Additional Resources
Sunday, June 21, 2009 to Friday, June 26, 2009
Instructors: Lucas Morel and Peter C. Myers
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 will include affirmative action and current debates over race essentialism and identity politics.
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.
Learning Objectives:
- Students will understand the key principles of the American founding and how they were reconciled with the continued practice of slavery
- Students will understand the arguments for and against black emigration (or colonization) from the United States
- Students will understand the social and political thought of Frederick Douglass, especially in relation to colonization, self-elevation, abolition, the Constitution, citizenship, and reconstruction
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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
- 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.
- Students will understand the social and political thought of the Black Power movement
- Students will understand key arguments 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
- Students will understand arguments in current debates involving America's racial divide
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 Friday, July 10.
Students auditing the course as a part of a Teaching American History Grant program must complete all readings, attend all of the seminars, and fully participate during the week.
Required Texts:
- Howard Brotz, ed., African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920. ISBN: 1560005637
- W.E.B. Du Bois, The Souls of Black Folk. ISBN: 0486280411
- Martin Luther King, Jr., I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches that Changed the World. ISBN: 0062505521
- 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
- Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint, Come On People: On the Path from Victims to Victors. ISBN: 1595551867
- 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.
Recommended Texts:
- Adam Fairclough, Better Day Coming: Blacks and Equality, 1890-2000. ISBN: 0142001295.
- Peter C. Myers, Frederick Douglass: Race and the Rebirth of American Liberalism. ISBN: 0700615725.
- National Union League, The State of Black America 2007: Portrait of a Black Male. ISBN: 0931761859.
- John McWhorter, Winning the Race. ISBN: 1592402704.
- Orlando Patterson, The Ordeal of Integration. ISBN: 188717897X.
For Further Reading:
- Frederick Douglass, Phillip Foner, ed., Frederick Douglass: Selected Speeches and Writings. ISBN: 1556523521.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Why We Can't Wait. ISBN: 0451527534.
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.
Sunday, June 21
4:30 - 6:00 pm: Session 1 with Professors Morel and Myers
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 beings—black and white, male and female—then 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 pg 3)
- 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 (CP)
- Original Draft of the Declaration of Independence (excerpt) (CP pg 4)
- Notes on the State of Virginia (1781, 1787), Query XIV, "Laws" (excerpt), (CP g 8); Query XVIII, "Manners," (CP pg 18)
- "Letter to Benjamin Banneker" (August 30, 1791) (CP pg 19)
- "Letter to Henri Gregoire" (February 25, 1809) (CP pg 20)
- "Letter to Edward Coles" (August 25, 1814) (CP pg 21)
- "Letter to John Holmes" (April 22, 1820) (CP pg 23)
- "Letter to Roger C. Weightman" (June 24, 1826) (CP pg 24)
- James Madison, Notes of Debates in the Federal Convention of 1787, Debate over the 3/5 Compromise and Fugitive Slaves, 409-413, 502-509, 522, 530-32, 545-46, 552, 648 (CP pg 25)
- James Madison, Federalist No. 54, (CP pg 39)
- Douglass, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (July 5, 1852), (CP pg 42)
- Abraham Lincoln, "Speech at Springfield, Illinois" (June 26, 1857), (CP pg 57)
- Stephen A. Douglas, "Douglas at Springfield" (July 17, 1858), (CP pg 65)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Phyllis Wheatley, "On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA" (1773) (SCP pg 3)
- Phyllis Wheatley, "To the Right Honourable William, Earl of Dartmouth" (1773) (SCP pg 4)
- William B. Allen, "In Defense of George Washington: The True Multiculturalist," Speech to the 42nd United States Air Force Academy Assembly (February 18, 2000) (SCP pg 6)
- Thomas G. West, chap. 1, "Slavery," Vindicating the Founders (1997)
7:30 pm - 9:00 pm: Session 2 – Institute Lecture
Monday, June 22
9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 3 with Professor Morel
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 Colonization—By a Man of Color" (July 3, 1851), (CP pg 79):
- 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 Myers
Topic: Frederick Douglass
Focus: How did Douglass answer the question, "What Country Have I?" What was the basis for his affirmation of an American identity for African Americans? What does his stress on self-elevation indicate about his understanding of freedom? How did he conceive of the relation between self-help and abolition? Why did he think there were solid grounds for hopefulness, in the face of the Dred Scott ruling and other apparent setbacks for the abolitionist cause during the 1850s? What moved him to change his opinion on the U.S. Constitution's relation to slavery, and how did this change of opinion contribute to his hopefulness concerning abolition? How did it contribute to his critical opinion of Abraham Lincoln during the early years of the war?
Readings:
On America:
- Douglass, "The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro" (July 5, 1852), (CP pg 42-from Session 1)
On Self-Help, Abolition, and Hopefulness:
- Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, (1845), chap. VI (CP pg 88):
- Douglass, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, An American Slave, (1845), chap. VII (CP pg 90):
- 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
- "The Doom of the Black Power" (July 27, 1855), 244-47
- Douglass, My Bondage and My Freedom, chap. XVII, "The Last Flogging" (1855), (CP pg 93):
- Douglass, "Men of Color, To Arms!" (March 21, 1863), (CP pg 99)
- Douglass, "The Constitution and Slavery" (February 9 & March 16, 1849), (CP pg 101)
- 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), Taney's Majority Opinion and McLean and Curtis's Dissenting Opinions (CP pg 114):
- Douglass, "The Slaveholders' Rebellion" (July 4, 1862), (CP pg 124)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Peter C. Myers, Frederick Douglass: Race and the Rebirth of American Liberalism (2008), chaps. 1-3
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Session 5 with Professor Myers
Topic: Frederick Douglass (continued)
Focus: 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? What sorts of efforts at self-elevation does he recommend to African Americans in the post-Emancipation era? How does his enlarged view of Lincoln contribute to his appeals both for justice and for self-elevation? How does he conceive of the long-term future of "the colored race" in America and of America's deepest national mission? What principles inform Douglass's vision of a composite American nationality? How does this vision in turn support a strong, heartfelt affirmation of American identity among African Americans? How does it cohere with his longstanding rejection of emigration and his disapproval of "race pride" among African Americans?
Readings:
On Justice and Charity for African Americans:
- Abraham Lincoln, "Final Emancipation Proclamation" (January 1, 1863) (CP pg 136)
- 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, 35-37 (Ashbrook Center booklet)
- Douglass, "What Shall Be Done with the Slaves If Emancipated?" (January 1862), (CP pg 138)
- 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
On Lincoln, Justice, and Self-Elevation
- Douglass, "Oration in Memory of Abraham Lincoln" (April 14, 1876), (CP pg 141)
- "Self-Made Men" (March, 1893), Frederick Douglass Papers, 5:545-75 (CP pg 148)
- "The Blessings of Liberty and Education" (September 3, 1894), (CP pg 179)
On the Future of African Americans in America
- "Our Composite Nationality" (December 7, 1869), (CP pg 142)
- Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
- "The Future of the Colored Race" (May 1886), 308-10
- "Prejudice Not Natural" (June 8, 1849), 213-15
- "The Nation's Problem" (April 16, 1889), 311-28
- "The Folly of Colonization" (January 9, 1894), 328-31
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Phyllis Wheatley, "On Being Brought from AFRICA to AMERICA" (1773) (SCP pg 3)
- Allen Guelzo, "Remaining Doubt: What Was Lincoln's True Purpose in Emancipating Slaves?" Richmond Times-Dispatch (October 25, 2005) (SCP pg 17)
- William Allen, "Why I am Still Black," Vital Speeches of the Day (February 20, 1991) (SCP pg 19)
- Peter C. Myers, Frederick Douglass: Race and the Rebirth of American Liberalism (2008), chaps. 4-5 and Conclusion
Tuesday, June 23
9:00 am - 10:30 am: Session 6 with Professor Morel
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," (CP pg 200)
- Washington, "A Sunday Evening Talk" (February 10, 1895), (CP pg 207)
- 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), Brown's Majority Opinion and Harlan's Dissenting Opinion, Excerpts (CP pg 212)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Washington, "Letter to J.R. Barlow," The Booker T. Washington Papers 10 (March 1, 1911) (SCP pg 21)
- Louis Harlan, "Booker T. Washington in Biographical Perspective," 75 American Historical Review 6 (October 1970), 1581-99 (SCP pg 22)
- 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. 2-3
10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 7 with Professor Myers
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 republic 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
- Du Bois, "The Philadelphia Negro" (1899), 492-508
- Du Bois, Souls of Black Folk (1903)
- "The Forethought," v
- "Of Our Spiritual Strivings," 1-8
- Brotz, African-American Social and Political Thought, 1850-1920
- Du Bois, "Declaration of Principles of the Niagara Movement" (1905), 533-37
- Du Bois, "The Evolution of the Race Problem" (1909), 539-49
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 4
4:00 pm - 5:30 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, Souls of Black Folk (1903)
- "Of Mr. Booker T. Washington and Others," 25-36
- "Of the Training of Black Men," 55-68
- "Of the Sons of Master and Man," 99-114
- "Of the Faith of the Fathers," 115-126
- "The Sorrow Songs," 155-164
- "The Afterthought," 165
- 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 pg 220)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 5
Wednesday, June 24
9:00 am - 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
- Brown v. Board of Education (1954), (CP pg 222)
- Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) (CP pg 212-from Session 6)
- Zora Neale Hurston, "To the Orlando Sentinel" (August 11, 1955), (CP pg 229):
- Langston Hughes, "Harlem" (1951) (CP pg 231)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chaps. 6-10
- Lucas Morel, "The Joe Louis of the Courtroom," Books & Culture: A Christian Review (July/August 1999) (SCP pg 43)
- Michael Klarman, "Brown's Backlash," From Jim Crow to Civil Rights: The Supreme Court and the Struggle for Racial Equality (2004) (SCP pg 46)
10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 10 with Professor Myers
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), (CP pg 233)
- 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
- Joseph Jackson, "Annual Address" (September 10, 1964), (CP pg 235)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Abraham Lincoln, "Young Men's Lyceum Address" (January 27, 1838) (SCP pg 77)
- Thoreau, "Civil Disobedience" (1849) (SCP pg 82)
- Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chaps. 11-13
3:30 - 5:30 pm (note early time): Session 11 with Professors Morel and Myers
Activity: Watch Raisin in the Sun
Thursday, June 25
9:00 am - 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?
Readings:
- King, Why We Can't Wait
- Chap. 8, sec. III "The Days to Come," (1964), 124-31 (CP pg 242)
- King, I Have a Dream: Writings and Speeches
- "Where Do We Go from Here?" (August 16, 1967), 169-79
- "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
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Lyndon B. Johnson, "'To Fulfill These Rights': Commencement Address at Howard University" (June 4, 1965) (SCP pg 96)
- Bayard Rustin, "From Protest to Politics: The Future of the Civil Rights Movement" (1964), 116-29 (SCP pg 96)
- Christopher Lasch, "The Spiritual Discipline Against Resentment," The True and Only Heaven: Progress and Its Critics (1991), 386-411 (SCP pg 102)
- Clayborne Carson, "Martin Luther King, Jr.: Charismatic Leadership in a Mass Struggle," Journal of American History 74 (September 1987) (SCP pg 109)
10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 13 with Professor Myers
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 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), (CP pg 247):
- 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
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Malcolm X, Malcolm X Speaks
- "Last Answers and Interviews" (Nov. 23, 1964-Feb. 21, 1965), 194-226
- Fairclough, Better Day Coming, chap. 14
- Shelby Steele, "Malcolm Little: The Deep Appeal of Malcolm X's Conservatism," New Republic (December 21, 1992) (SCP pg 123)
- Cornel West, "Malcolm X and Black Rage," Race Matters (1993), chap. 8, 95-105 (SCP pg 132)
4:00 pm - 5:30 pm: Session 14 with Professor Myers
Topic: Black Power and Its Critics
Focus: Carmichael, Hamilton, hooks, and Steele are all centrally concerned with self-respect and the conditions of real agency. Compare and contrast their analyses of what self-respect is, why it is so important, how demeaning stereotypes affect it, and what conditions and actions tend to foster it. What are the points in contention between these thinkers? What are their varying assessments of middle-class America?
Readings:
- Kwame Ture (aka Stokely Carmichael) and Charles V. Hamilton, Black Power (1967; 1992), chap. II and "Afterword, 1992" (Hamilton), 34-57, 201-18
- Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (1990), chaps. 1-2, 1-36
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Kwame Ture and Charles V. Hamilton, Black Power (1967), chaps. III-VI, 58-145
- Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (1990), chaps. 3-6, 37-109
- Ralph Ellison, Collected Essays of Ralph Ellison(1995)
- "An American Dilemma: A Review" (1944), 328-40 (SCP pg 138)
- "What These Children Are Like" (September 1963), 542-51 (SCP pg 148)
- "Haverford Statement" (May 31, 1969), 427-32 (SCP pg 155)
- "What America Would Be Like Without Blacks" (April 6, 1970), 577-84 (SCP pg 160)
- "Indivisible Man" (December 1970), 372-95 (SCP pg 162)
- "When Does a Black Join the Middle Class?" (January 29, 1975) (SCP pg 165)
Friday, June 26
9:00 am - 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 (2003), O'Connor's Majority Opinion (CP pg 256) (PDF version)
- Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Rehnquist's Dissenting Opinion (CP pg 288) (PDF version)
- Gratz v. Bollinger (2003), Rehnquist's Majority Opinion (CP pg 298) (PDF version)
- William G. Bowen and Neil L. Rudenstine, "Race-Sensitive Admissions: Back to Basics" (February 7, 2003), (CP pg 296)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Grutter v. Bollinger (2003), Thomas's Opinion (SCP pg 187)
- Franklin D. Roosevelt, Executive Order No. 8802 (1941) (SCP pg 1913)
- Harry Truman Executive Order No. 9981 (1948) (SCP pg 222)
- John F. Kennedy, Executive Order No. 10925 (1961) (SCP pg 224)
- Civil Rights Act of 1964 (SCP pg 225)
- Voting Rights Act of 1965 (SCP pg 232)
- Lyndon B. Johnson, Executive Order No. 11246 (1965) (SCP pg 258)
- Hugh Davis Graham, chap. 9, "The Philadelphia Plan and the Politics of Minority Preference," Civil Rights and the Presidency (1969, 1992) (SCP pg 266)
- Shelby Steele, The Content of Our Character (1990), chaps. 7-9 and Epilogue (SCP pg 274)
- Stephen Carter, Reflections of an Affirmative Action Baby (1991), chaps. 1-4 (SCP pg 285)
- Ralph Ellison, "'A Completion of Personality': A Talk with Ralph Ellison" (1974) (SCP pg 328)
- James Traub, "Ivory Tower Intrigues," Slate.com (October 24, 2005) (SCP pg 341)
10:50 am - 12:20 pm: Session 16 with Professors Myers
Topic: The Cosby Controversy
Focus: In a now-famous speech to the NAACP in 2004, Bill Cosby declared that the center of the race problem today is no longer white racism but instead a self-destructive cultural ethos among a subclass of African Americans. His speech provoked a torrent of controversy. Is Cosby "blaming the victim," as his detractors contend? Or, as his supporters have it, is he speaking long-suppressed and much-needed truths? What moral and political prescriptions follow from Cosby's analysis?
Readings:
- Bill Cosby, "Address to the NAACP on the Fiftieth Anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education" (May 17, 2004), (CP pg 335)
- Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint, Come On People (2007), chap. 1 pp. 1-29
- Michael Eric Dyson, Is Bill Cosby Right of Is the Black Middle Class Out of Touch? (2005), (CP pg 340)
- Barack Obama, "Speech on Fathers' Day" (June 15, 2008), (CP pg 350)
Supplemental/Optional Readings:
- Bill Cosby and Alvin F. Poussaint, Come On People (2007), chaps. 7-8, pp. 191-243
- National Urban League, The State of Black America 2007: Portrait of the Black Male
- John McWhorter, Winning the Race (2006)
- Orlando Patterson, The Ordeal of Integration (1997)
- Michael Eric Dyson, "Responsibillity: Cosby's Conservative Turn" (A Debate with Shelby Steele), in Dyson, Debating Race, 381-86 (SCP pg 346)
- Juan Williams, Enough (2006), Introduction, chap. 10, pp. 1-24, 211-32 (SCP pg 351)
- Ta-Nehisi Coates, " 'This is How We Lost to the White Man': The Audacity of Bill Cosby's Black Conservatism," The Atlantic Monthly (May 2008), 1-10 (SCP pg 376)
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm: Session 17 with Professors Morel and Myers
Activity: Blue Book Final Examination ("long answer" format)