© 2010 Richard D. Benson FROM MALCOLM X TO MALCOLM X LIBERATION UNIVERSITY: A LIBERATORY PHILOSOPHY OF EDUCATION, BLACK STUDENT RADICALISM AND BLACK INDEPENDENT EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTION BUILDING 1960- 1973 BY RICHARD D. BENSON 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, 2010 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Yoon Pak, Chair Professor Laurence Parker Professor James D. Anderson Associate Professor David O. Stovall, University of Illinois at Chicago Assistant Professor Dionne Danns, Indiana University at Bloomington ABSTRACT This dissertation extends research on Malcolm X’s socio-political philosophies of Black Nationalism as juxtaposed to that of educational progression for African Americans during the ‘Black Power’ era. The influence of Malcolm X provoked a call for ‘African-centered schooling,’ or institutions in the traditions of self-sufficiency, self- determination, and nationalistic pride. Malcolm X’s expansive social and political thought catalyzed later practitioners of social change who stirred up the American landscape from 1965 to 1973. Black students were especially inspired by Malcolm X’s evolving idealism, and their protest efforts would lead to the deconstruction of psychologically oppressive curricula in post-secondary institutions, including those predominately White. Student organizations such as the Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), the Black Panther Party (BPP), the US Organization, the Council of Independent Black Institutions, the Student Organization of Black Unity (SOBU), and the Southern Student Organizing Committee (SSOC) effectuated change nationally in the interests of a global vision of Pan-Africanism. In addition, educational institutions such as Malcolm X Liberation University first in Raleigh-Durham, then Greensboro, North Carolina, illustrate the successful ideological connection between Malcolm X and Black Nationalism. MXLU, for all its deficiencies, was a place where the librated hopes of many Black folks came to fruition. ii This work is dedicated to Rosa Mae and Carl Thomas Carpenter, (Grandma and Grandpa). I miss you both dearly and not a day goes by that I don’t thank the Most High for the blessing of having had you both in my life. Thank you for all that you ever gave me in life and love. To my mother, Janice M. Benson, I can never repay you for your patience and love. Thank you for believing in me and for always supporting my efforts (...when the rubber hits the road…). To the Most High God, Yeshua/Jesus, from which all things have been made possible and brought into existence. Thank you for the strength and fortitude to continue to struggle and endure through the toughest times. I am forever grateful. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The foundations of this work extend from the many individuals who lent their selfless contributions to ensure its success. It is all too important that I acknowledge those whose time and energy was given toward the completion of this project. To my committee members: James Anderson (Doc), Laurence Parker, Dionne Danns, and David O. Stovall, thank you for your valuable insight and for supporting this work. To Yoon Pak, my dissertation chairperson, thank you for never discouraging my ideas and for allowing me to test the boundaries of history and research in my work. I am forever grateful. To my UIUC family, I appreciate and am grateful for the hours of conversation and energy that you have given to me to keep me going throughout the writing process: Christopher Span, Chamara Kwakye, Brent G. Grant, Rashid Robinson, Kamau Rashid, Julie Griffin, Robert Anthony Ward, Nick Gaffney, Edward Mills, Olanipekun Laosebikan, Mirelsie Velazquez, Melba Schneider, Steve Parris, Crystal Thomas. To Joycelyn Landrum- Brown of the UIUC Educational Psychology Department, thank you for always being available to lend an ear and a voice of wisdom. Keep doing the work that you do. To the faculty members of the Department of African American Studies at UIUC: Dr. Sundiata Cha-Jua and Clarence Lang, thanks for your support through my graduate career and beyond. To Abdul Alkalimat of the UIUC Department of African American Studies, thanks for your time and resources on this project; your mentoring on this work really meant a lot. To the faculty and staff of the Jacob Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies and the former Communiversity of Chicago: Conrad Worrill, Robert Starks, Yvonne Jones, Lance Williams, and Rosetta Cash, thank you for all of your time and for my grounding in this work through my time spent at “The Center”. I am forever iv grateful to my academic grounding I received at CICS. To Dr. Anderson Thompson of the CICS, your guidance and wisdom have been critical in my work. I can never repay you for all the aid you have provided me through this entire process, but I will always remain dedicated to the tradition of educating our people in the legacy of the “Communiversity” way. To the ancestors Dr. Jacob H. Carruthers and Professor Leon Harris of the Center, my time spent in your courses remain highlights of my time at the Center, thank you. Critical to this work were the various archives and repositories that I visited during the data collection process. To my family at the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture: Andre Elizee/Daniel Simidor (God Bless your life) you will be missed so much good brother. Thank you so much for all the help you gave me on my countless visits to the archives. To Sister Nurah-Jeter, I owe you so much for all the help you have given through the data collection process at the Schomburg. Thank you and Andre for being genuine people. Very special thanks to Joellen ElBashir and the staff of Howard University’s Moorland Spingarn Research Center. Thanks to Randall Burkett and the staff of Emory for their assistance during this process. A grant during the summer of 2007 allowed me to spend a few weeks in Charleston, South Carolina at the Avery Research Center for African American History and Culture. Special thanks to the staff of the Avery for their assistance and professionalism. Also significant to the data collection process of this work were the following archives: in Atlanta, Georgia, the Auburn Avenue Research Library; Atlanta University Center Archives; and The Martin Luther King Center. In Illinois, the Carter G. Woodson v Regional Library of Chicago; Vivian G. Harsh Research Collection of Afro-American History and Literature; the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign Archives and Special Collections. In Knoxville, Tennessee, the University of Tennessee Special Collections Library. In Durham, North Carolina, the Duke University Archives. To the community that stuck by me through this journey and continues to keep me accountable in my work and teaching: Mary Ann Reed, Kimberly Johnson, Cherise Boulware, Ingrid Benson-Brown, Regina Walton, Zada Johnson, Chandra Gill, Manvel Robinson, Rocio Contreras, Jacqueline Tabor, Richard Smith, Ronellle DeShazer, Medina Nance, Sammie Eames. Veronica Anthony, William Eaglin III, Jonathan Eaglin, Jennifer Armstrong, Eboni McGee, Anthony Winburn, Cherita Perry, Derrick Allen, Jaha and Masud Assante, Brandon Evans, Jonelle Myers, Anne Aviles, Erica Davila, Jacqueline Spruill, Harvey Hinton III. I have been more than fortunate to have encountered a very supportive community of scholars who have supported my efforts and this work. Many thanks to Lawrence Jackson of Emory University and Akinyele Umoja of Georgia State University for their encouragement and support during the writing process. To those individuals who have been supportive through their conversation and for allowing me to inquire about their work that relates to the Black Freedom Struggle: Harold Pates, Cleveland Sellers, Roz Pelles Bob Brown, Howard Fuller, Robert Rhodes, Fannie T. Rushing, Fanon Wilkins, William Sales, Charles Payne and Bro. Yusufu Mosley. To my church home, The Israel of God in Chicago and all affiliates domestic and international, may all physical and spiritual Israel continue to awaken for the improvement of all of the sons and daughters of the creation. Shalom. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER 2 MALCOLM X AND/AS SOCIAL PEDAGOGY: A CRITICAL HISTORICAL ANALYSIS ..............................................................................9 CHAPTER 3 SOWING THE WIND.TO REAP A WHIRLWIND: IDEOLOGICAL SHIFTS AND RADICAL EXPRESSIONS IN THE BLACK STUDENT MOVEMENT 1963-1969 .............................................................. 52 CHAPTER 4 MALCOLM X LIBERATION UNIVERSITY: PLANNING, CURRICULUM/PROJECTS & INSTITUTIONAL OBJECTIVES ..................................................................................................................110 CHAPTER 5 UHURU NA KAZI (FREEDOM AND HARD WORK)!!!: THE HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS OF MALCOLM X LIBERATION UNIVERSITY 1969-1972 ........................................ 179 CHAPTER 6 WORKING FOR AFRICAN LIBERATION WITH THE STUDENT ORGANIZATION FOR BLACK UNITY (SOBU): HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENTS, PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITY 1969-1971 ........................................................................................................................238 CHAPTER 7 A MOVEMENT OF THE PEOPLE...AFRICAN PEOPLE: AFRICAN LIBERATION DAY (ALD), THE DECLINE OF MXLU & LEFT PAN-AFRICANISM OF