Archivist Note: Transcription by Haley Wang, Lauren Hunter and Phoebe M. Dopulos (November 2016)
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July 10, 1969
Press Release on Black Studies
Bryn Mawr College announces a series of three new courses for undergraduates on Black studies to begin in september, and the appointment of three visiting lecturers to the teaching staff. The appointments are Herbert Aptheker, historian and author, or Brooklyn, New York; Clifton R.Jones, a sociologist, of Howard University, Washington D.C.; and Bryant Rollins, an urban specialist from Boston College, Boston, Massachusetts.
In Keeping with the plan to give Black culture a place in the curriculum without isolating it, courses under the Black studies program will not be placed under a separate department and will be open to all students of the College.
The three courses in the curriculum will be electives, with no prerequisites. Mr. Aptheker will give a course on the history of the Afro-American people in the Department of HIstory. Mr. Jones will teach a course on the Negro family in the United States in the Department of Sociology. Mr. Rollins will give a course on Black political participation in the Department of Political Science. A seminar in Black studies will also be offered, directed primarily toward the faculty but open to advanced students as well. Lecturers and seminars will deal with the
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role and contribution of Black people to American civilisation. The course will be a review of Black studies material, and is designed to help faculty members to include it where relevant in already existing courses.
The creation of the new plan came in response to a series of proposals presented last April by the Black Studies Committee to the students and faculty of Bryn Mawr College. The courses will be evaluated by the committee as the year goes on.
Already instituted in the curriculum is a course on the Black writer, taught during the past spring semester by Anne Cooke Reid, widow of the late sociologist Dr. Ira D. A. Reid of Haverford College.
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Herbert Aptheker: A native of New York City, Mr. Aptheker holds a Ph.. D (1943) from Columbia University and held a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946-47. He has specialised in the fields of Black History and Marxism. He received the Heritage Award (1969) from the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (Washington D.C.) “for pioneering and profound research in Black history.” Mr. Aptheker is custodian of the letters and papers of W.E.B Dubois, and has lectured at many leading universities in the United States and abroad.
Clifton R. Jones: Mr. Jones holds a Ph. D (1943) from the State University of Iowa, and as also completed postdoctoral studies at Columbia University (1951-52) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (1952-53). Currently he is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Howard University and is also a sociological consultant at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. He has taught at a number of college and universities and has served as consultant to the President’s National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty.
Bryant Rollins: A native of Boston, Mr. Rollins received a B.A. from Northeastern University (1961) and is currently a faculty lecturer and field work coordinator in the Department of Psychology of Boston College. He is also director of the Economic Department of the New Urban League of Boston and Co-Director of the Joint Community-University Center for Innercity Chance.
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History 230. A History of the Afro-American People: Mr. Aptheker.
A two-semester course concentrating upon the experiences, concepts, organisations and struggles of the Black People in the United States. The time range will be from the commencing of the modern slave tradde in the fifteenth century to the present era; attention will be given to the intertwining of this history with UNited States and world history.
Political Science 233. Black Participation in AMerican Politics: Mr. Rollins.
Sociology 230a. The Negro in the United States: Mr. Jones.
A sociological analysis of the the Negro family; its evolution as an institution; its function as an agency of social control and personality development.
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Press Release on Black Studies 6/4/69
Bryn Mawr announces the institution of a Black Studies Program to begin in the fall of 1969. Two appointments have been made so far; Herbert Aptheker in History and Clifton Jones in Sociology, and third in process for Bryant Rollins in Political Science.
Dr. Herbert Aptheker, who is director of the American Institute for Marxist Studies, will teach a course in Afro-American History. He is a noted scholar in the field of Black History and is custodian of the papers of W.E.B. DuBois.
Dr. Clifton Jones is a professor of sociology at Howard University. He will teach a course on the Black Family. He also works with the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.
Mr. Bryant Rollins teaches a course at Boston College and works with Dr. Kenneth Clark’s organization Metropolitan Applied Research Center. He will teach a course in Black Political Participation.
In addition to these three courses, a fourth course, Seminars in Black Studies, will instituted. This course is primarily directed at the faculty, so familiarize in the use of Black Studies material in their respective disciplines. It will consist of the lectures and seminars on the role and contribution of the Black people to American civilization.
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This course will also be open to undergraduate and graduate students.
The demand for a Black Studies Program was initiated by the Black students through the Black Studies Committee. This Committee consists of Five Black Students, two students elected from the college at large, and three faculty advisors. The professors will also serve on the Committee. The Committee has been recognized by the College and plans to maintain a close and continuing relationship with the courses to be instituted.
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To: Members of the Board of Directors
Subject: Mr. Herbert Aptheker’s Appointment
Date: June 5, 1969
On Lew Lukens’ very wise suggestion and with Ned Spaeth’s approval I am sending this note to members of the Board as background for the Aptheker appointment. We knew of course his appointment would bring criticism but we thought it part of a good plan and Dorothy Marshall finds that black students working terribly hard to develop the plan have learned a lot through the year.
The plan is not a “Black Studies Program” but a series of three courses for undergraduates, one in history (Aptheker), one in sociology (Clifton R. Jones of Howard University), and one in political science, an appointment not yet made but nearly settled. These three with occasional other lecturers will offer a seminar for those interested, faculty, graduate students or upperclass undergraduate students. The idea of the seminar is to provide for those who know very little about black America, some background and bibliography which they may need for their course work. (Handwritten in margin: “Include in the curriculum as electives”)
Mr. Aptheker takes a very definite and well known position on Negro history, and it is a position with which many—both black and white—disagree. He is recognized to be a pioneer in the study of black history. He is also recognized to be a trained historian and he seemed to us a better choice than some of the militant blacks with far less knowledge of Negro history. As one of the three visitors I think he will not overbalance the program.
Ordinarily in appointing a visiting lecturer I check the appointment with the Appointment Committee but do not think it important enough to be checked with the Board. In the case of Mr. Aptheker, when we all knew there would be criticism, I called as many of the officers of the Board as I could reach: Ned Spaeth, Millicent McIntosh, John Forsythe and Eleanor Aldrich. All agreed that if we thought Mr. Aptheker’s knowledge of Negro history was as extensive as it is supposed to be we should go ahead with the appointment. From a procedural point of view it would have been better to bring the appointment to the full board at the meeting in May but the Black Studies Committee was beginning to feel that no progress was being made and to question our intentions. It seemed important to act quickly and that we did.
I met with a part of the committee yesterday. It is composed of five black students, two students to be elected by the undergraduates as a whole—and the black students expect these to be white students—and three faculty members. It is this committee of both blacks and whites which will guide the program and I am particularly happy that it is a committee of both blacks and whites and that we can look forward to a plan which will give black culture a place in the curriculum without isolating it.
KEM [President Katharine E. McBride]
Note: Last two paragraphs were crossed out in the original document.
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A Course Outline.
The Black Write and the Negro Figure in American Literature from the Negro Renaissance to the Black Revolution.
- The Negro’s conception of self and his awareness of his role in American life. The Black Novelist: Charles Chestnutt to James Baldwin
- Attitudes of the American Mind—
White American Novelists: Harriet Beecher Stowe to Eudora Welty
- The American Stereotype Emerges—
The American Literary Critic 1890-1960.
- The Stereotype Reversed—
Dramatic Literature from “All God’s Chillun Got Wings” to “God is a (Guess What?”.
- “To make a poet black and bid him sing.”
20th century black poets.
[signed]
Anne Cooke Reid
12/27/68
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HERBERT APTHEKER: A native of New York City, Mr. Aptheker holds a Ph.D. (1943) from Columbia University and held a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1946-47. He has specialized in the fields of Black history and Marxism. He received the Heritage Award (1969) from the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History (Washington, D.C.) “for pioneering and profound research in Black history.” Mr. Aptheker is custodian of the letters and papers of W.E.B. DuBois, and has lectured at many leading universities in the United States and abroad.
CLIFTON R. JONES: Mr. Jones holds a Ph.D. (1943) from the State University of Iowa, and has also completed postdoctoral studies at Columbia University (1951-52) and the London School of Economics and Political Science (1952-53). Currently he is a professor of sociology and anthropology at Howard University and is also a sociological consultant at the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia. He has taught at a number of colleges and universities and has served as a consultant to the President’s National Advisory Commission on Rural Poverty (1966-67).
BRYANT ROLLINS: A native of Boston, Mr. Rollins received a B.A. from Northeastern University (1961) and is currently a faculty lecturer and field work coordinator in the Department of Psychology of Boston College. He is also Director of the Economic Development Department of the New Urban League of Boston and Co-Director of the Joint Community-University Center for Innercity Change.
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4/29/69
Curriculum Committee
April 23, 1969
Joint Faculty-Student Committee Meeting
A joint meeting of the Faculty and Student Curriculum Committees was held on April 23 at four o’clock in the Common Room. Present from the Faculty Committee: President McBride, Deans Marshall, Pruett and McPherson; Professors: Bolker, de Graaff, Dempsey, Dunn, Gonzalez. Clarissa Rowe, the newly elected Chairman of the Student Curriculum Committee attended with new members of the Student Committee.
Miss Rowe and Miss McPherson reported that they were planning to attend a meeting of the English 015 staff to discuss the success of the pass-fail grading experiment and would report the results of that meeting to the Curriculum Committees.
Miss Silvia Arrom ’71 presented a proposal for a year’s course to carry one unit of credit in the “History and Aesthetics of Dance”. The course would be taught by Mrs. Paula Mason, presently Dance Instructor in the Physical Education Department. Miss Arrom’s proposal included a course syllabus and bibliography. According to Miss Arrom, 18 students have expressed definite interest in taking such a course in 1969-70.
Miss de Graaff saw no real difference between this course proposal and the work in sculpture at Haverford which has already received the approval of the Committee; but, she did point out that it would not be possible to support every course request brought to the Committee since adding new courses brings up many complex considerations: staff, facilities, present curriculum policy and structure.
Mr. Dempsey thought the Committees should meet and discuss the proposal with Mrs. Mason. The Committee agreed to ask Mrs. Mason to meet with them in the next week or so.
Renee Bowser ’70 was asked to bring the Committee up to date on the activities of the Black Studies Committee. Miss bowser reported that Mr. Herbert Aptheker had already met with members of the Appointments Committee and Mr. Clifton Jones and Mr. Bryant Rollins would be meeting with them this week. Miss McBride said that the Curriculum Committee had approved in principle the inclusion of courses in Black Studies in the curriculum under departmental auspices; but that the Curriculum Committee would consider specific course descriptions after the appointments were made and the new faculty members had submitted course proposals.
Miss Bowser also reported that members of the Black Studies Committee were working hard on library materials for Black studies. So far they have reviewed Bryn Mawr’s holdings and are drawing up lists of books that should be added to our collection. They have visited libraries in Philadelphia and New York to study larger collections. The new faculty members will also help with this project. Mr. Bolker reported that the AAUP plans to donate funds raised in memory of Martin Luther King, Jr. to increase library materials in Black Studies.
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Mrs. Pruett asked Miss Rowe if Ronnie Ragatz might re-submit her proposal on interdisciplinary majors since the minutes of March 3 do not contain a full account of Miss Ragatz’s proposal.
Mr. Bolker called the Committees’ attention to the new revision of Faculty Rules which calls for a review of examination procedures to be carried out by the Curriculum Committee.
The meeting was adjourned at five o’clock.
Respectifully [sic] submitted,
Mary P. McPherson
Acting Secretary in place of Mrs. Crawford
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Mr. Bolker called the Committee’s’ attention to the new revision of Faculty Rules which calls for a review of examination procedures to be carried out by the Curriculum Committee.
The meeting was adjourned at five o’clock.
Respectfully submitted,
Mary P. McPherson
Acting Secretary in place of
Mrs. Crawford
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Tuesday, April 15, 1969
Bryn Mawr Black Student Proposals
As Black Students we are deeply concerned that Bryn Mawr College break with the patterns of falsification and omission that have characterized the treatment of the role and contribution of the Black people to America, and all over the world. Bryn Mawr must deal with racism on its campus and in its courses.
We demand that the college begin to act on the proposals submitted by the Black Students Committee, in particular:
- Recognition of the Committee and its functions;
- Addition of the five proposed course to the curriculum. These include: Black Intellectual History, the History of the American Working Class, the Black Family, Black Political Participation, and the Black Urban Experience;
- Reviewing and changing courses presently in the curriculum to insure that they adequately deal with the role of the Black people and instituting a training course to prepare faculty to include this material in their courses:
- Hiring of four faculty members in the area of Black studies;
- Updating the library adequately to deal with Black Studies and in particular full representation of the Black authors in the field;
- Provision of funds to cover the costs of this program.
We feel these demands are reasonable and just. We hope that the Administration will move on these demands and, instead of raising petty obstacles to the realization to these proposals, will, by April 25, 1969, be able to give us definite answers to them.
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Tuesday, April 15, 1969
Bryn Mawr Black Students Submit Proposals on Studies to Community
The black students of Bryn Mawr issued a statement this week concerning proposals for Black Studies at Bryn Mawr. The statement was addressed “to the students and faculty of Bryn Mawr and Haverford.” The proposals themselves are reprinted opposite, while the complete text of the explanatory statement follows:
To the students and faculty of Bryn Mawr and Haverford:
We, the Black girls of Bryn Mawr, have submitted certain proposals to the Administration of the College concerning Black Studies, which we hope that they will answer to favorably and that you will support.
The issue raised here is not separatist or nationalist or integrationist. It is the issue that the whole nation is being asked to face; truth, veritatem like it says on the seal of the college. It is not the truth when American History leaves out the part Black Americans played in building this country, or when sociology courses continually find white writers more relevant than Black. Nor is it sufficient to add a course in Black History–or Black Economics–that becomes only perpetuation of the lie under a new guise. Black History did not develop apart from American History. It is part and parcel of it and must be taught that way. Nor is it right that professors excuse their exclusion of Black materials on the grounds that their whiteness makes it impossible to understand Blacks. It’s time white Americans started trying a little harder to understand Blacks, their past and their present. These demands are not just our demands; they are also your demands because we all need all the truth we can get.
Feeling as we did about the issue we initiated the Black Studies Committee, which consists of five Black students, two white students, and three faculty advisors, Mr. Baratz, Mrs. Dunn, and Mr. Schneider. Together with the help of other Black students and interested whites, we drew up a list of proposed courses and other ideas to begin to implement some of our fine rhetoric and we went to see the Administration.
Miracle of Century
Since then we have met with them on the average of twice a week and they have met to discuss us and we have met to discuss them: so far we have gotten nothing, and according to Mrs. Marshall, it will be the miracle of the twentieth century if this program (the one we have proposed) goes through this year. We have submitted careful course outlines and have prepared reading lists, suggestions for the library, lists of possible faculty members, and we are busy working on programs to supplement the knowledge of professors in the various departments so that their work in Black Studies will be both accurate and adequate. The professors working with us have been most helpful and have spent long hours in discussing on things like getting grants from foundations to whether or not our committee should be elected.
The Black students working with the Committee have tried to fulfill all that the Administration has asked of them. Yet as each assignment is fulfilled there is another added. They have done little on their part and their statements are filled with contradictions. We have little reason to expect that they will act on better faith in the future than they have in the past. They cannot even be bothered to read or keep track of the material that we have submitted to them.
It is for that reason that we as Black students have taken stand behind the Committee. The Administration has made vague allegations that the Committee does not represent the best Black Students. We unite to say it does. We hope that our white fellow students will recognize the justness and urgency of our demands and will join with us. We have nothing to lose but our chains!
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Friday, April 18, 1969
Proposals for Black Studies Win Dean Marshall’s Favor
Dean Dorothy Marshall expressed approval this week of six proposals presented to her by the Bryn Mawr Black Studies Committee Tuesday.
Commenting on the proposals, Dean Marshall said, “The rationale behind them is good, and I understand them completely.”
The committee, chaired by Mindy Thompson, called for a “break with the pattern of falsification and omission that have characterized the treatment of the role and contribution of the Black people to America, and all over the world.”
Specifically, the committee called for recognition, for the addition of five courses to the curriculum, for reviewing and changing present courses to insure that they properly deal with the rule of the black people and preparing faculty to include this material in their courses, for the hiring of four professors in the area of black studies, for updating the library adequately to deal with black studies, and in particular full representation of the black authors in the field, and for funds to cover the costs of the program.
“I don’t know whether all five courses can be managed for next year,” Mrs. Marshall said. “I certainly hope some of them can.”
She had not yet conferred on the proposals with President Katherine McBride as of Wednesday morning, because of Miss McBride’s absence from campus Tuesday and Wednesday.
Mrs. Marshall felt that the committee’s statement constituted an important step in keeping with Bryn Mawr’s tradition of academic freedom and that “as long as it’s all done well, it’s fine.”
Mrs. Marshall noted that in addition to the search for professional candidates, a search for special funds for scholarships, library back up, tutorial projects and perhaps a summer institute was going on. The summer institute might take place as a cooperative effort with Haverford or other institutions.
“I want something good to appear, that will bring to the black students be an advantageous and good response to the urgency they feel,” said Mrs. Marshall. “I hope everyone can work sensibly and learn a lot.”
Prof. Eugene Schneider, one of the members of the Black Studies Committee, commented, “It really is very hard to predict what the Bryn Mawr students are going to do.” He hoped that support for the proposals would be general, rather than coming just from the more radical students.