Campus Uprisings

The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that “White supremacist groups are targeting college campuses like never before,” while the appearance of nooses, swastikas, and racial epithets are increasing across the United States. This timely volume presents a wide range of perspectives to offer readers practical steps and policy options for creating campus structures that are fair and inclusive to students of all races and social statuses. It features chapters from a university president, a department chair, a campus chaplain, cultural center directors, faculty, and students—including voices from the front lines of recent protests at the University of Missouri and Howard University. Campus Uprisings demonstrates the power and value of principled nonviolent activism to provoke change and provides thoughtful strategies to help universities manage conflict and racial tension.

Book Features:

• Recommendations drawn from both scholarly analyses focused on practice and reflections from actual practitioners.
• “Voices from the Field” presents real-time perspectives of activists who are currently working toward societal change.
• An intergenerational relevance with chapters on the Civil Rights era protests and current movements, such as Me Too and Black Lives Matter.

Ty-Ron M. O. Douglas is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri. Kmt G. Shockley is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Howard University School of Education. Ivory A. Toldson is a professor of counseling psychology at Howard University, president of Quality Education for Minorities, and the editor-in-chief of The Journal of Negro Education.

“Vital scholarly inquiry on the potential of student uprisings as an aperture to broader social change.”

—Teachers College Record

“ Campus Uprisings is organized in chapters that tell the stories of protests at various college campuses and the factors that influenced these events. The collection informs those who have a utopian view of campus life that too many Black students experience ‘the challenges of fitting in, mistreatment, (and) regret’ (p. 160).”

— Choice

“Amidst renewed calls for the removal of confederate monuments, the renaming of buildings, and structural reform of both university institutions (e.g., admissions) and societal institutions (e.g., the police), Campus Uprisings offers a history of student activism, a primer on recent campus movements, and clear and actionable recommendations for students, faculty, community members, and student affairs professionals. The contributors to this volume remind us of the success and failures of the past and offer desperately needed opportunities for those working in the fields of higher education and student affairs to learn and grow.”

—Education Review

“I will forever be a huge appreciator and proponent of campus uprisings. I am grateful to Professors Douglas, Shockley, and Toldson, as well as their brilliant cast of authors, for producing this timely book on the topic. I have even greater appreciation for the members of SNCC, TWLF, and other activist groups, as well as those who have advanced the Black Power, Black Lives Matter, and #MeToo movements at colleges and universities across the country. Uprisings they led made campuses better, more diverse, more inclusive, more responsive, and more accountable.”
—From the Foreword by Shaun R. Harper, professor, University of Southern California

“Without the direct discussions contained in these chapters, the uninformed have the luxury of ignoring the traumatic experiences of Black people in college….The thought-provoking chapters in this book lay the groundwork for both institutions and leaders who want to answer the call to action.”
—From the Afterword by Jerlando F. L. Jackson, professor, University of Wisconsin–Madison

“A primer on the history, recurring problems of climate and inequity, and strategies of student resistance at HBCUs and historically White-serving institutions. Leaders can learn from this scholarship to develop more proactive responses to demands for institutional change and accountability.”
—Sylvia Hurtado, The University of California, Los Angeles

Contents

Series Foreword vii
James A. Banks

Foreword xiii
Shaun R. Harper

Campus Uprisings: An Introduction  xvii
Ty-Ron M.O. Douglas, Kmt G. Shockley, and Ivory Toldson

PART I: RESISTANCE IN PWI AND HBCU CONTEXTS

1. “We People Who Are Darker Than Blue”: Black Studies and the Mizzou Movement 3
Stephanie Shonekan

2. Black Students Matter: A History of Activism and Protest at HBCUs from 1920 to 1940  14
James E. Alford, Jr.

3. Black on Black Love: Protesting to Be Heard at an HBCU 38
Kofi LeNiles, Barbara Boakye, and Kmt G. Shockley

PART II: RESISTANCE TO/THROUGH SYMBOLS, IMAGES, AND SOCIAL MEDIA

4. “Some of Our Historical Stones Are Rough and Even Unpleasant to Look at. But They Are Ours . . .”: Pushing Back Against the Lost Cause 55
Travis D. Boyce, Winsome M. Chunnu, and Brian Heilmeier

5. Women’s Watch: Race, Protest, and Campus Assault 79
Noelle W. Arnold, Lisa Bass, and Kelsey Morris

PART III: RESISTANCE BY/FOR ADMINISTRATORS, FACULTY, STAFF, AND STUDENTS

6. Complexifying the Narrative: Campus Activism and the Impact on Professionals of Color 97
Jonathan A. McElderry and Stephanie Hernandez Rivera

7. Preparing for the Storm in Times of Peace: Strategies for Preparing Higher Education Presidents for Campus Racial Crises 116
Mahauganee Shaw Bonds and Sydney Freeman Jr.

PART IV: VOICES FROM THE FIELD

8. Presidential Leadership in the Midst of a Storm: An Interview with Andrea Luxton, President of Andrews University, on Her Leadership in Response to the #ItIsTimeAU Uprising on Her Campus 143
Ty-Ron M.O. Douglas, Dena Lane-Bonds, Sydney Freeman Jr., Lucy Douglas, and Brittany Fatoma

9. #ItIsTimeAU: A Conversation with Chaplain Michael A. Polite About Advocacy, America, and Engaging Activism with Andrews University Students 152
Ty-Ron M.O. Douglas, Ransford Pinto, Noelle W. Arnold, Evan Willis, and Christine Woods

Afterword  160
Jerlando F. L. Jackson

About the Contributors 163

Index 167