Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

lems of his community, with a view toward ultimately finding solutions
to the community's problems, as well as his own .
(2) INDIVIDUALITY cannot genuinely exist without the freedom described
above . The thrust of this perspective is to resist any simple accounts
of what a person "really" is or intends to become, and allows for
distinction between one's real self and one's apparent self . The real self
is, in our judgment, dynamic and expanding and defies prima facie, or
merely quantitative, assessment . Individuality presupposes a social context
and, yet, underscores the uniqueness of each person in that context .
Our notion of individuality is characterized by built-in capacities (not
necessarily apparent) for good which are inseparable from the good of
the community and ultimately of all mankind .
(3 ) SERVICE involves being a contributing member of society by bringing
one's unique resources to bear upon human problems, particularly
the problems confronting the Black community . As with the others, this
concept recognizes that the truly educated man is also a learned man ; but
more than that, he is one in whom learning is combined with an understanding
of social injustice and a commitment to correcting it .
At Malcolm X College we reject the educational process which places
didactic instruction at the core, and we propose that the time has come
for us to control our zeal for imparting knowledge and skills and to concentrate
our efforts on developing the individual student . By education
for individual development, I mean a program consciously undertaken
to promote such qualities as flexibility, creativity, openness to new experiences,
responsibility, accountability, and commitment . Education no
longer can be a pouring into ; it must be a means of providing the climate
and conditions in which the greatest possible development of potential
can take place . Further, we reject organizational structures which tend
to be paternalistic : "administrators and faculty know best, students know
least ." We propose organizational structures in which power is shared and
the participation of all is guaranteed .
Finally, we must emphasize that Malcolm X College is a Black institution-one
in which the educational services are designed to serve in
a unique way the goals of Black people . As the community becomes
more clear about the kind of society it is trying to build, we will design
our educational programs to promote the Black agenda. There is emerging
a degree of concensus among Black People that our educational system
has to prepare our young people to play dynamic and constructive
parts in the development of a society in which all members share fairly in
the good or bad fortune of the group, and in which progress is measured
in terms of human well-being, not prestige buildings, cars or other
material things, whether privately or publicly owned .
In essence, we believe that our kind of College, with a Black oriented
NEGRO DIGEST March 1970 35