RACISM IN THE ACADEMY: The NEW MILLenniUM edited by Audrey Smedley and Janis Faye Hutchinson Additional findings of the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the American Anthropological Association February 2012 RACISM IN THE ACADEMY: The New Millennium edited by Audrey Smedley and Janis Faye Hutchinson Additional findings of the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the American Anthropological Association February 2012 A NOte ON BacKGROUnd The starting point for this study was through the auspices of our professional scholarly society, the Ameri- can Anthropological Association. In 2007, then-president Alan Goodman appointed a commission charged with two primary responsibilities: “(1) to collect information in order to better expose how privilege has been maintained in anthropology and the AAA, including but not limited to departments and the academic pipeline and “(2) to develop a comprehensive plan for the Association and for the field of anthropology to increase the ethnic, racial, gender and class diversity of the discipline and organization.” Much of the responsibilities about investigating and mapping the field of anthropology and the role of the Association were discharged with the publication of the Commission’s Final Report in 2010.1 However, we are anthropologists and we found ourselves wanting to bring the anthropological lens to another kind of project, an ethnography—the systematic description of human culture—of the academy, to more fully describe the lived experiences of racism in colleges and universities. 1. Janis Hutchinson and Thomas C. Patterson, Final Report 2010, Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology (CRRA), available online at: http://www.aaanet.org/ cmtes/commissions/Final-Report-of-Commission-on-Race-and-Racism-in-Anthropology.cfm. A NOTE ON CAPitaLIZatiON While preparing the manuscript, we tried to make some terms consistent across chapters (e.g. “SAT” and “African American.”) However, we note that different authors elected to make different decisions regard- ing the capitalization of racial groups. Specifically some authors preferred “white” and others “White,” some opted to use “black” and others “Black.” Grammatically an initial capital letter designates the uniqueness of a group, an event, or a place; such as one might argue that in the United States there is a specificness to “White hegemony.” The editors thus did not make this usage uniform across the report, but instead the editors decided to honor the authors’ individual expressions. Members of the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the AAA Executive Board Approved, October 2007–November 2010 Janis Faye Hutchinson (Co-Chair) Thomas C. Patterson (Co-Chair) Yolanda Moses (Honorary Co-Chair) Audrey Smedley (Honorary Co-Chair) Leith Mullings (Executive Board Liaison) Karen Brodkin (at large) Sandy Morgen (at large) Carla Guerron- Montero (Liaison to CMIA) Najwa Adra (Liaison to CMIA) Rachel Watkins (Liaison to CMIA) Gwendolyn Mikell Alan Goodman (Past President, 2005-2007, Ex-Officio) Setha Low (Past President, 2007-2009, Ex-Officio) Virginia R. Dominiguez (Past President, 2009-2011, Ex -Officio) TABLE OF COntents 1. IntrODUctiON ......................................................................................................................................................................................1 2. Racism in the Academy: Toward a Multi-Methodological Agenda for Anthropological Engagement Faye V. Harrison .................................................................................................................................................................................... 12 3. ParaLLEL ParadiGms: Racial Diversity and Racism at Universities Janis Faye Hutchinson ......................................................................................................................................................................34 4. A BLacK WOman’S OrdeaL in White Universities Audrey Smedley .................................................................................................................................................................................... 49 5. I wiLL maKE ALLOwances FOR YOUR creativity Maria Inez Winfield ..............................................................................................................................................................................63 6. DismantLinG AFricana STUdies at RUTGers University Walton R. Johnson ............................................................................................................................................................................... 78 7. BLacK WOman in CharGE: Role Displacement in a Midwest Majority Institution Sheilah F. Clarke-Ekong.....................................................................................................................................................................91 8. Racism in the Academy: Ideology, Practice, and Ambiguity George Clement Bond ....................................................................................................................................................................102 9. Racism in AnthrOPOLOGY: Same Discipline, Different Decade Rolonda Teal .........................................................................................................................................................................................112 10. SEXism and Racism in Academe: Why the Struggle Must Continue Cheryl Mwaria ......................................................................................................................................................................................128 11. “HE Fit the DescriPtiON”: Prejudice and Pain in Progressive Communities J. Lorand Matory .................................................................................................................................................................................137 12. NEGOtiatinG Racism in the Academy Arthur K. Spears ..................................................................................................................................................................................145 13. COncLUsiOns ...................................................................................................................................................................................157 14. ABOUT the AUthOrs...................................................................................................................................................................166 INTRODUCTION CRRA Report IntrODUctiON After the election of President Barack Obama in 2008, the issues of race and racism became more promi- nent, complex, and sensitive. The fact that the first black president was born of a white mother and a black African father triggered numerous publications and commentaries about his racial identity. Most whites who do not believe in interracial marriage were no doubt very embarrassed. Many liberals declared that we have now entered a post-racial era where the color of a man’s skin does not matter. At the same time many institutional leaders (churches, labor unions, schools, civic, and sports organizations) and even Attorney General Eric Holder have called for dialogues on race. There have been hundreds of scholarly meetings with discussion sessions focused on the problems of race and racism. These events and mountains of new publications on race provide general overall explorations of the topic, including statistics about the gaps in economic, educational, health, and social conditions between whites and minority groups.2 At the same time, experts have lauded the progress that has been made in race relations beyond the elec- tion of a black president. There have been individual advances in employment in businesses and government positions, in the educational field, in science, and even the fields of entertainment. That a large minority of white citizens (43%) voted for Obama is remarkable and suggests progress in eliminating racial thinking. But what does the fact that 57% of whites did not vote for Obama mean? There should be little doubt that most white Americans were opposed to electing a black president, regardless of his excellent personal qualities and his political philosophy. Obama’s moderate positions on racial matters, as expressed in his speeches and his writings, do not appear to have moderated the antagonism toward him. Like many well-meaning people on both the left and the right politically, Obama advocates for a “color-blind society” which appears to comfort most people who see this as anti-racist sentiment. But when friends and acquaintances declare, “I don’t notice your color, or your race” what does that mean? 2. The literature on white racism is now massive. Among dozens of well-known studies are those by Bush 2004, Dovidio and Gaertner 1986, Essed 1991, Hale 1999, Hutchinson 2005, Jones 1997, Kincheloe et al 1998, Kovel 1970, Lipsitz 1998, Roediger 1991, Sears 1988, 1996. See also some recent popular books such as those of Tim Wise 2008, 2009, 2010. An unusually insightful study is the book by Daryl Wing Sue, Overcoming Our Racism, 2003. 1 CRRA Report INTRODUCTION Despite many assertions about the Obama era being “post- that not much progress is made in understanding and dealing racial,” most experts agree that racism is still alive and well with the full nature of racism in the United States, especially as and general statistical information certainly