The White Crisis of Faith in Black Studies

The issue isn’t merely one of micromanagement, though.  Often, the problems of Black Studies flow from the opposite direction.  Universities, accustomed to the strategic deployment of black faces from African American Studies on committees, sometimes (if not almost always) value racial representation more than good governance or attention to the curriculum. With an ethical call to serve outside of the department (and even outside the university) faculty of color (in all departments, and not just African American Studies) are more greatly burdened with obligations beyond the usual “teaching, research, and service” triptych, but they also get less mentoring and, perhaps as a consequence, are more likely to be denied tenure or find their path to promotion cluttered.  Deans, unwilling to appear “racist,” refuse to ask African American Studies departments to adhere to best practices, let a few small things slide, and then a few big things, until everything falls apart.  Micromanagement is a problem, but, as victims of “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” Black Studies departments are just as likely to have less oversight, less guidance, and less support, even as demands for their faculty to appear in public, and to represent “the race” within and without the university grow. 

In a strong, healthy department – and there are many such strong, healthy Black Studies departments – this not-quite-benign neglect doesn’t inevitably produce crisis.

The White Crisis of Faith in Black Studies | MPG.