View metadata, citation and similar papers at core.ac.uk brought to you by CORE provided by Illinois Digital Environment for Access to Learning and Scholarship Repository Copyright 2016 Samuel Joseph Byndom DIALECTICAL DIMENSIONS: THE EMERGENCE AND EVOLUTION OF AFRICAN AMERICAN STUDIES AT THE UNIVERSITY OF ILLINOIS URBANA-CHAMPAIGN 1968-2008 BY SAMUEL JOSEPH BYNDOM DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Education Policy, Organization and Leadership with a concentration in African American Studies with a minor in Latina/Latino Studies in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2016 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Associate Professor Yoon K. Pak, Co-Chair, Director of Research Associate Professor Sundiata K. Cha-jua, Co-Chair Professor James D. Anderson Associate Professor Richard T. Rodriguez ii Abstract During its inception, proposed as a discipline was Black Studies that could spur new knowledge by countering Eurocentric modes of hegemony. Land grant institutions and public colleges, such as the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I), have an unique capacity and obligation to residents to provide access and avenues to new forms of knowledge. The institutionalization of Black Studies at predominantly White institutions of higher education produced dialectic processes that shaped the discipline and reshaped the university. This research provides a better understanding of institutional culture and administrative reactions, which functioned both as an incubator and an obstruction to the emergence and evolution of African American Studies at U of I from 1968 to 2008. The major questions guiding this research are: In the context of the university, how did the growth of the Black student population and divergent Black Power ideology at U of I produce a dialectical relationships between Black Studies and institutional culture? How did the quality of leadership impact the development of Black Studies at the U of I and in what ways did administrators and policies have a profound influence on student engagement? What are the ways in which institutions of higher education negotiate ideological differences and manage forms of diversity? The project consist of archival data, newspapers, and a collection of oral histories from previous Chancellors, Deans, Directors, faculty, Heads, Provost, students, staff, and community members from 1968-2008. The theoretical frameworks of “insurgency” and “ideological state apparatuses” are employed help articulate the challenges, negotiations, and institutional adjustments, which characterized the development and growth of the African American Studies unit. Contemporary historians have provided a foundation to assess the role of Black student activism on university campuses and provided insights into the thoughts and actions of student iii activists (Rojas, 2007; Williamson, 2003; Bradley, 2009). Ultimately, this case study investigates the ways in which the Black Studies as a critical intervention created dialectical relationships between administrators, faculty, and students through negotiations of managing diversity and ideological difference which transformed U of I’s culture gradually over forty years. iv In memory of my brother, Alphonso J. Byndom (1974-2012) And sister, Syble R. Selfe (1959-2013) To my parents Sylvester and Sandra Thank you for giving me the strength to challenge injustice and consistently encouraging me to pursue my dreams To my wife Maria I continue to be humbled by your grace and sacrifice And for Samantha, Samar, & Samuel II The World is Yours v Acknowledgements Many people have helped this dissertation become a reality. I am indebted to those who expended their time, care, and intellectual energy to aid me in the production of this work. First, I would like to acknowledge the works of Du Bois, Fanon, Freire, James, Logan, Woodson, and many other intellectual insurgents. I am indebted to my interviewees for taking the time to talk with a highly curious and at times uniformed researcher—without them there would be no story: Abdul Akalimat, Alford Anderson, James Anderson, Ronald Bailey, Nancy Cantor, Sundiata Cha-jua, Louis Desipio, David Eisenman, Jeff Glassman, Robert Goldstein, Richard Herman, John Hundley, Michael Jeffries, Jane Loeb, Roy Malpass, Walter Massey, Robert Outis, Dianne Pinderhughes, William Plater, Rolando Romero, Alicia Rodriguez, Giraldo Rosales, Paul Schroeder, Clarence Shelley, Joseph Smith, Winston Solberg, and Arlene Torres. Of course a story is nothing without guidance and masterful guides to provide just the correct beneficent critique and wisdom at the time most needed. First, I owe a heartfelt thanks to my doctoral dissertation committee: Yoon K. Pak, (my dissertation director and eternal advisor) thank you for your continued investment in my intellectual growth and development. You have provided me with support, mentoring, and intellectual encouragement for this project since its beginning. I owe you a debt of gratitude for your mentorship, dedication, belief in my work, the many careful readings, and for continuing to open doors for me. Sundiata K. Cha-jua: I appreciate you encouraging me to think critically about the intellectual contributions of my work and reminding me of the processes of effective historical research. I thank you for introducing me to a range of ideas that have since become fundamental to my dissertation. James D. Anderson: Thank you for the countless hours you allowed me to interview you providing me with a depth of intuitional knowledge that made this dissertation possible. I truly value our rich discussions about race and for prompting new ideas and questions that shaped this dissertation (and projects yet un-begun); Richard T. Rodriguez: I am indebted. I will always be grateful for your willingness to engage ideas and provide valuable suggestions on where to look for answers. Six years ago, I began the reading, researching, and writing that produced this dissertation. I had no idea then that it would evolve into the work that it is now. That is not to say, its present state is perfect. However, I hope to add to the insurgent possibilities of human emancipation and institutional transformation that this work explores and advances. I have also been supported in this endeavor - directly and indirectly - by dialogues with professors and scholars who were not on my committee, but deeply committed to the improvement of my life-work. I owe a special note of gratitude to Malaika Mckee-Culpepper, Lou Turner, Steve Culpepper, Caroline Yang, Bill Trent, Julie Dowling, Cris Mayo, Jennifer Hamer, Stefan Bradley, Joy Williamson-Lot, Marybeth Gasman, Deborah Cohen, Clarence Lang, Gerda Ray, Mario Smalls, Fabio Rojas, Laurence Parker, Jennifer Delany, and many others. I especially want to thank these individuals because they shared their stories, ideas, and experience on which this work is founded. In addition, I want to extend my gratitude to the staff vi of the U of I Archives, especially Anna Trammell, who continued to smile box, after box, after box…, and for her unbelievable warmth and generosity. I am also deeply indebted to Bill Maher, Jameatris Rimkus, and Thomas Weissinger, who listened to each and every one of my questions, and taught me more than I could have imagined. I would also like to express my appreciation to the Illinois Board of Higher Education for the selecting me as a Diversifying Faculty in Illinois Fellow, a special thanks to Arthur Sutton and Trisha Fenton. I would also like express my deepest appreciation to the Department of Education Policy, Organization & Leadership and the Graduate College for their support throughout the process. I am extremely grateful for the time and energy that my colleagues and friends contributed to this project. Their constructive feedback enhanced the development of my research. I am indebted to scholars who provided an incomparable support system as I have made my way through this journey: Jonathan Hamilton, Desiree McMillion, Rachel Martin, Brett Grant, Kenneth Reid and Joseph Wiemelt. Your thoughtfulness throughout the process has been a motivation and inspiration. I thank last, and most importantly always, my family. I do not know, and may never possess the words to articulate how much your support means to me. I wish to acknowledge the support of my father, Sylvester, my sister, Cynthia, my brother, Harold, and, my mother, Sandra. My mother instilled in me a deep desire to seek wisdom and understanding above all else. My sweetest daughter Samantha thank you for pushing me to finish by asking “Is it done yet?” My boys Samar and Samuel II and nephew Jonathan who made sure I was not all work and no play. Most of all I thank my wife Maria for investing her heart and soul into our project, “You are the perfect verse over a tight beat,” this dissertation is dedicated to you… vii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION A CENTURY OF DISCONTENT 1867-1967 .................................................1 CHAPTER 1 INSURGENCY: THE IVORY TOWER UNDER SIEGE 1968-1973 ......................................................................................................................................42 CHAPTER 2 STRIVING FOR LEGITIMACY: CHARTING A COURSE FOR STABILITY 1974-1987 ...................................................................................84 CHAPTER 3 RISING THROUGH RETRENCHMENT: A NEW MANDATE FOR ETHNIC STUDIES 1988-2000 .......................................................114