This book is a collection of articles from the Black College Conference held at Harvard University in March and April of 1976. The authors are experienced administrators, teachers, and students of our nation\u27s black colleges and universities. This book attempts, through firsthand recording, through documentation of historical fact, and through analysis of governance, financing, and institutional role, to eradicate the negative images of our nation\u27s black colleges and universities

Lipscomb, LaFayette W.

English

VCU Scholars Compass

[Review of] Charles V. Willie and Ronald R. Edmonds (Eds.). Black Colleges in America: Challenge, Development, Survival

32 Explorations in Ethnic Studies powerful, unobtrusive presentation of data is worth the price of the book. The chapter, "Other Views," is a clear and long overdue methodological assessment of previous work in this area. The final chapter, "The Design," is instructive for students who seek guidance in the rudiments of ethnographic techniques. If there is a criticism of this book, it is in the area of the author's optimism that such revelations might startle those in power to change, that is, positive change reflected in policies, procedures, and programs. However, this brings to mind DuBois' quote of Sara Teasdale in "New Deal for Negroes": "When I can look 1 ife in the eyes, grown calm and very wise, life will have given me the truth and taken in exchange--my youth." It is not only the black old that lose but also the black young, because both are worthless in the United States. If this work has the impact desired, people who are startled (including teachers, scholars, and researchers) must preact to cause change and not leave such revealing research to chance (in the conscious mind) that action might occur. Ms. Valentine seems to assume that if everyone knows the truth, positive change will follow. This reviewer's pessimism balances her optimism: people in power know the truth--the corporate objective is to maximize profits, which is usually done through cheap labor. Look at the truth DuBois wrote, beginning in 1895, and compare the resultant change. His life and the black folk he wrote about symbolized the fact that everything "powerless" people have gained has been won "tooth and nail." The combat with power or evil, to paraphrase the I ching , is friendly, but with strength and power. Carl Mack, Jr. Afro-American and Black Studies Program University of California, Davis CHARLES V. WILLIE and RONALD R .  EDMONDS (Editors). BLACK COLLEGES IN AMERICA: CHALLENGE, DEVELOPMENT, SURVIVAL. New York: Teachers College Press, 1978, 292 pp., $8.95 .  This book is a collection o f  articles from the Black College Conference held at Harvard University in March and April of 1976. The authors are experienced administrators, teachers, and students of our nation's black colleges and universities. This book attempts, through firsthand recording, through documentation of historical fact, and through analysis of governance, financing, and institutional role, to eradicate the negative images of our nation's black colleges and universities. Editor Charles V. Willie, in the introductory chapter, presents a sociological perspective of black education and the effects that racism has had on it. He contends that what is Book Reviews 33 believed and understood about black higher education has been written by non-blacks (such as Mydral, Redding, Jenchs, etc.) who have 1 ittle knowledge and cultural understanding of the historical challenges facing black colleges, and thus these institutions have been the victims of much misunderstanding and have been defined as inferior, second-class institutions. With this chapter as the framework for setting the picture right, the book is then divided into three major parts: Part I, History and Purpose; Part I I, Governance; and Part I II, Teaching and Learning. Of the five selections under the history and purpose of black colleges, President Emeritus Benjamin Mays' article sets forth a challenge for the black college, which he states has a dual role: that of educating our black students to meet the demands of white America, as well as being understanding and supportive of the needs of black Americans. Kannerstein's essay deals with the self-concept of black colleges. In his selection, he indicates that these schools, probably much more than others, must be con­cerned with student needs that far transcend those which are purely academic. President Cook's essay on the socioethnical role and responsibility of the black college graduate carries further the role of the black college and its effects on graduates as they prepare to move into the mainstream of American society. The final article in this section, by Browning and Smith, is an excel­lent documentation of the historical beginnings and survival of black higher education in America. Tracing the inception of black institutions and the legislative acts affecting them in terms of the goals they were expected to perform, this essay shows how difficult the survival of black higher education has been. Part II depicts the plight of black education in terms of finance, administration, and governance. Jones and Weatherly show that black colleges have long had to do twice as much with very 1 ittle funds. Statistical data on finances of select institutions are presented. Willie and MacLush's essay shows that presidents of black colleges have priorities which are similar to those of most colleges. They are concerned about educational programs, managerial priorities, and recruitment efforts. Most of all, they are concerned about the survival of such institutions, which they see as a necessary and viable resource in the American society. Brandon's essay on black colleges of the North gives insight into the need for black colleges, particularly In the North. He con­tends that institutions such as these will do what other institu­tions wil 1 not or cannot do to increase the number of educated blacks in America. President Robinson's essay on a president's role in the management of resources lists the kinds of challenges that a college president must face in a time of declining popula­tion and financial resources. Charles Merrill, in the final essay, depicts the role of a white trustee of a predominantly black school. While he sees survival as the major problem of black institutions, he contends that the number one priority "is still the intellectual and moral qual ity, 11 with concern for finances being second. Explorations in Ethnic Studies Part I I I focuses on teaching at black colleges. In that most of the black colleges of today are small, the essays provided show that the concern has been primarily on teaching rather than research. Essays on teaching the sciences (McBoy), the social sciences (Smith), and the humanities (Munroe, Roundtree) give some insight into the methods used by various schools to address the needs of black students who, in many instances, come to college with deficiencies and fears of these subjects. For those who truly want to understand the role and plight of black higher education, this book will prove to be invaluable. The essays are presented with clarity and depict the problems that black institutions are encountering and the ways in which they are dealing with them. LaFayette W. Lipscomb North Carolina Central University, Durham BAR BARA DODDS STANFORD and KARIMA AMIN. BLACK LITERATURE FOR HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 1978, 273 pp., $4.75 paper. Of all the annotated bibliographies of black 1 iterature that have crossed this writer's desk during the past thirteen years, Black Literature for High School Students is certainly the most complete. By virtue of its being twelve years later than Abraham Chapman's The Negro in AmePican Literature (Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English), the Stanford-Amin effort is newer; it has recency. Their book also has a few other virtues. In addition to such standard adjuncts as a directory of pub I ishers and recording companies, Black Literature for High School Students is both author and title indexed. Chapter 1, "Teaching Black Literature in Today's High Schools," contains both the rationale for such a course and for this particular book. This first chapter also includes a section on specific goals and objectives. Several readings of this chapter resulted in this reader's conviction that the course would hope to employ 1 iterature as the handmaid of the social sciences. Chapter 2, "A Historical Survey of Black Writers," contains some seventy pages of valuable historical and biographical infor­mation and is the heart of the book. Functioning as this heart's blood is a series, in various lengths, of intelligent and incisive criticisms of black writers and their respective works, especially since the Harlem Renaissance. Ms. Stanford is the author of these first two chapters. 

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[Review of] Charles V. Willie and Ronald R. Edmonds (Eds.). Black Colleges in America: Challenge, Development, Survival

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