Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

~G1r~ittC7.er-- (Continued from page 111
studies departments . From the black colleges' point of view, such an
arrangement would be healthier since it would eliminate the patronizing
and condescension which invariably accompanies unilateral white donations
or gifts .
Although the above suggestions would help preserve the black institutions
and alleviate some of the pressure on white institutions to recruit
permanent black faculty, the long range problem in regard to the shortage
of black faculty still remains . Therefore, we may take a critical look at
Professor Harding's suggestion that Afro-American institutes to train
future teachers of black studies programs should be organized on black
campuses .
Professor Harding is correct in asserting that the Atlanta University
Center has the potential manpower and resources to become the model
for such a training institute . Colleges and foundations around the country
would be well advised to make substantial financial investments in
helping to organize and fully staff an institute which is designed to provide
a significant percentage of the future teachers of black studies . However,
I seriously question whether more than a handful of black institutions
could launch an institute that would even remotely approximate the
Atlanta University Center model .
Since an overwhelming majority of major colleges or universities (and
also a significant number of minor ones, including junior colleges) are
establishing or contemplating the establishment of black studies programs,
the demand for black faculty will reach extreme proportions .
I am not convinced that the concentration of goad graduate programs on
a few well-equipped (in terms of staff, library resources, etc .) black
campuses will ultimately satisfy this demand . We need only consider
the fact that even with hundreds of graduate training programs in other
disciplines, e .g . Sociology, English, etc ., the supply of college teachers
is still limited . It is therefore inevitable, if a black studies program is
to become a permanent fixture in our academic curricula, that graduate
training centers also be organized at appropriate white institutions . I
acknowledge that we run the risk of jeopardizing the integrity of black
studies graduate departments by establishing them on white campuses,
but I think that there are ways of reducing such risks . The most appropriate
way would be to press that a black professor head each of these
graduate institutes to insure that the black experience is meaningfully
incorporated . He would, among other things, organize the curricula and
NEGRO DIGEST March 1970 57