How can higher education, with its local communities, prepare graduates to address the
legacies of racism and the opportunities for racial reconciliation in the United States?
" . . .Diversity is not only about the
numbers of multi-ethnic students on campus. . .Working as a campus leader on a number of
multicultural issues. . .I have come to see the importance of intergroup dialogue and
coalition building. . .In several classes I have taken. . .I have also come to realize
that learning about diversity is a life-long endeavor. Through diversity—in the
classroom and on campus—I learned how to learn. . .and that. . .true learning occurs
when problems are approached from many perspectives. . . " -- Jennifer Walper, '98, University of Maryland
This recent graduate has come to experience first-hand the educational power of diversity. And many colleges and universities in this project and beyond are developing
programs and courses designed to make the best possible educational use of the diversity
of their communities and of our nation. As another recent graduate put it in a recent Washington
Post article, however, "There is much in America that awaits recognition and
change. . .Far too many of us remain terribly confused about our nation’s identity
and, in essence, about our own" (Kevin Powell, Washington Post, November 22,
1998).
Colleges and universities participating in Racial Legacies and Learning: An American
Dialogue have conducted hundreds of campus-community events and forums on higher
education’s role in addressing this ignorance and confusion. They have brought
together diverse campus and community constituents to contribute their voices to a vision
of transformed colleges and universities—institutions that will make use of the
educational power of diversity, help students bridge America’s racial divides, and
truly prepare them for the world they are inheriting.
A Vision is Emerging . . .
Members of both the campus and larger community see higher education’s role as
critical to moving the nation forward in improving race relations and addressing the
legacies of America’s racial history. Participants in Racial Legacies and Learning
events want colleges and universities to prepare students by filling in gaps in their
knowledge of America’s diversity both historically and as it shapes communities
today.
College courses need to teach both the positive and negative sides of America’s
racial history. In addition to the many shameful events in our past, as Larry McKenzie, a
project participant from the Community College of Philadelphia puts it: "There are
positive legacies in this country’s history of ‘race relations’."
Project participants have learned about many American stories of courage in the face of
discrimination as well as many instances of cross-racial cooperation and collaboration
that have been essential features of struggles for justice throughout American history.
Through the many dialogues sponsored on project campuses, participants are learning
many valuable skills and becoming prepared to lead productive discussions about volatile
issues. They have learned how to set ground rules for discussion and how to create
conditions in which all members of a community can participate and have their voices
heard. They have discovered that we all have much to learn from one another. No one person
or group has all the answers, and few of us have had much practice in the kind of dialogue
that is needed. George R. Johnson Jr., president of LeMoyne-Owen College, suggests that:
"a fruitful conversation demands honest examination of individual frailties and
prejudices, and that is a tall order. Amid the stresses of daily life, we rarely permit
ourselves such painful introspection. For several reasons, though, colleges and
universities are uniquely positioned to address these issues. First, colleges and
universities practice diversity themselves. Our neighborhoods, dormitories and other
student housing are generally far more diverse than America’s suburbs or cities. .
.Second, colleges and universities are in the business of exploring ideas. We exist to
stretch the minds of young people, introducing new ideas and providing the tools and the
rigor with which to examine them."
In addition to learning and dialogue, many project participants are also particularly
concerned about strengthening the nation’s capacity to resolve pressing social
concerns with civility and respect for multiple perspectives and experiences. Further,
they believe that colleges and universities need to do a better job of instilling in
students a sense of responsibility not only to individual achievement and fairness but
also to community-building and justice seeking. As Robert H. Devine, the president of
Antioch College, put it in an address this fall:
"Our students. . .have a growing desire for community, but lack experience with
‘norms of reciprocity,’. . .with building coalitions, with the sort of trust and
negotiation that can improve the efficiency and contribute to the social justice of a
society by facilitating collaborative and coordinated civic action."
This focus on instilling in students a commitment to the public good was a theme for
many project participants. Business and community members who participated in Racial
Legacies and Learning, however, also framed these issues in very pragmatic terms. As
Phil Nudelman, Chairman of Kaiser/Group Health in Seattle put it: "Healthcare systems
depend on higher education institutions to reflect our diverse population in both faculty
and students. They must instill in all students the cultural sensitivity and understanding
that businesses need to serve their increasingly diverse customers."
Many project participants also believe that there is an urgent need for higher
education to partner with primary and secondary educators to ensure that America’s
youth are mentored and encounter appropriate diversity curricula throughout their entire
educational process.
Most importantly, the vision emerging from this project is a positive and hopeful one.
This vision is based on the belief that diversity strengthens our communities and
the educational process. As Steve Brzezinski, president of The McGregor School of Antioch
University puts it: we need a vision that sees "diversity as an asset rather than a
liability, and [that] realizes that fostering racial reconciliation is not, ultimately, a
good will gesture at all, but simply good business, and good politics, and safer
neighborhoods, and better schools, and all the rest of the shared public and private goods
which flow and expand from demonstrable improvements in racial relations and
attitudes."
Many educational leaders at Racial Legacies and Learning schools and scores of
others across the country share this vision. With stronger campus-community
collaborations, we can all make this vision a reality. -- Debra Humphreys, Project Director, Racial Legacies and Learning
