Higgenbotham, A. Leon, Jr.

English

Howard University: Digital Howard

New DirectionsVolume 7 | Issue 4 Article 37-1-1980Time to Plead Our CauseA. Leon Higgenbotham Jr.Follow this and additional works at: http://dh.howard.edu/newdirectionsThis Article is brought to you for free and open access by Digital Howard @ Howard University. It has been accepted for inclusion in New Directions byan authorized administrator of Digital Howard @ Howard University. For more information, please contact lopez.matthews@howard.edu.Recommended CitationHiggenbotham, A. Leon Jr. (1980) "Time to Plead Our Cause," New Directions: Vol. 7: Iss. 4, Article 3.Available at: http://dh.howard.edu/newdirections/vol7/iss4/3co tr~TARYTime to PleadOur CauseBy A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr.12If I were to proffer a theme that would beas relevant a century from now as it wasover a century and a half ago, wherewould I find it?It would seem somewhat inappropriate torely on a theme from the Declaration ofIndependence - because when theyspoke of "the self-evident truth, that allmen are created equal," the framers didnot mean to include either Blacks orwomen. In fact, many of the signatoriesowned slaves and others profited fromthe slavery system. Their daily conductwas a repudiation of the egalitarianconcepts they proclaimed.Similarly, it would not be appropriate tocite the Preamble of the United StatesConstitution, because when they spoke of"We, the people, in order to form a moreperfect union, establish justice, promotethe general welfare, and secure theblessings of liberty to ouselves and ourposterity," they did not recognize Blackseither as people protected by thatconstitution or as individuals entitled tojustice or liberty.In seeking a theme almost as old as theRepublic, a theme from declarants whomeant what they said and practiced whatthey declared, I would prefer the state-ments in the first editorial of Freedom'sJournal, the first Black newspaper to beNEW DIRECTIONS JULY 1980published in this country. The editors,Samuel Cornish, a Black Philadelphiaabolitionist, and John Russwurm, thesecond Black college graduate in thisnation, wrote:We wish to plead our own cause.Too long have others spoken for us.In their editorial, they noted the ambiguityof American democracy and emphasized"the neglect" and the repudiation of those"self-evident truths." They said: "Thoughall men acknowledge the excellency of[Benjamin] Franklin's expressions ofequality, yet comparatively few practiceupon them." They recognized that "itavails little to mourn." But they were notwilling to accept the past as a prologuefor the future. They were determined toChange the course of American history,and the key to that change would bepleading their own cause, and recogniz-ing that "too long have others spoken forus."Why Howard is UniqueIf one were to reflect on the history ofHoward University, if one were to ask, whyis Howard so unique, why has it been andwhy is it one of the great universities inthe world and why must it always remainso, the answer is that you [1980 class]have exemplified the dream of Russwurmand Cornish to "plead our own cause."When I speak of Howard's profound con-tribution in "pleading our own cause," I donot speak of what Howard has meant onlyto Blacks-yet if that was all that it haddone, Howard would be entitled to one ofthe highest niches of esteem for Ameri-can universities. Think of what our nationwould be today if there had not been aHoward University, or its equivalent; whatwould be the condition of America and ofBlacks if there had not been a HowardUniversity which stayed on the cuttingedge of excellence, providing better op-tions for Black Americans. Both Blackpeople and the entire nation would havesuffered irrevocable losses.Even though a few Blacks receivedtheir graduate degrees from the mostprestigious universities in the nation, untilthe 1960s they were almost never invitedback to teach at their alma maters. [Wil-liam] Hastie and [Charles Hamilton]Houston finished Harvard law school withhonors but taught at Howard law school.A similar pattern followed for John HopeFranklin, Rayford Logan, Ralph Bunche,Carter Woodson, Alain Locke, CharlesWesley, James Nabrit, Mordecai Johnson,Charles Drew and hundreds of others.Through its law school, Howard becamethe primary architect of the modernAmerican civil rights movement, develop-ing the legal doctrines which led toBrown v. Board of Education and to ear-lier key civil rights decisions in employ-ment, housing, fairness in the criminaljustice system and voting. Until the1960s, Howard had trained almost 50%of the Black doctors and lawyers in thiscountry.It is frightening to envision how decadentAmerica would be today if the nation hadnot been the beneficiary of the contri-butions which Howard has made for morethan a century. Think of it! What wouldhave peen the educational options forBlacks today if we had been deprived ofthe thousands of teachers whom Howardhas trained to nurture the minds andguide the aspirations of Black schoolchil-dren. Similarly, it is appalling to con-template what America would be today ifthere had not been a Howard to educate,to develop, to motivate and to train in-numerable scholars, artists, scientists,architects, engineers, doctors, dentists,lawyers, activists, critics, and public offi-cials who went on to plead the causeswhich others did not espouse.Looking at the current national adminis-tration, we may have been deprived ofillustrious Howard graduates such asThurgood Marshall, associate justice ofthe United States Supreme Court; PatriciaRoberts Harris, secretary of health, edu-cation and welfare [now health andhuman services]; Andrew Young, formerambassador to the United Nations; Mary1Higgenbotham: Time to Plead Our CausePublished by Digital Howard @ Howard University,Frances Berry, former assistant secretaryof education; and J. Clay Smith, Esq.,commissioner, Equal Employment Oppor-tunity Commission.The judiciary may have been deprived ofWilliam Bryant, chief judge, United StatesDistrict Court for the District of Columbia;Joseph Hatchett, United States Court ofAppeals for the Fifth Circuit; DamonKeith, United States Court of Appeals forthe Sixth Circuit; Robert Carter, UnitedStates District Court for the SouthernDistrict of New York, and several otherdistinguished judges on federal and statecourts.The nation may have been deprived ofgreat writers such as Toni Morrison;superb actors and actresses such asDeborah Allen and Ossie Davis; activistssuch as Vernon Jordan, James Farmer,Christopher Edley and, some might add,Stokely Carmichael; musicians and artistssuch as Roberta Flack and ElizabethCatlett; physicians such as Or. [w. Mon-tague] Cobb.The Impact of HowardBut for Howard, thousands of Blackbabies would have died unnecessarily;thousands of forums would not have hadarticulate minority spokespersons;thousands of Black children would nothave had the models of excellence whichHoward has produced.And, on the world scene, thousands ofAfricans would not have received theacademic options which allowed them toreturn to their homelands to ultimatelyassume positions of world leadership.Just as [Winston] Churchill on August 20,1940 spoke of British airmen, similarly wecan speak of Howard for "never ... was somuch owed by so many to so few."Today, some of those prestigious institu-tions which remained aloof from the fraywhen we needed them most are startingto pay recognition to the relatively fewBlacks who appeared on their campusesdecades ago and who most often werelost in a well of anonymity. And while thisbelated recognition is far better than noneat all, we must never forget how miniscule- if it existed at all- the Black presencewas in these educational institutions forthe first two centuries of this republic.Unlike those schools, whether we look at50 years or a century ago, Howard didnot have one or two Blacks entering everyother year or every other decade. Howardhas graduated more than 39,000 menand women in the professions, the artsand sciences and the humanities. It hasbeen a mass-producer of excellence.During the last decade, there have ap-peared on the educational horizon many"Johnny-come-Iatelys" who-like the in-stitutions from which they were graduated-were never or seldom "around" whenBlacks needed them most, when racialbarri-ers were the status quo and whenintegration was unpopular if not down-right illegal. Yet, some of the alumni ofthose very institutions today seem anxi-ous to punish or at least to denigrate thehistoric Black colleges and universities-those colleges which were the victims ofracism and which provided the only liferaft (regardless of how weak), when theseas of bigotry would otherwise haveengulfed us.Benefactor for All AmericaDuring its century of caring, Howard wasnot merely aiding Black Americans. In avery real and profound way, it was savingthe soul of all America.Today, at the bargaining tables of theworld, our nation has greater credibilitybecause of the victories which Howardpioneered in the courts of this land.Whether most Americans like it or not,they must face up to the stark reality thatthe destiny of the world will no longer beshaped exclusively or solely by personswith white skin. For our own nationalsurvival and ultimate success, the per-ception of this nation's racial fairness bypeople in Tehran, Peking, Cairo andLagos may be at least as significant asthe views of citizens of Beverly Hills orPeoria.Think of how much more intense theopposition would be today in the interna-tional forum if our courts still sanctionedstate-imposed racial segregation.Think of how much greater the handicapwould be in forming international al-liances if Black people in this countrycould still be denied the right to vote inprimary elections or denied the right tobuy a coke or a hot dog in a place ofpublic accommodation.Think of how much less credible Americawould be before the high court of world 13opinion if, under the sanction of law,governors were still espousing hatredfrom schoolhouse doors and shoutingsegregation forever.In eradicating some of the racial villainyof the past, Howard has helped our entirenation.,Howard has been unique because itcreated a tradition which combined adream of equality, a confidence in thefuture with an insistence for day-to-dayexcellence. That tradition must be main-tained and, if possible, even improved.This nation and all of us have an obliga-tion to keep Howard at the forefront ofexcellence as a great university where allAmericans - particularly Black Ameri-cans and other minorities-can partici-pate freely and totally in a truly com-prehensive university experience.We must always be mindful that Cornishand Russwurm stressed that "too longhave others spoken for us." They recog-nized that time is measured differently bythose who have the power and those whoare the ictims of powerlessness. Regard-less of ho ell meaning those in powermay be, there is always the danger ofwhich Cornish and Russwurm spoke. Forthere are always serious problems whichcan warrant delays. We will always beconfronted with inflation or recession, de-pression or wars, global tensions orbudget deficits. In the words of the lateOr. Martin Luther King, Jr.:Weare faced with the fact that to-morrow is today. Weare confrontedwith the fierce urgency of now. In thisunfolding conundrum of life and his-tory there is such a thing as beingtoo late. Procrastination is still thethief of time. Life often leaves usstanding bare, naked and dejectedwith a lost opportunity. 0The above was excerpted from the May 10th com-mencement address by Judge A Leon HIggin-botham, Jt., U.S Court of Appeals for the ThirdCircuit.NEW DIRECTIONS JULY 19802New Directions, Vol. 7 [], Iss. 4, Art. 3http://dh.howard.edu/newdirections/vol7/iss4/3

Time to Plead Our Cause

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Time to Plead Our Cause

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