Master of American History and Government

Ashland University

AHG 621

Race and Equality in America

June 24-29, 2007

Instructors: Lucas Morel and Diana Schaub

Course Focus:

This course will explore the history of black Americans as they strove to secure their dignity as human beings, and rights as American citizens, in the face of racial prejudice. It will examine the diverse viewpoints of leading black intellectuals and activists on human equality, slavery, self-government, the rule of law, emancipation, colonization, and citizenship. Contemporary issues to be considered may include affirmative action, black reparations, racial profiling, and the "achievement gap" in education

Specific documents, issues, and controversies to be considered include the Declaration of Independence, the U.S. Constitution, reconstruction, black codes, Jim Crow laws, and segregation. Students will also review laws, constitutional amendments, court cases, and social criticism addressing civil and political rights in America. Important writings to be examined will include Martin Delany’s "Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States" (1852), Frederick Douglass’s "Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (1852), Booker T. Washington’s "Atlanta Exposition Address" (1895), W.E.B. Du Bois’s Souls of Black Folk (1903), Marcus Garvey’s Negro World articles (1922-24), Martin Luther King’s "I Have a Dream" speech and "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (1963), and Malcolm X’s "Message to the Grassroots" (1964). Students will also read a history of the fight for equal rights in America and related scholarly commentary and fiction.

Learning Objectives:

1. Students will understand the key principles of the American founding and how they were reconciled with the continued practice of slavery
2. Students will understand the arguments for and against black emigration (or colonization) from the United States
3. Students will understand the social and political thought of Frederick Douglass, especially in relation to colonization, self-elevation, abolition, the Constitution, citizenship, and reconstruction
4. Students will understand the social and political thought of Booker T. Washington, especially in relation to education, race relations in the South, and the struggle for civil and political rights
5. Students will understand the social and political thought of W.E.B. Du Bois, especially in relation to racial solidarity and human civilization, the purpose of education, the civil rights struggle, and the work of Booker T. Washington
6. Students will understand the social and political thought of Marcus Garvey, especially in relation to American color prejudice, race relations in America, and the "Back to Africa" movement
7. Students will understand the reasoning of the 1954 Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education, especially in contrast with the 1896 Plessy v. Ferguson decision
8. Students will understand the social and political thought of Martin Luther King, Jr., especially his nonviolent protest campaign in the South and civil disobedience strategy
9. Students will understand the social and political thought of Malcolm X, especially his belief in black nationalism, criticism of America, and rejection of the goal and methods of Martin Luther King, Jr.
10. Students will understand the social and political thought of the Black Power movement and its contemporary critics
11. Students will understand key argument for and against affirmative action in higher education, especially as reflected in the 2003 Supreme Court decisions in Grutter v. Bollinger and Gratz v. Bollinger
12. Students will understand arguments in current debates involving black reparations

After completing this course, students will be able to compare and contrast the arguments of important black thinkers and activists in American history. They will be able to weigh the respective merits and drawbacks of contemporary proposals to secure the equal protection of civil rights for black Americans. Students will also be able to locate various black thinkers in the historical and political development of the United States and be able to argue for and against specific approaches to eliminating racial prejudice from the public sphere.

Requirements:

• Comprehensive, Open-Book Final Examination (100%)—a "take home," open-book examination will comprise "long answer" questions addressing key concepts, terms, arguments, individuals, and events discussed in the course. Due date: no later than July 13.

Students auditing the course as a part of a Teaching American History Grant program must complete the readings and fully participate in the seminars during the week.

Required Texts:

• Howard Brotz, ed., African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920. ISBN: 1560005637
• Frederick Douglass, Philip Foner, ed., Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings. ISBN: 1556523521
• W.E.B. Du Bois, Nathan Huggins, ed., W.E.B. Du Bois: Writings. ISBN: 1883011310
• Adam Fairclough, Better Day Coming: Blacks and Equality, 1890-2000. ISBN: 0142001295
• Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World. ISBN: 0062505521
• Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can’t Wait. ISBN: 0451527534
• Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character: A New Vision of Race in America. ISBN: 006097415X
• Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton, Black Power: The Politics of Liberation. ISBN: 0679743138
• Malcolm X, George Breitman, ed., Malcolm X Speaks: Selected Speeches and Statements. ISBN: 0802132138
• Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States of America. Ashland, Ohio: Ashbrook Center for Public Affairs, 2001 (or "Ashbrook Center booklet"). ISBN: 1878802232
• Course Pack (CP) of additional primary source materials that range from the poetry of Phyllis Wheatley to the most recent Supreme Court opinions on affirmative action.

Note: In the event students would like to pursue a particular topic further, the syllabus lists additional resources to consult under "Supplemental/Optional Readings." They are not provided in the course pack, but may be included in the required texts.

Schedule:

Sunday, June 24

3:30 5:00 pm: Session 1 with Professors Morel and Schaub

Topics: Introduction to seminar; the Founders on Freedom and Slavery

Focus: What did the Founders mean in declaring "all men are created equal"? Given the existence of slavery in Revolutionary America, did they really only mean to say that all "white English Protestant Christian males who own property" are created equal? If, on the other hand, the Founders meant the term "men" to be inclusive of all human beingsblack and white, male and femalethen how are we to understand the relation between their universal principles (which would condemn slavery) and their actual practice (the fact that slavery continued to exist in America until the Civil War)? How does the requirement of consent as the only legitimate basis of government qualify the pursuit of equality in a free society? How are we to regard the handling of slavery in the Constitution? Nowhere is there an explicit reference to slavery in the original document and yet there are clauses that were understood to have reference to slavery and to make some accommodation to it. Are those accommodations morally defensible or not?

Readings:

• Declaration of Independence and Constitution of the United States of America (Ashbrook Center booklet)
• Federalist No. 31, 1st paragraph (CP 5)
• Slavery clauses of Constitution: Art. I, sec. 2, cl. 3; Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 15; Art. I, sec. 9, cl. 1; Art. IV, sec. 2, cls. 1, 3 (Ashbrook Center booklet)
• Thomas Jefferson, Selections
  • Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence (excerpt) (CP 9)
  • Notes on the State of Virginia (1781, 1787),
    • Query XIV, "Laws" (excerpt), 254-62; (CP 13)
    • Query XVIII, "Manners," (CP 23)
  • "Letter to Benjamin Banneker" (August 30, 1791) (CP 25)
  • "Letter to Henri Gregoire" (February 25, 1809) (CP 27)
  • "Letter to Edward Coles" (August 25, 1814) (CP 29)
  • "Letter to John Holmes" (April 22, 1820) (CP 31)
  • "Letter to Roger C. Weightman" (June 24, 1826) (CP 33)
• James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, Debate over the 3/5 Compromise and Fugitive Slaves, (CP 35)
• James Madison, Federalist No. 54, (CP 51)
• Douglass, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings
  • "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (July 5, 1852), 188-206
• Abraham Lincoln, "Speech at Springfield, Illinois" (June 26, 1857), 1-8 (CP 55)
• Stephen A. Douglas, "Douglas at Springfield" (July 17, 1858), 51-66 (CP 63)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Phyllis Wheatley, "On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA" (1773) (SP 5)
• Phyllis Wheatley, "To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth" (1773) (SP 7)
• William B. Allen, "In Defense of George Washington: The True Multiculturalist," Speech to the 42nd United States Air Force Academy Assembly (February 18, 2000) (SP 9)
• Thomas G. West, chap. 1, "Slavery," Vindicating the Founders (1997) (SP 25)

7:00 pm 8:30 pm: Session 2 Institute Lecture

Monday, June 25

9:00 10:30 am: Session 3 with Professor Schaub

Topic: Emigrationists

Focus: Even while slavery continued, free blacks in America began to reflect on what the best course of action would be after emancipation. The first choice to be made was: do we stay or do we go? Often basing themselves on the historical example of the Israelites, a number of prominent figures argued for a mass emigration, either back to Africa or to other lands in the New World. We will examine the emigrationists’ grim assessment of the prospects for racial equality and racial comity in the United States. As a thought experiment, consider how you would have felt at the time. Would you have favored staying or going? Would a black Exodus have been preferable? Would it have been better or worse for blacks, better or worse for whites, better or worse for America? Is the argument for emigration offensive to you? Would it be more offensive if it were proposed today as the solution for our continuing racial troubles? Is emigration a cowardly solution? A racist one? Or is the idea of emigration realistic, bold, and prophetic?

Readings:

• Augustus Washington, "African ColonizationBy a Man of Color" (July 3, 1851), (CP 77)
• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • Martin R. Delany, "The Condition, Elevation, Emigration, and Destiny of the Colored People of the United States" (1852), 49-55, 64-73, 79, 88-97
  • Edward W. Blyden, "The African Problem and the Method of Its Solution" (1890), 126-39
  • Alexander Crummell, "The Race Problem in America" (1888), 180-90

10:50 am 12:20 pm: Session 4 with Professor Schaub

Topic: Frederick Douglass

Focus: How did Douglass answer the question, "What Country Have I?" What was his critique of the emigrationist position? What was the basis for his greater optimism about race relations in America? What does Douglass view as obstacles to self-elevation resulting from the experience of slavery? What does his stress on self-elevation indicate about his understanding of freedom? How is self-elevation to be accomplished? What is the rhetorical purpose and effect of the stern language used by Douglass in speaking to his own people?

Readings: Anti-Emigration

• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "Prejudice Not Natural" (June 8, 1849), 213-15
  • "African Civilization Society" (February 1859), 262-66
  • "The Folly of Colonization" (January 9, 1894), 328-31

Self-Elevation

• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "What are the Colored People Doing for Themselves?" (July 14, 1848), 203-208
  • "Address to the Colored People" (September 29, 1848), 208-13
  • "Letter to Harriet Beecher Stowe" (March 8, 1853), 220-26
• Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave (1845), chaps. VI-VII, (CP 87)
• Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, chap. XVII, "The Last Flogging" (1855), (CP 95)

Abolition and the Constitution

• Douglass, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings
  • "The Right to Criticize American Institutions" (May 11, 1847), 76-82
  • "The Constitution and Slavery" (February 9 & March 16, 1849), 128-33
• Douglass, "American Slavery" (September 24, 1847), (CP 101)
• Douglass, "The Address of Southern Delegates in Congress to Their Constituents" (February 9, 1849), 353-60 (CP 107)

4:30 6:00 pm: Session 5 with Professor Morel

Topic: Frederick Douglass (continued)

Focus: Over the course of his career as an abolitionist, Douglass moved from regarding the Constitution as an iniquitous compact that ought to be annulled to regarding the Constitution as "a glorious liberty document" that would bring about an end to slavery. What were the reasons for and the effects of this transformation? Just as Douglass was the leading figure in the fight to secure the natural right to liberty for blacks in America, he was the leading figure in the post-war struggle to secure civil rights for African-Americans. Why does Douglass favor justice ("fair play") over charity ("benevolence") for black Americans? Why does Douglass counsel black Americans against "race pride"? Why does Douglass consider "the Negro problem" a misnomer for "the nation’s problem" and how does this affect the kind of solutions proposed to help black Americans? If color prejudice is the bane of black Americans, what principles and policies does Douglass propose to eliminate it from American society?

Readings:

Abolition, the Constitution, and the Civil War

• Douglass, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings
  • "The Destiny of Colored Americans" (November 16, 1849), 148-49
  • "Change of Opinion Announced" (May 23, 1851), 173-74
• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "Speech on the Dred Scott Decision" (May 1857), 247-62
• Dred Scott v. Sandford (March 6, 1857) Selections (CP 115)
• Douglass, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings
  • "The Constitution of the United States" (March 26, 1860), 380-90
  • "What Shall Be Done with the Slaves If Emancipated?" (January 1862), 470-73
• Abraham Lincoln, "Final Emancipation Proclamation" (January 1, 1863) (CP 125)
• Douglass, Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings
  • "To Rev. Samuel J. May" (August 30, 1861), 469-70
  • "Men of Color, To Arms!" (March 21, 1863), 525-28
  • "Why Should a Colored Man Enlist?" (April 1863), 528-31
  • "Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln" (April 14, 1876), 615-24
• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "Present and Future" (June 1863), 267-77

Reconstruction and the Future of Black Americans

• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "What the Black Man Wants" (April 1865), 277-84
  • "The Civil Rights Case" (October 22, 1883), 298-306
  • "The Future of the Colored Race" (May 1886), 308-10
  • "The Nation’s Problem" (April 16, 1889), 311-28
• 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, 35-37 (Ashbrook Center booklet)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 1

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Phyllis Wheatley, "On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA" (1773) (SP 5)
• Allen Guelzo, "Remaining Doubt: What Was Lincoln’s True Purpose in Emancipating Slaves?" Richmond Times-Dispatch (October 25, 2005) (SP 53)
• William Allen, "Why I am Still Black," Vital Speeches of the Day (February 20, 1991) (SP 55)

Tuesday, June 26

9:00 am 10:30 am: Session 6 with Professor Schaub

Topic: Booker T. Washington

Focus: Washington came into public prominence as a result of a speech he delivered at the Atlanta Exposition in 1895. This speech articulated a strategy of racial reconciliation and accommodation that became known as the Atlanta Compromise. On what issues was Washington prepared to compromise and why? How did his position differ from that of Frederick Douglass (particularly with respect to the 15th Amendment). What understanding of human nature informed Washington’s policy of gradualism? Washington always made clear that he believed African-Americans had a high destiny in America and a particular contribution to make to the life of the nation. What were the essential features of that destiny?

Readings:

• Washington, Up From Slavery, chap. 3, "The Struggle for an Education," 42-62 (CP 129)
• Washington, "A Sunday Evening Talk" (February 10, 1895), 508-15 (CP 137)
• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "Educational Outlook in the South" (July 16, 1884), 351-56
  • "Atlanta Exposition Address" (September 18, 1895), 356-59
  • "Democracy and Education" (September 30, 1896), 362-71
  • "The Fruits of Industrial Training" (1907), 406-17
  • "The Intellectuals and the Boston Mob" (1911), 423-34
  • "Is the Negro Having a Fair Chance?" (November 1912), 445-60
  • "My View of Segregation Laws" (December 4, 1915), 460-63
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896), Selections (CP 195)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 3

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Washington, "Letter to J.R. Barlow," The Booker T. Washington Papers 10 (March 1, 1911): (SP 65)
• Louis Harlan, "Booker T. Washington in Biographical Perspective," 75 American Historical Review 6 (October 1970), (SP 67)
• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • Washington, "Hampton Institute Address" (November 18, 1895), 371-72
  • T. Thomas Fortune, "Political Independence of the Negro" (1884), 336-44
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 2

10:50 am 12:20 pm: Session 7 with Professor Schaub

Topic: W.E.B. Du Bois

Focus: Why does Du Bois seek to "conserve" the races? How would "the conservation of the races" help the future of the Negro race as well as the future of world civilization? How can the United States help blacks fulfill their destiny? What principles of the American regime appear to run counter to Du Bois’s emphasis on "race organizations" and "race solidarity"? To eliminate color prejudice, what does Du Bois recommend as the respective duties of blacks and whites in America? What does Du Bois mean by "double consciousness" and is this an accurate rendering of the acculturation of blacks in America? Aside from the American "color line," to what internal source does Du Bois point as a significant obstacle to black achievement? What is the role of "agitation" in securing equal rights under the law?

Readings:

• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • Du Bois, "The Conservation of Races" (1897), 483-92
  • "The Forethought," 357-61
  • "Agitation" (November 1910), 1131-2
  • "I Am Resolved" (January 1912), 1137-8
  • "The Black Man and the Unions" (March 1918), 1173-75
  • "Returning Soldiers" (May 1919), 1179-1181
  • "The Name ’Negro’" (March 1928), 1219-1222
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 4

4:30 6:00 pm: Session 8 with Professor Morel

Topic: W.E.B. Du Bois (continued)

Focus: Early in his career, Du Bois delivered a critique of Booker T. Washington’s leadership. What were the essential points of disagreement between them? Du Bois is known as one of the great defenders of the need for higher education, particularly for the "talented tenth." What does he understand the purposes of liberal education to be? Is his understanding of liberal education compatible with his call for "the conservation of races" and the preservation of racial and cultural distinctness?

Readings:

• Du Bois, W.E.B. Du Bois: WritingsSouls of Black Folk (1903)
  • "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others," 392-404
  • "Of the Training of Black Men," 424-38
  • "Of the Sons of Master and Man," 475-92
  • "Of the Faith of the Fathers," 493-505
  • "The Sorrow Songs," 536-46
  • "The Afterthought," 547
• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
  • "The Talented Tenth" (1903), 518-33
• James Weldon Johnson, "Lift Ev’ry Voice and Sing" (1900) (CP 223)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 5

Wednesday, June 27

9:00 10:30 am: Session 9 with Professor Morel

Topic: Marcus Garvey; Attacking Segregation in the Courts (Brown v. Board of Education)

Focus: Why does Garvey respond to color prejudice in America more pessimistically than Douglass, Washington, or Du Bois? How does the American context after World War I shape Garvey’s solutions for the plight of black Americans? Why is a Negro nation so important for progress in the protection of the rights of Negroes anywhere in the world?

In Brown v. Board of Education (1954), the Supreme Court briefly traces the history of public schools in America. How does this help the Court argue against racially segregated schools? What role do legal precedents play in the Court’s argument against "separate but equal" schools? What is meant by "intangible considerations" and how does this help the Court establish that the mere act of separating school children by race produces an unequal education? What are the strengths and weaknesses of the Court’s opinion in Brown? If segregated schools did not produce "a feeling of inferiority" on the part of black children, would these schools be unconstitutional according to Brown?

Readings:

• Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920: Marcus Garvey
  • "Race Assimilation" (1922), 553-54
  • "The True Solution of the Negro Problem" (1922), 554-55
  • "An Appeal to the Soul of White America" (1923), 555-59
  • "Racial Reforms and Reformers" (1923), 559-60
  • "Who and What is a Negro?" (January 19, 1923), 560-62
  • "An Appeal to the Conscience of the Black Race to See Itself" (1923), 562-66
  • "The Negro’s Place in World Reorganization" (March 24, 1923), 566-68
  • "Aims and Objects of Movement for Solution of Negro Problem" (1923), 568-72
  • "Racial Ideals" (March 16, 1924), 572-76
• W.E.B. Du Bois: WritingsThe Crisis, "Marcus Garvey" (Dec. 1920/Jan. 1921), 969-79
• Brown v. Board of Education (1954), 483-96 (CP151)
• Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) (CP 141)
• Zora Neale Hurston, "To the Orlando Sentinel" (August 11, 1955), 738-40 (CP 159)
• Langston Hughes, "Harlem" (1951) (CP 161)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chaps. 6, 9-10

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Lucas Morel, "The Joe Louis of the Courtroom," Books & Culture: A Christian Review (July/August 1999) (SP 89)
• Michael Klarman, "Brown’s Backlash," From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality (2004) (SP 93)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chaps. 7-8

10:50 am 12:20 pm: Session 10 with Professor Morel

Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr.

Focus: Why does King reject force as a response to oppression? What is the major concern of the white clergymen who counsel King to stay away from Birmingham? What are the four stages of civil disobedience? How does King’s civil disobedience (or nonviolent resistance) against a particular law actually support obedience to the government and laws? Why does King blame white moderates more than fringe elements like the Ku Klux Klan for lack of progress in securing civil rights for black Americans? What is the role of the church and God in King’s leadership of the modern Civil Rights Movement? In his "I Have a Dream" speech, does King combine religion and politics in a way that upholds or subverts what has come to be known as the "wall of separation" between church and state?

Readings:

• Clergymen, "Letter to Martin Luther King" (April 12, 1963), 282-83 (CP 165)
• King, I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches
  • "The Power of Non-Violence" (June 4, 1957), 29-33
  • "Letter from Birmingham Jail" (April 16, 1963), 83-100
  • "I Have a Dream" (August 28, 1963), 101-106
  • "Eulogy for the Martyred Children" (September 18, 1963), 115-18
• King, Why We Can’t Wait
  • "Commitment Card" (1963), 50-52 and photos, after 102

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Abraham Lincoln, "Young Men’s Lyceum Address" (January 27, 1838) (SP 127)
• Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience" (1849) (SP 131)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chaps. 11-13

4:15 6:15 pm (note early time): Session 11 with Professors Morel and Schaub

Activity: Watch Raisin in the Sun

Thursday, June 28

9:00 10:30 am: Session 12 with Professor Morel

Topic: Martin Luther King, Jr. (continued)

Focus: Does King’s proposal for a "Bill of Rights for the Disadvantaged" indicate a shift from his earlier vision of the American dream? Does King’s advocacy of "compensatory or preferential treatment" look more to race or poverty as its justification? Is the GI Bill of Rights a good analogy for King’s promotion of a federal, economic program to help blacks and the disadvantaged, generally? What does "black power" mean to King? What does President Johnson mean by comparing "equality as a right" with "equality as a result"?

Readings:

• King, Why We Can’t Wait
  • Chap. 8, "The Days to Come," 116-43 (1964)
• King, I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches
  • "Nonviolence: The Only Road to Freedom" (October 1966), 125-34
  • "Black Power Defined" (June 11, 1967), 153-65
  • "I See the Promised Land" (April 3, 1968), 193-203
• Bayard Rustin, "From Protest to Politics: The Future of the Civil Rights Movement" (1964), 116-29 (CP 169)
• Christopher Lasch, "The Spiritual Discipline Against Resentment" (1991), 386-411 (CP 177)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• King, I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches
  • "Where Do We Go from Here?" (August 16, 1967), 169-79
• Lyndon B. Johnson, "’To Fulfill These Rights’: Commencement Address at Howard University" (June 4, 1965) (SP 143)
• Clayborne Carson, "Martin Luther King, Jr.: Charismatic Leadership in a Mass Struggle," Journal of American History 74 (September 1987), (SP 149)

10:50 am 12:20 pm: Session 13 with Professor Schaub

Topic: Malcolm X

Focus: Malcolm X insists that there is no legitimate intermediate position between "the ballot" and "the bullet." He is highly critical of King’s reliance on "civil" disobedience. Is he correct? How does his understanding of political action (and particularly the justification for violence) compare to the right of revolution as articulated by John Locke and enshrined in the Declaration of Independence? Why did Malcolm X reject integration as an aim of the civil rights struggle? Why must black nationalism be an internationalist movement?

Readings:

• Louis Lomax, When the Word is Given, "A Summing Up" (1963), 169-80 (CP 193)
• Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks
  • "Message to Grassroots" (November 10, 1963), 3-17
  • "A Declaration of Independence" (March 12, 1964), 18-22
  • "The Ballot or the Bullet" (April 3, 1964), 23-44
  • "At the Audubon" (December 20, 1964), 115-136
  • "Last Answers and Interviews" (November 23, 1964-February 21, 1965), 194-226
• John Locke, Second Treatise of Government (1689), chap. 19, sec. 235 (excerpt) (CP 201)
• Joseph Jackson, "Annual Address" (September 10, 1964), 133-43 (CP 203)
• Cornel West, Race Matters, chap. 8, "Malcolm X and Black Rage," 95-105 (CP 209)
• Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 14

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Shelby Steele, "Malcolm Little: The Deep Appeal of Malcolm X’s Conservatism," New Republic (December 21, 1992) (SP 159)

4:30 6:00 pm: Session 14 with Professor Schaub

Topic: Black Power and Its Critics

Focus: Carmichael, Hamilton, hooks, and Steele are all centrally concerned with self-esteem. Compare and contrast their analyses of what self-esteem is, why it is so important, how demeaning stereotypes affect self-esteem, and how self-esteem can be achieved. What are the points in contention between these thinkers? What are the varying assessments of middle-class America?

Readings:

• Kwame Ture (aka Stokely Carmichael) and Charles V. Hamilton, Black Power (1967; 1992), chaps. II-III and "Afterword, 1992" (Hamilton), 34-85, 201-18
• Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (1990), chaps. 1-6, pp. 1-109
• bell hooks [Gloria Watkins], Killing Rage: Ending Racism (1995)
  • "Killing Rage: Militant Resistance," 8-20 (CP 221)
  • "Refusing to be a Victim," 51-61 (CP 229)
  • "Overcoming White Supremacy: A Comment," 184-95 (CP 235)
• Bayard Rustin, "The Myth of Black Studies" (1969) (CP 244)
• Ralph Ellison, Selections
  • "Indivisible Man" (December 1970), (CP 247)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton, Black Power (1967), chaps. IV-VI, 86-145
• Ralph Ellison, Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison (1995)
  • "An American Dilemma: A Review" (1944), (SP 167)
  • "What These Children Are Like" (September 1963), (SP 175)
  • "Haverford Statement" (May 31, 1969), (SP181)
  • "What America Would Be Like Without Blacks" (April 6, 1970), (SP 183)
  • "When Does a Black Join the Middle Class?" (January 29, 1975) (SP 187)

Friday, June 29

9:00 10:30 am: Session 15 with Professor Morel

Topic: Affirmative Action

Focus: In the cases of Grutter and Gratz, which of the Supreme Court’s opinions (majority, concurring, or dissenting) made the best argument to uphold or reject the University of Michigan’s affirmative action policies? What does it mean to "take affirmative action"? How has affirmative action, in principle and practice, changed from its origins in the early 1960s? How does the argument for "diversity" differ from the argument for affirmative action as a "remedy" for past injury?

Readings:

• Grutter v. Bollinger (Only the opinions of O'Connor, Thomas, and Rehnquist) and Gratz v. Bollinger (2003) (Only the opinions of Rehnnquist, O'Connor, Souter, and Ginsburg) (CP 271): http://www.law.cornell.edu/supct/html/02-241.ZS.html (PDF version)
• Ralph Ellison, "’A Completion of Personality’: A Talk with Ralph Ellison" (1974), 798-806 (CP 321)
• William G. Bowen and Neil L. Rudenstine, "Race-Sensitive Admissions: Back to Basics" (February 7, 2003), 1-8 (CP 339)
• Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (1990), chaps. 7-8 and Epilogue, 111-48, 167-75

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• Franklin D. Roosevelt, Executive Order No. 8802 (1941) (SP 193)
• Harry Truman Executive Order No. 9981 (1948) (SP 195)
• John F. Kennedy, Executive Order No. 10925 (1961) (SP 197)
• Civil Rights Act of 1964 (SP 205)
• Voting Rights Act of 1965 (SP 231)
• Lyndon B. Johnson, Executive Order No. 11246 (1965) (SP 239)
• Hugh Davis Graham, chap. 9, "The Philadelphia Plan and the Politics of Minority Preference," Civil Rights and the Presidency (1969, 1992) (SP 247)
• Stephen L. Carter, Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby (1991), chaps. 1-4 (SP 259)
• Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (1990), chap. 9
• James Traub, "Ivory Tower Intrigues," Slate.com (October 24, 2005) (SP 303)

10:50 am 12:20 pm: Session 16 with Professors Morel

Topic: Black Reparations and Racial Profiling

Focus: What are black reparations? What are the strongest arguments for and against black reparations? What is racial profiling? What are the strongest arguments for and against racial profiling?

Readings: Black Reparations

• Gen. William T. Sherman, "Special Field Orders, No. 15" (January 16, 1865), 118-20 (CP 349)
• John David Smith, "The Enduring Myth of ’Forty Acres and a Mule’" (2003), 1-3 (CP 351)
• Abraham Lincoln, "Second Inaugural Address" (March 4, 1865), 55-57 (Ashbrook Center booklet)
• Frederick Douglass, "The Blessings of Liberty and Education" (September 3, 1894), 616-29 (CP 355)
• Thurgood Marshall, Regents v. Bakke (June 28, 1978), separate opinion (CP 361)
• Charles Krauthammer, "Reparations for Black Americans" (December 31, 1990) (CP 371)
• Molefi Kete Asante, "The African American Warrant for Reparations" (2003), 3-13 (CP 373)
• John McWhorter, "Against Reparations" (July 23, 2001) (CP 382)
• Dinesh D’Souza, What’s So Great About America (2002), chap. 4, "The Reparations Fallacy: What African-Americans Owe America," 101-31 (CP 391)
• Allen Guelzo, "Reparations Then and Now" (June/July 2002), 32-36 (CP 409)

Racial Profiling

• Jeffrey Goldberg, "The Color of Suspicion" (June 20, 1999), 1-20 (CP 415)
• Randall Kennedy, "Suspect Policy" (September 13, 1999), 30-35 (CP 435)
• Heather MacDonald, "The Myth of Racial Profiling" (Spring 2001), 1-13 (CP 442)
• James Q. Wilson and Heather R. Higgins, "Profiles in Courage" (January 10, 2002) (CP 455)

Supplemental/Optional Readings:

• "Making the Case for Racial Reparations," Harper’s Magazine (November 2000), (SP 309)
• Gene Callahan and William Anderson, "The Roots of Racial Profiling," Reason (August/September 2001) (SP 325)
• Randall Kennedy, "Blind Spot," Atlantic (April 2002) (SP 335)

1:30 3:00 pm: Session 17 with Professors Morel and Schaub

Activity: Blue Book Final Examination ("long answer" format)