An Oral History of Social Justice Activism at Historically Black Colleges and Universities 20th–21st Centuries

• In Event: 21st Century Black Student Success at Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Racialized Models of Support for Success

Abstract

Throughout history, we have seen significant repression of student protests and acts of civil disobedience in support of anti-war and civil rights movements at institutions across the United States. While HBCUs are lauded for producing and being home to some of the most critical student activists, across various movements since their inception, HBCU administrations and board of trustees members have often been at odds with student movement leaders (Wheatle & Commodore, 2019). This often led to HBCU leadership cooperating with local, state, and federal authorities to the detriment of students. These clashes have produced separate factions and versions of HBCU history. Across the board students/alumni agree that an all-black environment fostered a safer space to be educated and thrive amongst like-minded peers, but they deviate in their thoughts/experiences/histories of how well HBCUs supported actual activist movements. Some believe HBCUs were merely havens for Black elites, serving to squash protests meant to benefit “normal black people” and maintain segregationist principals. Others feel HBCU leaders were taking a different route to progression focused on education and economic viability.  

This is an oral history (Abrams, 2010) utilizing Afrocentric group conversation methodology (King & Mitchell, 1990). Participants will be selected using a purposeful and convenient sampling method. Grounded theory (Glaser & Strauss, 1967) will be used to code interviews. The study will include 30-40 Black HBCU alumni (or former students) who are/were involved in social movements from 1950-2020 during their undergraduate experience. The participants will be asked to take part in 1–2-hour audio-recorded semi-structured interviews.

Additionally, this study is born out of the need to preserve the history of institutions, individuals, and movements that took place and continue to take place on HBCU campuses. The project includes both group conversations and individual oral interviews with HBCU leaders, alumni, former students, and civil rights activists. Oral history narratives of both HBCU leaders and HBCU student activists are critical for several reasons. In terms of voice and visibility, HBCU events and histories are largely excluded from national higher education discourse, despite their importance and role in educating the most underserved populations. When these narratives are included, HBCU leader and student voices are often diminished, and instead represented by white historians. This presentation will present the rationale and methodology for our research for collecting narratives in the voices of the Black communities who lived through and participated in historical and contemporary activist movements on HBCU campuses to add to the literature and provide counter-narratives to the existing accounts.

Author

• Nadrea Njoku, Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute