washington D.C. com- became entrenched in vices and social deviant cir- munity at the turn of the century, offers another cles, and thereby swelled the criminal numbers example of how social services and education were (Duster). She was also concerned with the plight of merged (Lindsay, 1956). Fleetwood and her group ex-prisoners from Joliet State prison who had little were primarily interested in a charitable effort to assistance with their reentry into civilian life and assist their needy neighbors through a typical often returned to criminal behavior. This was a social welfare endeavor. But when the group dis- pressing issue for Wells-Barnett because she covered that these needy welfare families were believed it was these ex-prisoners and misguided extremely limited in their knowledge of how, “to migrants who were often mistreated by a biased relate themselves to the mainstream of American

28 Unrecognized Roots of Service-Learning in African American Social Thought and Action, 1890-1930 Life” (p. 21), the women created classes and clubs women. While formal education was not the cen- for educational purposes. Victoria Earle Matthews, tral focus, their programs typically incorporated a prominent black club woman and social work some “creative” or improvised education and learn- pioneer in another settlement house, infused the ing experience to promote community enrichment. service program with an education component on The programs of black women’s clubs were not African American history to supplement the prima- original, since their activity paralleled and interact- ry domestic training program (Osofsky, 1965). ed with ideas in traditional education and other Some club women used their own personal fields. Nevertheless, black women’s clubs seemed finances and resources to sponsor programs. Janie to identify with the implicit social club norm that Porter Barrett and Jane Edner Hunter were two its members should share their knowledge with enterprising women who did just this (Shaw, 1995; others in the community (Williams, 1995). For Spain, 2001). Barrett established the Locust Street many of the women, the most important lesson Social Settlement in Hampton, Virginia shortly learned was that it was opportunity and environ- after completing her undergraduate education. The ment, not the circumstances of birth or previous program provided social services and practical experience, that separated them from the masses. education for wayward girls in the city. Barrett, like Therefore, the club women believed they had a many other black club women, hoped this response social obligation to share this lesson and create would provide the young women with basic educa- opportunities and educational environments in tion about responsible citizenship (Shaw). Hunter, which others—especially less fortunate black in another project, combined community organiz- women—might improve their character and ing with practical education. Working with a group stature. The women in the black social club move- of African American women, Hunter established ment, viewed in this social context, unknowingly the Working Girls Home Association in Cleveland, operationalized a precursor to service-learning. Ohio (Shaw). The program that evolved embodied Black Educators: Teaching and Social Action the social settlement idea, providing the young women with lessons in urban acculturation and African American male educators also participated assimilation as they negotiated the city in a rapidly in the community service perspective. Motivated to changing industrial society. This program, like that social action to confront obstacles to racial of several initiatives developed later by black club progress and educational enlightenment, black women, assisted young black women and urban male educators, like the black women, saw teach- newcomers to become proactive participants in ing and instruction in the community as a practical community and civic life. and immediate response. Whereas experiential and There was a two-fold character to the program. service-learning were not recognized pedagogical The Working Girls Home was, on the one hand, a models at the beginning of the 20th century, certain temporary residence and service to assist young elements can be identified in the work of some black women who had no family and friends when African American educators. George Edmund they migrated to the city to find employment Haynes, a founding member of the National Urban (Shaw, 1995, pp. 438-439). On the other hand, it League and Fisk University educator (Blackwell & was a community organizing strategy in which Janowitz, 1974; Carlton-LaNey, 1983), and W.E.B. Hunter sought to engage college educated women DuBois, considered one of the most important with these less educated newcomers to the city, intellectual minds of the 20th century (Lewis, using their knowledge, skills, education, and per- 1993), are among the black educators whose work sonal financial resources for direct social action. embodied aspects of the service-learning philoso- Most of all, it seems that black club women were phy and pedagogy. intent on using their education as a resource to deal George E. Haynes: Experiential Education and with internal issues of race pride, sense of commu- Social Utility nity, and social equality. While such activity is per- haps identified with social work and organized George Edmund Haynes was a social science social welfare, it is these ideas and social actions educator and social worker educated in the pro- that connect black club women and their programs gressive era. He developed an experiential educa- with the community service and civic participation tion course at Fisk University that was a precursor philosophy of service-learning. to today’s service-learning courses. Through his Black women were steadfast in their dedication work as a field secretary with the YMCA, he was to the race. Their programs emphasized social familiar with the educational problems and social change. Education was perceived as the path to welfare issues plaguing the black community social equality for most of the college educated (Carlton-La Ney, 1983). He was also aware that tra-

29 Stevens ditional social service agencies and educational ing adds value to each and transforms both” institutions had limited appreciation and under- (Honnet & Paulsen, 1989, p. 8). standing of the plight of African Americans Haynes, who saw himself as a change agent, used (Haynes, 1911, 1912). Haynes’ interest in racial this experiential course to establish an educated uplift, self-help initiatives, and education to cadre, sensitive to and knowledgeable about black improve conditions of black people led him to community problems. It was an attempt to merge develop a course of instruction that provided black social theory with social action in a proactive students with systematic knowledge about their race response to the urgency in the African American and sensitive appreciation of pressing social prob- community. This experiential education model, like lems in their community. The course was designed some of the black women’s ideas, has received broad so students could utilize social science knowledge application in social work. However, the model and skills in field experience and service in the might also be viewed as an antecedent to service- black community. It was, in effect, an internship learning courses (Blau, 1999). with both a service and reflection component, in W.E.B DuBois: Education and Daily Life which students were expected to learn from their subjects and gain insight from their community The educator and scholar W.E.B. DuBois also involvement. The students in this exchange would used a facsimile of the service-learning philosophy share their academic knowledge with the communi- during his early teaching experiences in the hills ty by identifying problems, utilizing social science and backwoods of rural Tennessee (1903), as well skills, and participating in problem solving with the as in the participatory action component of his community (Carlton-La Ney). landmark study, The Philadelphia Negro (DuBois, The course was conceived in the spirit of reci- 1967). The way he sought to engage various procity. Haynes was interested in community aspects of the community in the Atlanta University enrichment, and social change in race relations. He studies he directed between 1898 and 1910 (Green sought to include students in this plan for social & Driver, 1978) also suggest the action research action. Students in this experiential learning exer- approach. However, it was the transformative cise would study social problems in the traditional power of experiential education that seemed to academic curriculum as well as through their have a significant impact on this black scholar. The supervised involvement in the black community. initial encounter with ideals later incorporated into The hope was that such intense involvement would experiential and service-learning, along with prac- instill in students a deeper appreciation for the tical ideas from progressive education and adult plight of the race. This new appreciation would education, seemed to happen in DuBois’ Fisk encourage students toward further social action. University education. Like many other students Haynes, who shared many of the ideas expressed who attended black colleges, he was encouraged to in the black women’s social club movement, was participate in community service. DuBois respond- also directing attention to the “neglected segment ed to this call to service by teaching in rural of the race.” He intended to use the course as an Tennessee during the summer when he was a stu- interactive educational approach. Developed in this dent (DuBois, 1903). It was during this experience, manner, the course might be viewed as an educa- when he lived among the people he taught, that tional exercise to bring college students and com- DuBois recognized the connection of education munity inhabitants together in an organized activi- and daily life (DuBois, 1968). ty centered around common interests. In a larger Du Bois’ teaching experience was very different sense this course was an early effort to form a part- from taking classes in Nashville. Rural Tennessee nership between the university and its surrounding placed DuBois in an isolated environment of environment to strengthen both systems. This extreme poverty, where formal education seemed learning exercise, with its modest research compo- inconsequential. He described the locality as a nent, encouraged cooperation and collaboration milieu where book learning competed with the between the education system and the community, need for students to work alongside uneducated adding credence to important concepts later found “old folk” in the fields and mills who had little per- in action research. The idea that research is done ception of a horizon beyond their locale (DuBois, with community rather than on the community 1903). People living in this kind of isolation, he (Porpora, 1999) seems implicit, if not openly stat- soon observed, saw little value in schooling or for- ed, in Haynes’ course. It also reflects views con- mal education if it was not immediately relevant to veyed in “Principles of Good Practice in their situation. With this discovery, DuBois came to Combining Service and Learning,” particularly in appreciate that for education to be of value to this the statement that “...service combined with learn- population, it needed to reflect the experiences of

30 Unrecognized Roots of Service-Learning in African American Social Thought and Action, 1890-1930 the community. A teacher in the social context of plagued Philadelphia’s black community. DuBois, this environment, DuBois concluded, had to learn who was familiar with Charles Booth’s study of to use the simplest English with local applications, poverty in London and Jane Addams’ work at Hull to convince rural people of the value of education House, was interested in the project because he (p. 51). Therefore, he placed great emphasis on believed the world had erroneous information making education accessible. regarding the problem of the American Negro. He In an effort to understand the obstacles, DuBois was thoroughly convinced that, due to racial preju- visited homes and talked with parents about the cir- dice, even the academic and intellectual communi- cumstances that caused students to miss school. He ty lacked significant and systematic data about the became involved with his students and their fami- group (DuBois, 1968). Drawing on his knowledge lies on a daily basis in activities that moved beyond of community work in the social settlements, typical school and classroom routines. Through DuBois was interested in a thorough study of a this engagement, he established social networks black community. The project was therefore an and bonded with people in ways that made it easi- opportunity for DuBois to conduct a scientific er to relate to the “simple folk.” DuBois shared investigation, producing systematic data to advance Cooper’s insight that educators need to speak the knowledge about the race. Such knowledge, he language of the people they intend to teach, with assumed, would reduce ignorance and prejudicial special attention devoted to non-traditional student views, and encourage social action in the interest of populations. the Negro (p. 197). The study, now considered a This teaching experience in rural Tennessee classic in sociology and social science research, reflects both progressive educational ideas as well used surveys and participant-observation, with as views in adult education (Dewey, 1938; DuBois living among his study’s subjects, as did Knowles, 1970). DuBois seems in agreement with early social settlement workers. Dewey (1900), who argued that school should be DuBois resided in Philadelphia’s Seventh Ward, an active part of community life, instead of a place the site of his research for approximately two set apart to learn lessons. He also shares a similar years. During this period he not only surveyed peo- idea associated with adult education of the teacher ple in his academic and scholarly quest, he also as guide or helper who connects the learner’s expe- constantly interacted with them socially. His riences with the community (Knowles). DuBois immersion as a participant observer, similar to the (and Haynes) had a particularistic emphasis on race teaching experience in rural Tennessee, helped him in their educational interest. They intended to use appreciate social and economic aspects of the com- education and schooling as a tool for social action munity. In addition to traditional academic and to address social inequities in the black communi- intellectual inquiry, DuBois found life in the com- ty. Given these objectives, their activities favorably munity to be filled with personal insights. identify with service-learning. In addition, the Moreover, he acknowledged that the experience emphases placed on active engagement in educa- had such a profound impact that it was during this tion, as well as connecting daily life issues with study of poverty and life in Philadelphia’s black civic responsibility, speak to cherished values in community that he learned what he wanted to do, the service-learning community. “in his real life work and how to do it” (DuBois, Unfortunately, formal schooling was a short 1968, p. 198). By the end of the project, DuBois lived process in this isolated community in rural had amassed significant scientific data, and person- Tennessee (DuBois, 1903). Nonetheless, an impor- ally surveyed and talked with more than 5,000 peo- tant lesson for DuBois at the time—experiencing ple (p. 198). the transformative power of experiential educa- There were important lessons in the research tion—then became a part of his future teaching process. The idea of experience as education which philosophy. In fact, certain ideas from his was reflected in rural Tennessee seemed to have Tennessee teaching experience emerge in his soci- currency in researching urban Philadelphia too. For ological study of Philadelphia’s black community. this research, DuBois appreciated the need for The study of the Philadelphia Negro was impor- mutual education between the researcher and com- tant in several respects. Completed at the turn of munity to facilitate communication. The idea in the century, it was one of the first sociological stud- action research (and service-learning) that research ies of a black community conducted in the United (and teaching) should be done with community States (Drake & Cayton, 1962). The research was was also implicit in this situation. The need for the sponsored by the University of Pennsylvania and researcher to form a partnership with the communi- its affiliate, the College Settlement Association, ty and the subjects of the study corresponds with with interest in studying the social problems that current ideas in participatory research and service-

31 Stevens learning. undergird service-learning pedagogy. Their agenda Nevertheless, DuBois soon learned that the abil- in the community service perspective, developed as ity to establish the needed social bond and commu- an expression of African American social thought, nication with the community posed a major obsta- incorporated education procedures to encourage cle. “Colored people in the city,” DuBois found, social consciousness and to inform social action. did not appreciate the invasion of researchers and These educators were interested in racial uplift, others. He surmised that Philadelphia Negroes did community development, and sought to understand not like being studied like, “some strange species” those social issues that blocked the educational (1968, p. 197). How ironic, since it was this black enlightenment of their people. They intended to use scholar’s interest in correcting misconceptions and education and scholarship as a tool to address stereotypes of the American Negro that influenced social problems of America’s black community. him to conduct the research in the first place. Both of these educators were intent on using their Nevertheless, despite his genuine interest and sin- educational training for problem solving and social cerity, DuBois found that local people did not open betterment efforts. In promoting a community ser- up to outsiders, even if they were the same race. vice perspective that emphasized race pride and DuBois was initially upset by this turn of events. empowerment, the educators demonstrated a com- He was not prepared for this lack of acceptance as mitment to values that are important in service- an outsider. The manner in which DuBois negotiat- learning practice. ed this obstacle is a useful lesson for service-learning educators. At first, surprised at being consid- Conclusion ered an outsider, DuBois admitted, “they sent me Service-learning, in various ways, is exemplified groping” (Dubois, 1968, p. 198). Upon reflection, in various expressions of African-American social however, the experience revealed to DuBois that he thought. While these expressions were not identi- was, indeed, “an outsider,” an educator, and a fied as service-learning at the time, they were con- researcher who did not know very much about his cerned with developing programs and educational own group (p. 198). Consequently, he grappled for efforts that partnered the community with the acad- ways to connect with the social life of the commu- emy. Coming into the 20th century, this response, nity. His response to the problems of perception lodged in a social welfare perspective, addressed and communication included some practical the mandate of an oppressed minority group, cen- actions. He visited people and established social tered around issues of racism, sexism, and social relationships through various groups and collabo- class, all of which posed an overwhelming threat to rative activities. DuBois communed with the group’s collective existence. In retrospect, Philadelphians similar to the way he had done in African Americans responded with an urgency to rural Tennessee. In his own words, “I met again and deal with problems of social inequality and with in a different guise those cross currents and social the complexities that accompanied the shift from whirling” (p. 198), and thereby changed the per- rural to urban society. In another sense it is an ception of those who questioned his presence. expression of African-American social thought DuBois, in negotiating this obstacle, removed him- demonstrated by black social clubs, black women, self from the outsider category and established the and black educators centered around a vision of important communication link to make the community. research compatible with the community. It is in While the agenda in community service consid- this persistence to reduce the social distance and ered here is race oriented, it is not intended to be the constraints imposed on “outsiders” that one can exclusive. Similar activity and initiatives might be anticipate principles and ideas conceptualized in observed among other groups. The perspective action research and service-learning. Reflecting on does not claim originality; it is guided by practical- the research experience and the mutual education ity and pragmatic application, drawn from various embodied in the project, DuBois commented in his resources. Nonetheless, there are references and autobiography that, “I learned far more from relevant lessons that seem to connect service-learn- Philadelphia Negroes than I had taught them con- ing with the action-oriented expression of African cerning the Negro problem” (p. 198). It was American social thought around the turn of the through his experiences in teaching in rural 20th century. DuBois and Cooper, for example, Tennessee and urban Philadelphia that DuBois offer some insights in how educators might negoti- acquired insights that are relevant to service-learn- ate the “outsider” category that is so often a prob- ing work. lem for those perceived as outsiders to the commu- DuBois and Haynes were among the black edu- nity. Educators must learn to relate to the social life cators who unwittingly discovered principles that of the people they intend to teach, i.e., speak their

32 Unrecognized Roots of Service-Learning in African American Social Thought and Action, 1890-1930 language, “use the simplest English,” and demon- Drake, St. Clair, & Cayton, H. (1945). Black metropolis: strate a social commitment to the education A study of Negro life in a northern city, Volume II (1962 process. Mutual interaction, cooperation, and vol- Ed.). New York: Harper Torch Books. 787-788 unteerism with a purpose are important themes DuBois, W.E.B. (1899). The Philadelphia Negro. (1967 found in the agenda, though they are not specifi- Ed.). New York: Schocken Books. cally labeled service-learning. Knowledge of insti- DuBois, W.E.B. (1903). The souls of black folk. (1994 tutions, personal investment with the target popula- Ed.). New York: Gramercy Books, Inc. tion, and appreciation of their circumstances are DuBois, W.E.B. (1940). Dusk of dawn: An essay toward shared themes in service-learning and the African- an autobiography of a race concept. (1968 Ed.). New American community service perspective. York: Schocken Books. While many similarities may be drawn between DuBois, W.E.B. (1982). The Autobiography of W.E.B. African American social thought around the turn of DuBois. International Publishers Co. Inc. Chapters 12-13. the 20th century and today’s service-learning Duster, A. (Ed.). (1972). Crusade for justice: The autobi- movement, questions remain. How might the ography of Ida B. Wells. Chicago: University of knowledge of this historical antecedent, for exam- Chicago Press. ple, serve current service-learning programs? How Eyler, J., & Giles, D.E. (1999). Where’s the learning in do racial and social class differences among the service-learning? San Francisco: Jossey Bass. socially committed affect service-learning program development, and civic and academic outcomes? Giddings, P. (1984). When and where I enter: The impact of black women on race and sex in America. New York: How might social science knowledge and social Quill. service skills become more systematically incorporated into current service-learning programs? Giles, D.E., & Eyler, J. (1994). The theoretical roots of This study illuminates several historical African service-learning in John Dewey: Toward a theory of service-learning. Michigan Journal of Community American perspectives that parallel and closely Service Learning. 1(1). 77-85. correlate with service-learning and action research. It reveals how much higher education’s civic Green, D.S., & Driver, E.D. (Ed.) (1978). W.E.B. DuBois: On sociology and the black community. Chicago: The responsibility may have been advanced if these University of Chicago Press. scholars and activists had been more welcome in the higher education community. Further, it is an Haynes, G.E. (1911). Cooperation with colleges in implicit indictment of how much the academy securing and training Negro social workers for urban conditions. 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33 Stevens Lewis, D.L. (Ed.). (1993). W.E.B. DuBois: Biography of a Rudwick, E.M. (1957). W.E.B. DuBois and the Atlanta race, 1868-1919. New York: Henry Holt and Co. University studies of the Negro. Journal of Negro Lindsay, I.B. (1956). Some contributions to welfare ser- Education, 26(4), 466-476. vices, 1868-1900. Journal of Negro Education, 25(1), Shaw, S.J. (1995). Black club women and the creation of 15-24. the National Association of Colored Women. In D.C. Moore, D.T. (1988). Is experiential education a profes- Hine, W. King, & L. Reed (Eds.). We specialize in the sion? NSIEE: Experiential Education, 13(5), 11-13. wholly impossible (pp. 433-448). New York: Carlson Morton, K., & Saltmarsh, J. (1997). Addams, Day and Publishing Inc. Dewey: The emergence of community service in Spain, D. (2001). How women saved the city. American culture. Michigan Journal of Community Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press. Service Learning, 4(1), 137-149. Stanton, T., Giles, D.E., & Cruz, N.I. (1999). Service-learn- Osofsky, G. (1965). Harlem: The making of a ghetto. New ing: A movement’s pioneers reflect on its origins, practice, York: Harper and Row Publishers. and future. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass Publishers. Ovington, M.W. (1995). Black and white sat down together: The reminiscence of an NAACP founder. New York: Williams, L.S. (1995). And still I rise: Black women and The Feminist Press. reform, Buffalo, New York, 1900-1940. In D.C. Hine, W. King, & L. Reed (Eds.). We specialize in the whol- Porpora, D.V. (1999). Action research: The highest stage of service-learning? In J. Ostrow, G. Hesser, & S. ly impossible (pp. 521-541). New York: Carlson Enos (Eds.), Cultivating the sociological imagination: Publishing Inc. Concepts and models for service-learning in sociology Author (pp. 121-134). Washington D.C.: American Association of Higher Education. CHARLES S. STEVENS, Ph.D., is an associate Reid, J.B. (1995). A career to build, a people to serve, a professor of Sociology with a background in social purpose to accomplish: Race, class, gender and work practice. He has a research interest in African Detroit’s first black women teachers, 1865-1910. In Americans’ social welfare systems and cultural D.C. Hine, W. King, & L. Reed (Eds.). We specialize in institutions, and serves as the internship coordina- the wholly impossible (pp. 303-320). New York: tor for the Sociology department at DePaul Carlson Publishing Inc. University.