BEING BLACK IN A PREDOMINATELY WHITE INSTITUTION

If you can listen with an accepting ear and try to get into my frame of reference, I will attempt to
articulate what it means to be black in a white university.
Being black means to walk across campus on my first day of class and not see one black student.
Being black means to have all white teachers and to be surrounded in class by all white or nearly all
white students.
Being black is to open my textbooks and see pictures of white people and to read whitewashed
history, philosophy and theory, which are irrelevant to me.
Being black means to go to a white counselor/advisor whom I dont trust, and who doesnt know
how to handle my presence or problem.
Being black is trying to get administrators to understand my needs and do something about them, or
trying to convince a campus safety officer that he should not stop me out of prejudice.
Being black is seeing a sister or brother working a menial job and being underpaid.
Being black is to go to class disadvantaged and find I have a teacher who believes it is impossible
for a black student to make an !" or B" grade.
Being black is to be a resource person for curious white people who, after being answered, are not
willing to accept my expertise.
Being black is to have white people assume that I can answer for my entire race.
Being black means to be in an ocean of white stimuli, to be angry consciously or unconsciously, to
continually struggle with oneself to deny hostile feeling, angry feeling. I might add that there is no
difference between the anger of a black activist and that of a black #h.$, but rather a difference in
the way this feeling comes out.
Being black means to be lonely, hyperalienated, depressed, displayed, ignored and harassed. %ust
the fact of being black is to be at the brink of revolt.
I hope these perceptions will give you a better view in understanding, accepting, and respecting the
black student, in becoming more involved in his world. &y view is only a fragment of the big
picture' however, I hope that this small fragment can help you to help some black student before
he/she is forced to take other action, possibly action of revolt and disruption.
!dapted (rom)
I#B!*+$&,,-./0/(*.%/12&+/IB3$!$*10-4+562$$%B7/7&+!!7#82975*
(848I#(I35:.-881*27B$9*4B3%-,B:+&.+%50&59:;!I%%#+-2*8,+3-(1I$*
;92!
DO YOU THINK THIS STILL HOLDS TRUE TODAY?
4uestion)
(ho was the first
!frican !merican
woman to host a
nationally syndicated
8/ talk show<
!nswer)
:prah (infrey =+er
show debuted in >?@A.B
4uestion)
(ho was elected the
first black mayor of 7os
!ngeles<
!nswer)
8homas Bradley in >?CD
=+e served in that post
for DE years, retiring in
>??D.B
Black Histor Mo!t" Stor
8his is a story of a little boy named 8heo who woke up one morning and asked his mother, &om, what if there were no Black people
in the world< (ell his mother thought about that for a moment, and then said -on, follow me around today and lets just see what it
would be like if there were no Black people in the world. &om said, now go get dressed and we will get started. 8heo ran to his
room to put on his clothes and shoes.
+is mother took one look at him and said 8heo, where are your shoes, and those clothes are all wrinkled son, I must iron them. But
when she reached for the ironing board it was no longer there. 5ou see -arah Boone, a black woman, invented the ironing board and
%an ;. &atFelinger, a black man, invented the shoe lasting machine.
:h well, she said, please go and do something with your hair. 8heo ran in his room to comb his hair, but the comb was not there.
5ou see, (alter -ammons, a black man, invented the comb. 8heo decided to just brush his hair, but he brush was gone. 5ou see
7ydia :. ,ewman, a black female, invented the brush.
(ell this was a sight, no shoes, wrinkled clothes, hair a mess, even &oms hair without the hair care inventions of &adam 2.%.
(alker, well you get the picture. &om told 8heo, lets do our chores around the house and then take a trip to the grocery store.
8heos job was to sweep the floor. +e swept and swept and swept. (hen he reached for the dustpan, it was not there. 5ou see,
7loyd #. *ay, a black man, invented the dustpan. -o he swept his pile of dirt over in the corner and left it there. +e then decided to
mop the floor, but the mop was gone. 5ou see, 8homas (. -tewart, a black man, invented the mop.
8heo yelled to his mom, &om, Im not having any luck. (ell son, she said, let me finish washing these clothes and we will prepare a
list for the grocery store. (hen the wash finished, she went to place the clothes in the dryer but it was not there. 5ou see, 3eorge 8.
-amon, a black man invented the clothes dryer.
&om asked 8heo to go get a pencil and some paper to prepare their list for the market. -o 8heo ran for the paper and pencil but
noticed the pencil lead was broken. (ell he was out of luck because %ohn 7ove, a black man, invented the pencil sharpener. &om
reached for a pen, but it was not there because (illiam #urvis, a black man, invented the fountain pen. !s a matter of fact, 7ee
Burridge invented the type writing machine, and (. !. 7ovette invented the advanced printing press.
8heo and his mother decided to head out to the market. (ell when 8heo opened the door he noticed the grass was as high as he was
tall. 5ou see, the lawn mower was invented by %ohn Burr, a black man. 8hey made their way over to the car and found that is just
wouldnt go. 5ou see, %oseph 3ammel invented the supercharge system for internal combustion engines. 8hey noticed that the few
cars that were moving were running into each other and having wrecks because there were no traffic signals. 5ou see, 3arrett !.
&organ a black man invented the traffic light.
(ell, it was getting late, so they walked to the market, got their groceries and returned home. %ust when they were about to put away
the milk, eggs and butter, they noticed the refrigerator was gone. 5ou see %ohn -tandard, a black man, invented the refrigerator.
-o they just left the food on the counter. By this time, 8heo noticed he was getting mighty cold. &om went to turn up the heat, and
what do you know< !lice #arker, a black woman, invented the heating furnace. ;ven in the summer time they would have been out
of luck because 0rederick %ones, a black man, invented the air conditioner.
It was almost time for 8heos father to arrive home. +e usually takes the bus. But there was no bus, because its precursor was the
electric trolley, invented by another black man, ;lbert *. *obinson. +e usually takes the elevator from his office on the DE
th
floor, but
there was no elevator because !lexander &iles, a black man, invented the elevator. +e also usually dropped off the office mail at a
near by mailbox, but it was no longer there because #hilip $owning, a black man, invented the letter dropGmailbox and (illiam
Barry invented the postmarking and canceling machine.
8heo and his mother sat at the kitchen table with their heads in their hands. (hen the father arrived he asked, H(hy are you sitting in
the dark<HBecause 7ewis +oward 7atimer, a black man, invented the filament within the light bulb.
8heo Iuickly learned what it would be like if there were no black people in the world. ,ot to mention if he were ever sick and
needed blood. 2harles $rew, a black scientist, found a way to preserve and store blood, which lead to his starting the worlds first
blood bank.
!nd what if a family member had to have heart surgery. 8his would not have been possible without $r. $aniel +ale (illiam, a black
doctor, who performed the >
st
openGheart surgery.
-o, if you ever wondered, like 8heo, where we would be without us< (ell, its pretty plain to see. (e would still be in the $!*.JJJJ
#o"! L$%is & Ci'il Ri("ts
%ohn 7ewis was born 0ebruary D>, >?KE outside 8roy, !labama. +e received a
Bachelor of !rts in *eligion and #hilosophy from 0isk 6niversity. +e was also a
graduate from the !merican Baptist 8heological -eminar in ,ashville, 8,.
0rom young, %ohn had a strong commitment to the civil rights movement. !s a
student, he organiFed many sitGin demonstrations at segregated lunch counters.
In >?A>, %ohn volunteered to participate in the 0reedom *iders. 8hey were organiFed
to challenge segregation at interstate bus terminals across the south.
%ohn was severely beaten by mobs and risked his life by participation in the *ides.
0rom >?ALG>?AA, he was the chairman of -,22. 8hough young, %ohn was a
recogniFed leader of the civil rights movement. By >?AL, he was recogniFed as one of
the HBig -ixH leaders on the civil rights movement.
In >?CC, %ohn was appointed by #resident %immy 2arter to direct more than DME,EEE
volunteers of !28I:,, the federal volunteer agency. In >?@E, he left !28I:, and
became 2ommunity !ffairs $irector of the ,ational 2onsumer 2oGop Bank inG
!tlanta.
%ohn 7ewiss first electoral success came in >?@> when he was elected to the !tlanta
2ity 2ouncil. (hile serving on the !tlanta 2ity 2ouncil, he was an advocate for
ethics in government and neighborhood preservation. +e resigned from the 2ouncil
in >?@A to run for 2ongress.
;lected to 2ongress in ,ovember >?@A, %ohn represents 3eorgias 0ifth
2ongressional $istrict. 8he 2ongressional $istrict encompasses the entire city of
!tlanta, 3eorgia and parts of 0ulton, $e.alb and 2layton counties. In >??A, %ohn
was unopposed in his bid for a sixth term.
Coli! L)t"$r Po%$ll & Natio!al S$c)rit A*'isor
2olin 7uther #owell was born on !pril M, >?LC, in +arlem ,ew 5ork, to 7uther 8heophilus and
&aud !riel #owell. Both his parents emigrated from %amaica to the 6nited -tates before he was
born.
#owellNs family lived in a multiethnic section of the -outh Bronx when he was young. 8here he
attended elementary and secondary schools, graduating from &orris +igh -chool in >?MK. +e then
enrolled 2ity 2ollege of ,ew 5ork, a college for the children of ,ew 5orkNs newest citiFens, where
he earned a B.-. in geology in >?M@.
(hile at 2ity 2ollege, he joined the *:82, becoming company commander of the #ershing *ifles,
and commander of the entire 22,5 !rmy *:82. +e received a commission as a second lieutenant
upon graduation. +is basic training was at 0ort Benning, 3eorgia.
In >?AD, he married !lma /ivian %ohnson, the daughter of a high school principal, in Birmingham,
!labama. 8he #owellNs have three children, &ike, 7inda and !nne &arie. -hortly after their
marriage, #owell went to -outh /ietnam as a military adviser. In >?A@, he returned to /ietnam for a
second tour of duty, this time as a battalion executive officer in the !merican $ivision. 0or his
service in war, he was awarded a #urple +eart.
6pon his return to the 6nited -tates, #owell entered 3eorge (ashington 6niversity, graduating
with an &B! in >?C>. 8he next year, #owell was honored with a (hite +ouse 0ellowship. !fter a
series of highGlevel positions in and out of the military, #owell served the 2arter !dministration as
an executive assistant in both the ;nergy and $efense $epartments.
$uring the *eagan !dministration, #owell was chosen as senior military assistant to $efense
-ecretary 2asper (einberg, and later held his first 2abinet post when, in >?@C *eagan appointed
him ,ational -ecurity !dvisor.
8his was the most important advisory position in the 6nited -tates on matters affecting national
security, such as environment, trade, the defense budget, and education.
In >?@?, #owell reached the pinnacle of his profession when #resident 3eorge Bush named him
2hairman of the %oint 2hiefs of -taff, the most powerful military position in the world.
#owell emerged as the key advisor to Bush and as the architect of :peration $esert -hield, which
was designed to move !merican and international forces and materials to the &iddle ;ast to
execute the most intricate and highGtech military campaign in history) :peration $esert -torm.
In &arch >??>, the global alliance of forces had defeated the IraIis, with 3eneral #owell earning
much of the credit for the military success.
T"$ N$(ro Worl*
8he ,egro (orld, a weekly newspaper with worldwide circulation, was created by
&arcus 3arvey as the official organ of the 6niversal ,egro Improvement !ssociation
and !frican 2ommunitiesN 7eague =6.,.I.!B. 8he paper was produced in ,ew 5ork
beginning in !ugust >?>@.
8he ,egro (orld preached 3arveyNs philosophy of black consciousness, selfGhelp,
and economic independence. ;ach issue featured a frontGpage editorial penned by
3arvey himself' news items covering current events, politics and the status of black
people in the 6nited -tates and abroad' and reports on 6.,.I.!. enterprises such as
the Black -tar 7ine.
8he activities of 6.,.I.!. branches and divisions from :maha, ,ebraska, to 2uba, to
-outh !frica were reported. !nd the paper refused all advertisements for skin
lighteners and hair straighteners, which were a mainstay of the advertising pages of
most !frican !merican newspapers.
8he ,egro (orld enjoyed a broad and influential distribution, reaching not only the
entire 6nited -tates but also the 2aribbean, 2entral !merica, 2anada, ;urope, and
!frica.
!t its peak, the publication had a circulation of two hundred thousand and was the
most popular black newspaper in the 6nited -tates.
0earing the influence of 3arveyNs call for independence, ;uropean colonial powers
banned 8he ,egro (orld in many parts of !frica and the 2aribbean' however, it
continued to be distributed clandestinely by black seamen, students, and others.
:ver the years, 3arvey made the paper more accessible to his constituency) a -panish
language section of 8he ,egro (orld was begun in >?DL, a 0rench language section
in >?DK. !my %acIues 3arvey added a page called H:ur (omen and (hat 8hey
8hinkH during her tenure as associate editor, from >?DK to >?DC.
#a!$ Matil*a Boli! &
+
st
Black Wo,a! #)*($
%ane &atilda Bolin was born !pril >>, >?E@ in #oughkeepsie, ,ew 5ork.
In >?L>, she received her 77.B from 5ale 6niversity -chool of 7aw.
-he worked with her father who was also lawyer until passing the ,ew
5ork bar exam and then moving to ,ew 5our 2ity to practice law with her
husband.
In >?LC, she was appointed assistant corporation council for ,ew 5ork
council. !t the age of L>, she was chosen as the first !fricanG!merican
judge in the 6nited -tates. -he presided over the $omestic *elations 2ourt
of ,ew 5ork 2ity, which is now called the 0amily 2ourt of the -tate of
,ew 5ork.
%ane was forced to step down, upon reaching the age of mandatory
retirement, however, she continued to stretch out a hand to her community.
-he became a volunteer reading teach for the ,ew 5ork 2ity #ublic
-chools for a few years.
Clara Hal$ -Mot"$r to Ma!.
2lara +ale was a mother to over MEE children of diverse ethnic
backgrounds for DMyrs. In >?KE, she realiFed that she could become a
foster mother and began taking in children from the +arlem community.
&any children were victims of drug abuse. In the beginning stages, she
had DD babies of heroinGaddicted women in her fiveGroom apartment. -he
began to establish a home for infants addicted before birth. It was the first
and only known program in the 6- that was designed to deal with infants
born addicted to drugs.
In >?CM, the +ale +ouse became the 2enter for the #romotion of +uman
#otential, which was a licensed voluntary childcare agency' at that time, it
was the only black voluntary agency in the country.
2lara has left her loving imprint in the hearts and lives of many. In >??L,
2lara H&otherH +ale dies. 8hough this was a tragic loss, 7orraine +ale
carried on her mission.
0or more great Black
+istory facts every day,
because Black +istory is
being celebrated every
day at)
www.blackseek.com
S/$cial T"a!ks to C"rista Sa!*$li$r 0or
s)1,itti!( t"is 1)ll$ti! 1oar* 0or /)1licatio!
o! t"$ sit$2
Christa Sandelier is currently serving as the Area
Coordinator for the Jester Center at the University of
Texas in Austin. She received her Bachelor's degree
at Delaware Valley College in A and her !aster's at
Shi""ens#urg University in A. After s"ending ti$e
as a %esidence Director and wor&ing on her !aster's
at Shi""ens#urg University she wor&ed as an Area
Coordinator at Colorado State University. Christa has
written a nu$#er of wor&s for %es'ife.net and also co(
authored a cha"ter for ACU)*(+'s ursuing a Career
in )ousing. She has also served as a "anelist for an
audio conference for a"ercli" Co$$unications on
su"ervision. Christa is an active $e$#er in ACA,
serving on the lace$ent Center Co$$ittee. She is
loo&ing to #egin her doctorate in the near future.