Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

elative to other areas in California, and at the time of the proposal,
there were less than a dozen black students on the Santa Cruz campus .
We couldn't buy the "College of Malcolm X" but, unknowingly, we were
getting ready to stake our lives on another bill of goods .
I now recall how some of us shivered with fear for the Black University
when the Santa Cruz people spoke of setting a "national example
." Perhaps some expert on mass psychology can tell us how, ironically,
even those of us who opposed such developments and had perceived
some of the dangers would soon come to speak the same language . Less
than three months went by after Bro . Moore's visit before the cry of
"Black Studies, now!" was raised across the land . Many of us who
had been the opposition found ourselves leading the charge .
In Berkeley, after nine months of fruitless negotiations over our "catch"
action, we issued an ultimatum in January . For several months prior to
the ultimatum, Asian students, Chicago students and Native American
students had been engaged in a crash effort to develop their own programs
. These were nearing completion when the ultimatum was issued .
When it became clear that we would have to go down-and that the other
groups would probably have to do the same at some future date-we
joined hands and asked for a Third World College to house the four
programs . It might be said that our "catch" action died a natural death,
but the memory of the "College of Malcolm X" and our response to it
three months earlier was/is extremely painful . CONSTANT VIGI-
LANCE! CONSTANT VIGILANCE!
Now, Brother Harding, I must attempt to deal with your letter more
directly .
I too believe that some of our actions have placed us in bad company .
In trying to assess what might have been our greatest mistake, I seem
unable to avoid thinking that it was to assume that every white school,
which had even the smallest number of black students, ought to have
Black Studies . Most white schools will never make a WORKABLE
adjustment to such programs . Still, more of them simply do not deserve
such programs . But I'm getting ahead of myself . This is something that
I should return to .
All black students are not interested in Black Studies-let alone a
Black University . "Au Naturels", dashikis and bubas have caused us to
become presumptuous . Traditional motives for going to college are still
very much alive . The students want "in", and college is still the gateway .
When they came in different attire and coiffured differently, many of us
assumed that they wanted out . For the most part-we were wrong .
But it is true that you can never fool everybody . In this case it was
mainly the so-called Negro teachers who were not fooled . They seemed
to recognize immediately the difference between a change in style and a
60 Morch 1970 NEGRO DIGEST