hdbk_blackstudies ch 4.pdf

Sage Reference Handbook of Black Studies For the most optimal reading experience we recommend using our website. A free-to-view version of this content is available by clicking on this link, which includes an easy-to-navigate-and-sea...

Sage Reference Handbook of Black Studies For the most optimal reading experience we recommend using our website. A free-to-view version of this content is available by clicking on this link, which includes an easy-to-navigate-and-search-entry, and may also include videos, embedded datasets, downloadable datasets, interactive questions, audio content, and downloadable tables and resources. Author: Delores P. Aldridge Pub. Date: 2010 Product: Sage Reference DOI: https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412982696 Keywords: women in black, black studies, women studies, women's studies, National Council for Black Studies, Africana womanism, women Disciplines: Race & Ethnicity, Race, Ethnicity & Migration, Black Studies, Sociology Access Date: July 8, 2024 Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc. City: Thousand Oaks Online ISBN: 9781412982696 © 2010 SAGE Publications, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. Women in the Development of Africana Studies Delores P.Aldridge It is important that women be placed at the center of the discipline of Africana Studies as in every aspect of life. They constitute more than one half of the population of this country, and this representation should be reflective in all aspects of the academy. Women are numerically and intellectually critical to the development of any endeavor in American scholarship. Without women, what we currently embrace as life and express in thought processes is incomplete. Although women know this and now demand their rightful place everywhere, some men also recognize the relevance of women to full development of any enterprise and encourage their centralization. Thus, this work attempts to examine the involvement of women in the development of the dis- cipline of Africana Studies with emphasis on (a) an overview of women in the development; (b) scholarship, Africana Studies, and Africana women; (c) the academy, Africana Studies, and Africana women; (d) profes- sional organizations, Africana Studies, and Africana women; (e) examination of several examples of empirical and theoretical contributions with a social science focus; and (f) continuing issues for Africana women and the discipline. In 1992, as the unprecedented two-term elected president of the National Council for Black Studies, I decided to write about the involvement of women in the discipline. My experiences in this position and as a founding di- rector of one of the oldest programs in the United States had provided a particular perspective that I believed worthy of documenting. Importantly, it appeared from my observations, that women were debating whether to choose between Women's Studies and Black Studies academic units so that they might be central to the dis- course. At the same time, the critical question became, Could Black or Africana Studies be authentic without giving equal time to both the male and female genders? This question surfaced frequently in a national survey I administered in 1992 under a Ford Foundation-funded grant to the National Council for Black Studies. I had thought the issue of engendering so important as to edit a special issue on women for the Journal of Black Studies in 1989 (Aldridge, 1989a) and in 1992 provided the seminal work “Womanist Issues in Black Stud- ies: Toward Integrating Africana Women into Africana Studies” in the AfroCentric Scholar (Aldridge, 1992b). Furthermore, in editing a special issue of Phylon: A Review of Race and Culture (Aldridge, 1992a), I invited and included an article by my former student, Beverly Guy-Sheftall (1992) titled “Black Women's Studies: The Interfaces of Women's Studies and Black Studies.” It appears clearly that two of the most significant challenges for American higher education over the last three and a half decades have emerged from the Africana (Black Studies) and Women's Studies movements. Black Handbook of Black Studies Page 2 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. or Africana Studies began as a systematic field of study in the 1960s in the wake of the Civil Rights Movement and in the midst of pervasive campus unrest. From the outset, it had both an academic and social mission. And although contemporary Black Studies as an interdisciplinary enterprise is a product of the 1960s, it draws much of its academic content from earlier times. Students of the 1960s were confronted with an absence or distortion of the Black experience in the higher education curriculum and a sense of cultural alienation generated by the predominantly White colleges and universities they entered. First, they demanded Black recognition in any form, such as Black faculty and staff, Black programs, more Black students, necessary financial aid, and Black history courses. But it quickly be- came clear that Black history was simply a beginning and that a broader demand would and did emerge for a comprehensive interdisciplinary curriculum with history at its center. Women's Studies sought to introduce the study of women as a means of providing their stories and to erad- icate many of the myths and distortions surrounding the lives of women. The Women's Liberation Move- ment following on the heels of the Civil Rights Movement served as a catalyst for consciousness-raising on women's issues. And although much controversy has surrounded the movement with opposition from both men and women, Whites and non-Whites, its effects have pervaded society at all levels, including the uni- versity, where women faculty and staff members have led in attempts to bring equity to gender issues. For the most part, White women benefiting from and modeling after the efforts of the Civil Rights and Black Stud- ies movements have fostered an explosion of new approaches and content in the academy. Their increasing numbers and continuity have played heavily into their becoming institutionalized in American higher educa- tion. Whereas Africana students who are transient but in larger numbers than Africana faculty have been a mainstay in pecking away at institutional barriers to the incorporation and perpetuation of Africana Studies, Women's Studies has enjoyed the growing critical mass of women faculty and staff members with real access to structural change. Although both movements addressed some very real inadequacies, such as paucity of faculty, absence and distortion of curriculum content and programmatic resources in the academy, neither has fully incorporated women or the unique experiences of women of African descent in America, on the continent, and throughout the African Diaspora. Some Africana women intellectuals have viewed the struggles of women of African descent in America as part of a wider struggle for human dignity and empowerment. As early as 1893, Anna Julia Cooper in a speech to women provided this perspective: We take our stand on the solidarity of humanity, the oneness of life, and the unnaturalness and injus- Handbook of Black Studies Page 3 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. tice of all special favoritisms, whether of sex, race, country, or condition…. The colored woman feels that woman's cause is one and universal; and that not till race, color, sex, and condition are seen as accidents, and not the substance of life, not till the universal title of humanity to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is conceded to be inalienable to all, not till then is woman's lesson taught and woman's cause won—not the white woman's nor the black woman's, not the red woman's, but the cause of every man and of every woman who has writhed silently under a mighty wrong. (quoted in Loewenberg & Bogin, 1976, pp. 330–331) This humanist vision led Alice Walker (1983) to identify with the term womanist, of which she says “womanist is to feminist as purple is to lavender,” addressing the notion of the solidarity of humanity. She defines “wom- anist” in In Search of Our Mothers' Gardens: Womanist Prose. For Walker, a “womanist” is one who is “com- mitted to the survival and wholeness of an entire people.” Clenora Hudson-Weems (1993) enlarges on this notion, grounding us in Africana womanism. The Africana refers not only to continental Africans, but also to people of African descent worldwide. The concept, African, perhaps, first received national visibility as a de- scriptor of Africana Studies with the naming of the Africana Studies and Research Center at Cornell Univer- sity. In the book, Africana Womanism: Reclaiming Ourselves, Hudson-Weems (1993) explores the dynamics of the conflict between the mainstream feminist, the Black feminist, and the Africana womanist. In this work, she names and defines traits that characterize an Africana woman. According to Hudson-Weems, Africana womanism is neither an outgrowth nor an addendum to mainstream feminism but rather a concept grounded in the culture and focused on the experiences, needs, and desires of Africana women. Africana womanists and feminists have separate agendas. Feminism is female centered; Africana womanism is family centered; feminism is concerned primarily with ridding society of sexism; Africana womanism is concerned with ridding society of racism first, then classism and sexism. Many feminists say their number-one enemy is the male; Africana womanists welcome and encourage male participation in their struggle. Feminism, Hudson-Weems says, is incompatible with Africana women, because it was designed to meet the needs of White women. In fact, the history of feminism reveals a blatant, racist background. The Civil Rights Movement, which stressed liberation, in the late 1960s marked the first time Africana people engaged in a struggle to resist racism whereby distinct boundaries were established that separated the roles of women and men. Africana male activists publicly acknowledged expectations that women involved in the movement conform to a subservient role pattern. This sexist expectation was expressed as women were ad- monished to manage household needs and breed warriors for the revolution. Toni Cade (1970) elaborated on the issue of roles that prevailed in Black organizations during the 1960s: It would seem that every organization you can name has had to struggle at one time or another with Handbook of Black Studies Page 4 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. seemingly mutinous cadres of women getting salty about having to man the telephones or fix the coffee while the men wrote the position papers and decided on policy. Some groups condescending- ly allotted two or three slots in the executive order to women. Others encouraged the sisters to form a separate caucus and work out something that wouldn't split the organization. Others got nasty and forced the women to storm out to organize separate workshops. Over the years, things have sort of been cooled out. But I have yet to hear a coolheaded analysis of just what any particular group's stand is on the question. Invariably, I hear from some dude that Black women must be supportive and patient so that Black men can regain their manhood. The notion of womanhood, they argue—and only if pressed to address themselves to the notion do they think of it or argue—is dependent on his defining his manhood. So the shit goes on. (pp. 107–108) Although many Black women activists did not succumb to the attempts of Black men to reduce them to a sec- ondary role in the movement, many did. Author bell hooks (1981) writes, Black women questioning and or rejecting a patriarchal black movement found little solace in the contemporary women's movement. For while it drew attention to the dual victimization of black women by racist and sexist oppression, white feminists tended to romanticize the black female ex- perience rather than discuss the negative impact of oppression. When feminists acknowledge in one breath that black women are victimized and in the same breath emphasize their strength, they im- ply that though black women are oppressed they manage to circumvent the damaging impact of oppression by being strong—and that is simply not the case. Usually, when people talk about the “strength” of black women they are referring to the way in which they perceive black women coping with oppression. They ignore the reality that to be strong in the face of oppression is not the same as overcoming oppression, that endurance is not to be confused with transformation. (p. 6) Thus, to be an activist in the liberation of Black people or women did not necessarily mean there was sensi- tivity for Africana women. In All the Women Are White, All the Blacks Are Men, but Some of Us Are Brave, three Africana women schol- ars wrote: Women's Studies focused almost exclusively on the lives of white women. Black Studies, which was much too often male-dominated, also ignored Black women. Because of white women's racism and Black men's sexism, there was no room in either area for a serious consideration of the lives of Black women. And even when they have considered Black women, white women usually have not had the capacity to analyze racial politics and Black culture, and Black men have remained blind or resistant Handbook of Black Studies Page 5 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. to the implications of sexual politics in Black women's lives. (Hull, Scott, & Smith, 1982, pp. xx-xxi) The above characterization and concerns have seemingly been acknowledged within the last decade; there has been increasing advocacy for recognition and correction of this failure to deal equitably with Africana women in scholarship and the academy. In the second edition of Introduction to Black Studies, Karen- ga (1993) introduced a discourse on Black/Africana Women's Studies. This was the first time that a basic Africana text had devoted a section to women. Earlier, as mentioned, Aldridge (1992b) had provided the sem- inal work advocating the integration of Africana women into Africana Studies. Karenga (1993, 2002) declared that women are fundamental and indispensable to the field. With the inclusion of this section in the 1993 and 2002 editions of Introduction to Black Studies, Black males in the field were encouraged to consider the unique experiences of women when organizing courses, developing workshops, conferences, and other pro- grammatic entities. Throughout the country, Africana men and women speak to the existence of racism in Women's Studies and sexism in Africana Studies in courses on campuses, in associations, and in scholarly publications. Scholarship, Africana Studies, and Africana Women Black women's contributions to and voices in education have challenged old perspectives and added bold new ones in the academy. This thrust is particularly relevant to the development of Black/Africana Studies. Like other social movements, however, these women have not enjoyed the visibility of male scholars. Who are these women? What have been their contributions to the discourse in the development of the discipline? The increased number of Africana women scholars in the academy has created an explosion in scholarly re- search about them. Prior to their significant presence, Africana men and others had written largely from their own interests and perspectives excluding, minimizing, or distorting the reality of Africana women. This, then, has been a major factor in the absence of Africana women in Africana Studies curricula—the lack of a critical mass of Africana women scholars equipped to conduct research on or about Africana women as well as on other theoretical and empirical issues. With this growing number of Africana women scholars and an appar- ent increasing interest in them, publishing appears somewhat less difficult than a decade ago. Thus, in spite of obstacles pertaining to the relevance and seriousness of Africana women issues, there has been consid- erable scholarship over the last two or three decades. The 1970s and 1980s—which witnessed the rise and institution-alization of both Africana and Women's Studies—have surfaced much previous work and added to the continued productivity. There were various pioneering works in the 1970s and 1980s, which included Toni Handbook of Black Studies Page 6 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. Cade's The Black Woman (1970), the first anthology of its kind on African women in America, with its focus on the voices of Africana women themselves who analyzed contemporary issues. In 1972, Gerda Lerner, a White historian, provided Black Women in White America: A Documentary History demonstrating the importance of examining the experiences of women of African descent as distinct from those of non-Africana women and Africana men. Following on the heels of these two works was the first an- thology by two Africana historians, Sharon Harley and Rosalyn Terborg-Penn (1978). Their work, The Afro- American Woman: Struggles and Images, is a collection of original essays from a historical perspective. A single-authored historical volume by Deborah Gray White (1985) titled Ain't I a Woman? provided some new insights into the lives of slave women. And at the beginning of the decade of the 1980s, two social science anthologies were developed by LaFrances Rodgers-Rose (1980) and Filomina Chioma Steady (1981) titled, respectively, The Black Woman and The Black Woman Cross-Culturally. The former work was the first edit- ed definitive volume of original research by African American women social scientists on African American women. The latter volume was an outstanding accomplishment in arraying a wide range of works focusing on women of color throughout the world. A single-authored volume of significance in the 1980s was by Lena Wright Myers (1980) titled Black Women: Do They Cope Better? This sociological work provided a new framework for understanding how women of African descent in America viewed themselves positively in spite of a racist, sexist, classist society. Another sociological work that has not received the exposure it deserves, Black Women, Feminism and Black Liber- ation: Which Way? was written by Vivian Gordon (1991). This work places in perspective the critical issues facing Africana women and Africana Studies if the field of Africana Studies is to fully realize its potential. A trailblazing work of the 1990s was authored by the writer (Aldridge, 1991). It attempted for the first time to the- oretically conceptualize Black male-female relationships in America. The work, Focusing: Black Male-Female Relationships, provided a foundation for understanding relationships with strategies for developing healthy ones. Earlier in 1989, Aldridge had laid the groundwork with Black Male-Female Relationships: A Resource Book of Selected Materials (Aldridge, 1989b), an edited volume making up the most comprehensive collec- tion of scholarly works available written by social scientists. Another work of significance for the 1990s was authored by sociologist Patricia Hill Collins (1990), Black Feminist Thought: Knowledge, Consciousness, and the Politics of Empowerment. It encompasses most of the relevant work on Africana women and will probably serve as a point of departure for research on the subject in the future, not withstanding the even more revolu- tionary work on Africana womanism by Clenora Hudson-Weems (1993). Hudson's work has no parallel as a new way of understanding Africana women. Handbook of Black Studies Page 7 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. Dozens of books and articles in the literary tradition were authored over the last two decades. Perhaps the most visible work to emerge in the 1990s includes the huge encyclopedia volumes on Black women edited by Darlene Clark Hine (Clark Hine, Brown, & Terborg-Penn, 1994; Clark Hine & Thompson, 1997). Other earlier works included Mary Helen Washington's (1975) Black-Eyed Susans: Classic Stories by and about Black Women and Sturdy Black Bridges: Visions of Black Women in Literature, edited by Roseann Bell, Bet- tye Parker, and Beverly Guy-Sheftall (1979). In the decade of the 1980s, a number of valuable works were set forth on feminist literary criticism for Africana women. Among these notable works were Barbara Christ- ian's (1981) Black Women Novelists: The Development of a Tradition, 1892–1976 and Gloria Wade-Gayles's (1984) No Crystal Stair: Visions of Race and Sex in Women's Fiction. A controversial, but valuable piece for illuminating the complexity of Africana womanhood is the interdisciplinary work of bell hook's (1981), Ain't I a Woman: Black Women and Feminism. And an important work by Betty Collier-Thomas appeared in the Jour- nal of Negro Education in 1982, “The Impact of Black Women in Education: A Historical Overview.” The intel- lectual vitality of African American women will be the critical factor in their becoming more visible and integral to the discipline. With intellectual activity, there has been an increasing number of publications in the latter decades of the 1980s and 1990s, such as works by Rouse (1989), Lugenia Burns Hope, Black Southern Re- former; Guy-Sheftall (1992) “Black Women's Studies: The Interface of Women's Studies and Black Studies”; Scott (1991), The Habit of Surviving; Hudson-Weems (1993), Africana Womanism; Broussard (1997), Sister CEO; Myers (2001), Optimal Theory and the Philosophical and Academic Origins of Black Studies; Lawrence- McIntyre (1993), Criminalizing a Race: Free Blacks During Slavery; Ani (1994), Yurugu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior; Peterson (1996), Freedom Road: Adult Education of African Americans; and Aldridge and Young (2000), Out of the Revolution: The Development of Africana Stud- ies. These are only a few of the many works generated in the last decade. Importantly, women scholars are moving beyond focusing on women to becoming more universal in their approaches to scholarship. Within Black/Africana Women's Studies, young scholar-activists are encouraged to do research in all ar- eas—social sciences, natural sciences, technology, policy studies, economics—and to further theoretical and empirical research that reflects Black women's experiences, successes, sorrows, and contributions. But women must do more than write about themselves; they must develop theories and address broader issues that include males, families, and communities—globally, nationally, and locally. And they must label their work as have men so as to be central to the discourse facilitating greater citation of their work. To have a woman- ist perspective in the discipline of Africana Studies serves to widen the discourse. I contend that an Africana womanist perspective creates a space for women to be at the center of developing scholarship that may or Handbook of Black Studies Page 8 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. may not have them as the specific subject matter. Put another way, women are creating the theoretical and empirical work, but such work may or may not center solely or at all on their lives. Africana womanism al- so suggests women will be at the center of creating policies and directives that are positive for Black men, women, and children. This kind of scholarship is necessary to move toward integrating Africana women into Africana Studies in the academy. This Africana womanist perspective that I present does not bother itself with bashing White women, men, or those who disagree with it. It simply seeks to empower women by putting them at the table where they may vie for an equal and pivotal space. It is recognized that many women scholar activists have written editorials for local and national newspapers and magazines, served on various panels, and served as consul- tants to educational and business institutions, as well as participated and studied in Africa, South and Central America, and Europe. If there continues to be this flowering of scholarly products, the future is encouraging for the institutionalization of Africana women throughout curricula, programming, and academic appointments at all 1evels. Women in the field urge young scholar-activists to develop curriculum that is reflective and in- clusive of works by both women and men. The Academy, Africana Studies, and Africana Women Presently, entrenchment in the academy in terms of formal courses has been far less observable than the scholarship developed over the last two decades. Significantly the first Black Studies Core Curriculum devel- oped by the National Council for Black Studies (1981) did not address the issue of inclusion of women as a distinct focus for study. And Colón's (1984) particularly crucial work, “Critical Issues in Black Studies: A Selec- tive Analysis,” failed to devote attention to the lack of inclusion of women in curricula in any significant way as an area of concern. These omissions were addressed a decade later in the Revised Core Curriculum Guide of the National Council for Black Studies (1994) and in subsequent works by visible male Africana Studies scholars as well as female Africana Studies scholars. A cursory examination of curricula in Africana Studies or Women's Studies units reflects minimal, if any, cours- es that treat Africana women in their own right. And when they do, most often the courses are in literature or occasionally tied to a family course. There are some exceptions, usually where courses are jointly listed in Africana and Women's Studies, with titles such as the Black Woman in America or the Black Woman in His- tory. Notably where proactive Africana Women's scholars are located, there are generally one or two courses Handbook of Black Studies Page 9 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. in the course listings. The above tenuous assessment is based on an examination of a limited sample of schools with both Africana and Women's Studies academic units. It should also be noted that institutions that have White women schol- ars who are sensitive to Africana women issues and are politically astute enough to recognize the fertile terrain for research are more likely to have courses that give attention to issues of importance for Africana women. But it is necessary to bear in mind the struggle that exists to control curricula on Africana women as well as to gain and maintain loyalty and commitment to Africana Studies by Africana women on campuses where strong Women's Studies programs exist. In But Some of Us Are Brave (Hull et al., 1982), there are course descriptions of African American Women's Studies. Some of these courses may prove to be useful as a point of departure for developing courses on Africana women in programs where they are nonexistent. There are several Africana Women's Studies programs at the Atlanta University Center-Clark Atlanta Univer- sity and at Morris Brown and Spelman Colleges. Beyond the courses on campuses, the campus cultural arena must be examined to determine the extent to which it fosters educational enlightenment on issues of relevance to Africana women. How many lectures by and about Africana women occur during the academic year? What kind of audiences turn out for these oc- casions? What accounts appear in campus media on Africana women? Who or what units are the promoters of Africana women on campuses? Data has to be systematically gathered to respond to these kinds of ques- tions to get a handle on the extent to which Africana women are being incorporated into Africana Studies, specifically, and on campus, in general. Again, the data from the dozen or so campuses are not very impres- sive. The list of women as speakers is much more limited than men in numbers, as well as in the subfields of Africana Studies. Very few women emerge as “famous people” to bring to campus outside of the political activists, entertainers, or the popular novelists such as Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, Toni Morrison, Sonia Sanchez, and others. Vir- tually no Africana women theoreticians among the social and behavioral science scholars or for that matter, humanists such as historians surface immediately for student groups or faculty to bring to campus except when brochures from speakers bureaus are consulted. The point is that we have virtually no “giants” among Africana women who are committed to, and who are doing significant theoretical and empirical work on the field, and who identify as being within the field of Africana Studies. Most of the visible giants do not identify with Africana Studies but rather with traditional disciplines or Women's Studies and as such are not an integral part of the promotion and development of Africana Studies as a dis- Handbook of Black Studies Page 10 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. cipline. Most seek to emphasize issues of women while minimizing the experiences of people of African de- scent as a totality. The overriding issue today is whether we need an Africana Women's Studies movement separate from the general movement or if Africana Studies will be able to incorporate the experiences of Black women. But perhaps, more critical for this writer is to what extent will scholars rise to prominence researching subjects other than those focusing on women. For this writer, not withstanding the importance of emphasis on women's experiences, that is the axis on which true respect and centralization turns. It must be borne in mind that until recently an overwhelming majority of Africana Studies units were admin- istered by Africana males who controlled curriculum development and cultural programming activities and were guilty, even if unintentionally, of treating Africana women as Whites had treated both men and women of African descent in the academy—and distorted or dismissed them and their experiences. And where women were administrators, their faculties were usually still heavily male—men who may have been sensitive but un- equipped to teach courses. This suggests the dual need for sensitivity and necessary resources. The decade of the 1990s witnessed positive changes in both of the aforementioned. There is a growing number of scholars with interest in women's issues as well as an increasing number of Africana administrators both male and female, who are sensitive to women's issues (Franklin, 2002) and who realizes the need to incorporate significantly the curricula and experiences of students both male and female. For example, the Emory University African American and African Studies program under its founding Africana woman director inaugurated an endowed lecture series in the name of an African-American woman and sub- sequently created a distinguished chair in the name of an Africana woman with an African American woman as the first individual to hold the chair. Both incidents were firsts at a major institution in this country. But until recently, there was lack of a strong presence of Africana women in the curriculum in this institution for a vari- ety of reasons, including, most important, the lack of continuity of faculty equipped to teach these courses. Professional Organizations, Africana Studies, and Africana Women Just as scholarship and the academy have been largely devoid of significant Africana women's presence and skills in “directing traffic,” such has been the case for Africana Studies professional organizations until the late 1980s and 1990s. In these very organizations, Africana women have begun to have their presence Handbook of Black Studies Page 11 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. felt—not simply by being the leaders or presidents, but through drawing more women into all levels of the organizations. Organizations must have infrastructures that develop their character and form. These organi- zations serve as powerful networks for upward mobility through access to job opportunities, research, and travel grants as well as publishing outlets. The National Council for Black Studies (NCBS), the African Heritage Studies Association (AHSA), and the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH) have contributed to professionalizing the field of African American Studies. They have taken steps to move toward parity among women and men with respect to (a) key positions throughout the organizations, (b) integration of women's issues and expe- riences in the annual conference programs, (c) recognition of women with awards, and (d) special projects devoted to women. Two of these organizations currently have women serving as presidents. When we look at the leaders, we have Bertha Maxwell Roddy, who was the founder and first pres- ident of the National Council for Black Studies and immediate past president of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority Inc. She also organized the first local state chapter in North Carolina. Dr. Roddy is followed by Carlene Young and Delores P. Aldridge as president of the National Council for Black Studies. De- lores P. Aldridge, Grace Towns Hamilton Professor of Sociology and African American Studies, ini- tiated summer administrative workshops for new directors of programs/departments, summer fellow programs for assistant and associate professors in the field, established the first chair named after a black woman at Emory University, and conducted a national survey on the programs/departments in Black/Africana Studies. Several years later, Charsye Lawrence McIntyre and Barbara Wheeler, past president and vice president of African Heritage Studies Association, respectively, organized the student commission that has made it possible for undergraduate and graduates to take an active role in the organization. (Gyant, 2000, p. 182) Further, Gyant (2000) writes: Vivian Gordon, Delores P. Aldridge, LaFrances Rodgers-Rose, Barbara Sizemore, and Clenora Hud- son-Weems are only a few of the women who have made major inroads in Black/Africana Stud- ies. Each of these women has made significant contributions to the field. Vivian Gordon, Delores P. Aldridge, and Clenora Hudson-Weems opened up the dialogue on the inclusion of Black/ Africana Women Studies into the field with a seminal work published by Aldridge in 1992. Women also pur- sued research in the development of theoretical perspectives on Africana womanism. Barbara Size- more, Dean of Education at DePaul University, is recognized for her research on the academic suc- Handbook of Black Studies Page 12 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. cess of black children when there is “the right combination of leadership and good teaching.” Size- more believes that every child can succeed. The leadership of these women along with others in the field has opened the doors for the recognition and correction to deal equitably with research and scholarship on people of African descent. (p. 182) Much of this empowerment within organizations is the result of efforts of women as they have gained in num- bers but also because some men have come to see the injustice and the waste of talent in not fully actualizing the wealth of resources that abounds when men and women come together in enlightening the world. But it probably has been easier to integrate women in the professional organizations than in the curriculum because of the nature of political machinery in organizations as opposed to garnering resources for faculty positions to staff courses on Africana women. All too often, these courses are seen as frills rather than staples not only, and, perhaps, not even as much by, Africana scholars as by central administrators who control budgets. But importantly, while women build institutions, they must recognize the necessity for both empirical and theoret- ical contributions to scholarship. It is through theory and paradigm development that a discipline is framed. And thus those who participate in this important work become central to the discipline. Selected Examples of Empirical and Theoretical Contribu- tions It is important to emphasize again that women have been actively involved both in the initiation and in the continuity of the development of Black Studies on campuses and founders and leaders of organizations, as have they been extensively involved in scholarship. And much of this scholarship has not been gender spe- cific. Accordingly, selected examples of empirical and theoretical contributions are offered here. The works demonstrate how there might be focus on women and on the dyad of male and females as well as work that is much broader in the development and expansion of theory construction. Following are the selected exam- ples: Aldridge, D. P. (2000). On race and culture: Beyond Afrocentrism, Eurocentrism to cultural democracy. Soci- ological Focus, 33(1), 95–107. The author contends that the struggle for cultural democracy in American education will be critical in deter- mining the quality and the future of education and of America itself. Cultural democracy recognizes the human Handbook of Black Studies Page 13 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. right of each ethnic/ cultural group in a culturally diverse society to have equal access to life chances and sources of social power. Power means to have a “voice”—that is, to have the capacity to define oneself as an active participant in the world rather than a passive victim. Thus, the voices as expressed in the theoretical underpinnings or major premises of Afrocentrism, Eurocentrism, and cultural democracy are examined with emphasis on their current contributions and future possibilities for shaping higher education and charting the directions in intergroup relations in American society in the 21st century. Aldridge, D. P. (2001). The structural components of violence in Black male-female relationships. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 4(4), 209–226. An African-centered perspective provides a point of departure for the understanding of Black female-male violence. American society is defined by and derived from core or dominant values, which have differentially affected its diverse populations. The lens model pre- sented in this discourse focuses on these values as counterproductive for black male-female relationships. Capitalism, racism, sexism, and the Judeo-Christian ethic make up the four-prong institutional or structural value components of the lens model. This dynamic framework is instructive because it helps social scientists view domestic violence in Black adult relationships from a different perspective. The lens model has a con- nection to the “scientific method,” which purports detachment, objectivity, and impartiality. Aldridge, D. P. (1999). Black women and the new world order: Toward a fit in the economic marketplace. In I. Browne (Ed.), Latinas and African American women at work: Race, gender, and economic inequality (pp. 357–379). New York: Russell Sage. African American women and men will face both challenges and opportu- nities at the dawn of the 21st century, which will be characterized by highly developed technology in the work- place. Any model designed to understand and promote the engagement of Black women in the new world order must reflect the diversity of Black women's historical-cultural experiences and provide an action plan. Such a model must (a) be centered in the historical-cultural experiences of Black people yet meet the needs of the highly scientific and technological world of the 21st century, (b) focus on educational and employment equity issues at every level to maximize the potential of Blacks in general—and black women specifically—in the scientific-technological professions by increasing their numbers in these areas, and (c) be action oriented so as to transform institutions and values both within and outside the Black community that impede the pro- motion of science and technology with and for Black people. In other words, a model should be African cen- tered and have components that account for historical-cultural experiences, equity, and action for the labor market (HEAL). The above-mentioned works demonstrate the kind of work that reflects the extent of the thoughts and ap- Handbook of Black Studies Page 14 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. proaches of one Africana woman scholar with a grounding in social theory and processes. It allows focus on women but does not restrain or restrict our reach to broader issues as has been characterized more often by men. These examples are used to suggest that engendering the discipline is not only about women's involve- ment in research on and about women but also women's contributions to broader theoretical development. Continuing Issues for Centering Women in the Discipline Centering Africana women into Africana Studies should not need to be a topic for dialogue, for the incorpo- ration of Black/Africana women should be as natural to the field as breathing is to living if those in the field adhered to full Black liberation. Such liberation represents freedom from racism and sexism; Black women should not have to compartmentalize themselves into segments of race versus gender. Both Black men's and Black women's central goal is to be liberated, and it can happen only if both are fairly treated. There are numerous issues confronting Africana Studies at the beginning of this new millennium. The com- plete infusion of women as equal partners in the African American experience remains to be accomplished, although in a slowly increasing number, Black Studies curricula have been expanded to include some course (most often a single specialized course) about Black women. In this sense, just as the infusion of the contri- butions of continental Africa and African Americans remains to become a part of the educational curriculum in our schools, the infusion of study by and about Black women into Black Studies is vital (Gordon, 1991). Laverne Gyant (2000) presented findings from a study in which she conducted in-depth interviews with a se- lected sample of women to provide insight into their involvement in the development of Africana/Black Stud- ies. The women in the study cited numerous issues they faced. These included defending the legitimacy of Black/Africana Studies, maintaining professional ideological beliefs, maintaining professional and personal associations, remaining inspired and motivated, and dealing with the reluctance of Black males to acknowl- edge female contributions to the discipline. Women are invisible for the most part in framing central issues of the discipline of Africana Studies. Some notable exceptions are Young (1984) and Aldridge (1992a), who guest edited special issues of the Journal of Negro Education and Phylon: Review of Race and Culture. Earlier, in 1972, Young had edited the significant and widely used Black Experience: Analysis and Synthesis, and Marimba Ani (1994) published Yurungu: An African-Centered Critique of European Cultural Thought and Behavior, which became widely discussed as a theoretical work for Africana Studies. More recently, Aldridge Handbook of Black Studies Page 15 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. and Young (2000) have provided the discipline with the historical and critical work, Out of the Revolution: The Development of Africana Studies. Other issues are offered for consideration as challenges or opportunities for the full engendering of Africana Studies: 1. Commitment to Africana Studies over Women's Studies because of a best academic fit 2. Continued development of scholarship by and about Africana women, particularly with increased fo- cus on the social and behavioral sciences, the natural sciences, professions, and policy studies 3. Increased contributions by women to conceptualization of theoretical and empirical issues of the field in general 4. Continued involvement of Africana women with womanist perspectives in leadership positions in the professional bodies for Africana Studies so that programs and policies reflect their perspectives 5. Increased attention to developing new and restructuring old curricula to reflect a balance that includes Africana women 6. Increased balancing of speakers and cultural activities on campuses that draw on both men and women, not only from the literary tradition but also from other intellectual and cultural perspectives 7. Concentrated efforts to search out and quote the work of both Africana women and men in the field as scholars of other fields do 8. Resolution of the tension produced by Women's Studies and its perspective of women's culture. This requires African women with primary identity in the African Diaspora to fend off racism from both White women and White men. 9. Participation in Women's Studies programs that advocate curricula of inclusion of Africana women, with gender-specific theory that obscures race-specific issues Although by no means exhaustive, the aforementioned are offered as continuing challenges to the centering of women in Africana Studies. Thus, full centralization or engendering would foreclose on any needs for Africana women scholars to abandon the discipline—a discipline that can only grow stronger and richer with the full inclusion of both its men and women. References Aldridge, D. P. (Ed.). The African American woman: Complexities in the midst of a simplistic world view [Spe- Handbook of Black Studies Page 16 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. cial issue]Journal of Black Studies20(2). (1989a). Aldridge, D. P. (Ed.). (1989b). Black male-female relationships: A resource book of selected materials. Dubuque, IA: Kendall-Hunt. Aldridge, D. P. (1991). Focusing: Black male-female relationships. Chicago: Third World Press. Aldridge, D. P. (Ed.). New perspectives on Black Studies [Special issue]Phylon: A Review of Race and Cul- ture49(1–2). (1992a). Aldridge, D. P.Womanist issues in Black Studies: Toward integrating of Africana women into Africana Studies. Afrocentric Scholar1(1) (1992b). 167–182. Aldridge, D. P. (1999). Black women and the new world order: Toward a fit in the economic marketplace. In I. Browne (Ed.), Latinas and African American women at work: Race, gender, and economic inequality (pp. 357–379). New York: Russell Sage. Aldridge, D. P.On race and culture: Beyond Afrocentrism, Eurocentrism to cultural democracy. Sociological Focus33(1) (2000). 95–107. Aldridge, D. P. (with Hemmons, W.).The structural components of violence in Black male-female relationships. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment4(4) (2001). 209–226. Aldridge, D. P., & Young, C. (Eds.). (2000). Out of the revolution: The development of Africana Studies. Lan- ham, MD: Lexington Books. Ani, M. (1994). Yurungu: An African-centered critique of European cultural thought and behavior. Trenton, NJ: Africa World Press. Bell, R. P., Parker, B. J., & Guy-Sheftall, B. (Eds.). (1979). Sturdy Black bridges: Visions of Black women in literature. New York: Anchor Books. Broussard, C. D. (1997). Sister CEO: the Black woman's guide to starting her own business. New York: Viking. Cade, T. (Ed.). (1970). The Black woman: An anthology. New York: New American Library. Christian, B. (1981). Black women novelists: The development of a tradition 1892–1976. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press. Clark Hine, D., Brown, E. B., & Terborg-Penn, R. (Eds.). (1994). Black women in America: An historical ency- Handbook of Black Studies Page 17 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. clopedia. Bloomington: Indiana University Press. Clark Hine, D., & Thompson, K. (Eds.). (1997). Facts on File encyclopedia of Black women in America. New York: Facts on File. Collier-Thomas, B.The impact of Black women in education: A historical overview. Journal of Negro Educa- tion51(3) (1982). 173–180. Collins, P. H. (1990). Black feminist thought: Knowledge, consciousness, and the politics of empowerment. London: Harper Collins Academic. Colón, A. K.Critical issues in Black Studies: A selective analysis. Journal of Negro Education53 (1984). 268–277. Franklin, V. P.Hidden in plain view: African American women, radical feminism, and the origins of Women's Studies programs, 1967–1974. Journal of African American History87 (2002). 433–445. Gordon, V. V. (1991). Black women, feminism, and Black liberation: Which way?Chicago: Third World Press. Guy-Sheftall, B.Black Women's Studies: The interface of Women's Studies and Black Studies. Phylon49(1–2) (1992). 33–41. Gyant, L. (2000). The missing link: Women in Black/Africana Studies. In D. P. Aldridge & C. Young (Eds.), Out of the revolution: The development of Africana Studies (pp. 177–189). Lanham, MD: Lexington Books. Harley, S., & Terborg-Penn, R. (Eds.). (1978). The Afro-American woman: Struggles and images. Port Wash- ington, NY: Kennikat Press. Hooks, B. (1981). Ain't I a woman: Black women and feminism. Boston: South End Press. Hudson-Weems, C. (1993). Africana womanism: Reclaiming ourselves. Detroit, MI: Bedford. Hull, G. T, Scott, P. B., & Smith, B. (Eds.). (1982). All the women are White, all the men are Black, but some of us are brave: Black Women's Studies. Old Westbury, NY: Feminist Press. Karenga, M. (1993). Introduction to Black Studies (2nd ed.). Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press. Karenga, M. (2002). Introduction to Black Studies (3rd ed.). Los Angeles: University of Sankore Press. Lawrence-McIntyre, C. (1993). Criminalizing a race: Free Blacks during slavery. New York: Kayode. Handbook of Black Studies Page 18 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. Lerner, G. (Ed.). (1972). Black women in White America: A documentary history. New York: Pantheon. Loewenberg, B. J., & Bogin, R. (Eds.). (1976). Black women in nineteenth-century American life. University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press. Myers, L. J. (2001). Optimal theory and the philosophical and academic origins of Black Studies. In N. Nor- ment, Jr. (Ed.), The African-American Studies reader (pp. 295–302). Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. Myers, L. W. (1980). Black women: Do they cope better?New York: Prentice Hall. National Council for Black Studies (1981). Black Studies core curriculum. Bloomington, IN: Author. National Council for Black Studies (1994). Revised core curriculum guide. Bloomington, IN: Author. Peterson, E. A. (Ed.). (1996). Freedom road: Adult education of African Americans. Malaboar, FL: Krieger. Rodgers-Rose, L. (1980). The Black woman. Beverly Hills: Sage. Rouse, J. A. (1989). Lugenia Burns Hope, Black southern reformer. Athens: University of Georgia Press. Scott, K. Y. (1991). The habit of surviving: Black women's strategies for life. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers Uni- versity Press. Steady, F. C. (Ed.). (1981). The Black woman cross-culturally. Cambridge, MA: Schenkman. Wade-Gayles, G. (1984). No crystal stair: Visions of race and sex in womens fiction. New York: Pilgrim Press. Walker, A. (1983). In search of our mothers' gardens: Womanist prose. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. Washington, M. H. (1975). Black-eyed Susans: Classic stories by and about Black women. Garden City, NY: Doubleday. White, D. G. (1985). Ain't I a woman? Female slaves in the plantation South. New York: Norton. Young, C. (1972). Black experience: Analysis and synthesis. San Rafael, CA: Leswing Press. Young, C.An assessment of Black Studies programs in American higher education [Special issue]Journal of Negro Education (1984.) 53. Handbook of Black Studies Page 19 of 20 Sage Sage Reference © 2006 by Sage Publications, Inc. Theorizing in Black Studies women in black black studies women studies women's studies National Council for Black Studies Africana womanism women https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412982696 Handbook of Black Studies Page 20 of 20