White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education (original) (raw)

Western journal of black studies, 2008

Abstract

White Money/Black Power: The Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education AUTHOR: NOLIWE ROOKS BEACON PRESS, BOSTON 2006 PRICE: $29.00 ISBN: 0807032700 Noliwe Rooks' White Money/Black Power: the Surprising History of African American Studies and the Crisis of Race in Higher Education is a provocative work on the history of the Black Studies Movement. Sharply focused on the Ford Foundation's efforts to shape Black Studies, the work reveals the important role of white philanthropy in the development of the discipline. Comprised of six chapters, White Money/ Black Power is divided into two major parts. According to Rooks' "The first is historical, and the second focuses on the legacy and relationship of the earlier period to today" (12-13). In the historical section, Rooks attempts to recast the history of the Black Studies Movement by making two major assertions. The first contention concerns the role of white students in the movement to establish Black Studies. Although Rooks argues that "at San Francisco State, Black, white, Native American, Asian, and Latino students rose up together, joined forces, and made or supported unequivocal demands" she places her emphasis on the reinsertion of white students, whom she believes the historical narrative has forgotten. In a chapter entitled "The White Student Protest Movement: Port Huron Statement", Rooks attempts to "disrupt comforting visual, historical, and oral narratives" by reminding the reader that white students were important actors in the protests for Black Studies (5). Rooks' claim however, is somewhat of an overstatement as most historical narratives have not failed to include the participation of whites. In Maulana Karenga's Introduction to Black Studies (2002), for example, the author declares that "the struggle to win Black Studies ... was supported by other Third World students and whites" (15). Similarly, Michael Thelwell's journalistic essay covering the events leading up to the Black Students occupation of Williard Straight at Cotnell, entitled "Negroes With Guns", also mentions the support of the Students for Democratic Society (SDS). The most important part of the historical section tells the story of McGeorge Bundy, former cold war National Security Director and Ford Foundation president from 1966-1970. Focused on his tenure with Ford, Rooks argues that Bundy sought to define his career with the Foundation by "solving America's racial troubles" (61). Bundy viewed the Foundation's support of Black Studies as a positive step in alleviating America's racial crisis. More importantly, in funding Black Studies, Rooks argues, Bundy and Ford "crafted a meaning and understanding of Black Studies that made hesitant administrators see Black radicalism as part of the American mainstream and Black Studies as a step toward racial inclusion in America in general, and within higher education in particular" (66). Bundy and Ford constructed a vision of Black Studies that hinged upon "an interdisciplinary program [model], dependent on traditional disciplines for faculty, funding, and legitimacy" (165) while eschewing, if not hindering, programs based on radical black politics. Essentially, Rooks' work situates Bundy and the Ford Foundation at the center of Black Studies' early development. Indeed, one of the major limitations of the first part, and Rooks' work overall, is that it is based solely on secondary sources. …

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