Historical Knowledge as Power: Student Activists Fighting B(l)ack Against Historical Amnesia in U.S. Higher Education

• In Event: Race and Higher Education

Abstract

While Black student activism in higher education has transformed U.S. higher education institutions, framing such efforts via disruptive narratives perpetuates a tradition of historical amnesia in distorting our accounts of their significant role in the fight against institutional racism. Using conceptual lenses of historical amnesia and power, through this archival case study, the authors seek to understand how historical accounts of campus activism shaped power accumulation and power relations between Black student activists and university administration in U.S. higher education between 1950-1980.

Authors

• Mariama Nagbe, University Council for Educational Administration

• Francesca Simmons, The University of Texas

• Jeremy D. Horne, University of Texas at Austin