HOW PAST PRACTICES INFORM THE PRESENT AND FUTURE
In an earlier blog, I wrote about me having the desire to explore Historical Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Folklore together. Folklore speaks to traditions passed down through beliefs, sayings, stories, etc. I wonder how Folklore has influenced the manner in which HBCUs are viewed and how they operate. What happens when these beliefs, sayings, and stories are perceived as real and passed down to future generations as fact — similar to religious beliefs and the belief in God (not saying that God does not exist — just that no one has seen him)?
Post-civil war and during the Reconstruction years, at the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition, Booker T. Washington “urged African Americans to become economically productive and acquire property rather than seek social equality or political rights.” What made this message resonate with so many — whether good or bad — was that a man stood behind his words with action. Mr. Washington, the president of the Tuskegee institution (an HBCU), lead this University to focus on engineering, “[emphasizing] industrial education and generally following the status quo” (Perdue). As a leader, this is what he felt Blacks should be focused on and included it in his school curriculum. This is the kind of leadership Vickie Suggs speaks to in her book, “Historically Black College Leadership and Social Transformation”.
Vickie Suggs discusses what Leadership at HBCUs looks like, should look like, and can look like. She challenges the reader to think about how HBCUs function post-segregation and directs the reader’s attention to the President of the HBCU and how this role determines the sustainability of the institution. One of the things mentioned by Suggs that speaks to Folkloric behavior when it comes to HBCUs is the idea that HBCUs were set up for Black students. Suggs dispels this belief when she mentions that HBCUs were not set-up for Blacks but rather individuals marginalized by society. I can say that I always felt HBCUs were for Blacks. She challenges HBCU Leaders to help dispel this myth and many others and to show the true advantages of attending HBCUs.
I will dive deeper into this book and report out on Medium many interesting things that Suggs discusses.
Link:
http://site.ebrary.com.ezproxy.gsu.edu/lib/gastate/reader.action?docID=10840061&ppg=4
References:
Perdue, Theda. Race and the Atlanta Cotton States Exposition of 1895. Athens, GA: University of Georgia Press, 2010.
Suggs, Vickie L., ed. Historically Black College Leadership and Social Transformation : How Past Practices Inform the Present and Future. Charlotte, NC, USA: Information Age Publishing, 2014. ProQuest ebrary. Web. 21 September 2014.
