Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States 145
reserved each year for conferences, research travel and graduate assistantships.
Everyone we spoke to truly valued the opportunities made available under the
Ford grant. Students who had traveled to archives and delivered papers at conferencesbenefitedfromthefeedbacktheyreceivedandwereabletopublishtheir
work. Such student beneficiaries reported feeling that they had gained a deeper
understanding of what it meant to be a scholar. Faculty, too, felt that their research
was greatly enhanced by their ability to travel and initiate research. Professor
Valerie Grim’s work on Black rural workers provides but one example of
the impressive, original research underwritten by the Ford grant. A new junior
professor, she has already completed several articles and a book manuscript.
We were especially impressed by the various ways in which the department
drew upon its considerable strengths to heighten its visibility on
campus, in the city of Bloomington, across the state, and nationwide. The
University is well known for its Black Film Center Archives directed by Professor
Phyllis Klotman, for the vision of former director Portia K. Maultsby,
and for her accomplishments and that of Mellonee Burnim, the current director,
in Black music. These constitute the strongest suits of the department
and perhaps explain the particular emphasis on African American
cultural life. Thus, Ford funds were earmarked to develop an archive of
African American Music, History, and Culture that would complement and
enhance the holdings of the Film Center Archive. We were impressed by the
comprehensiveness of the archive and by the sophisticated level of online
cataloging that facilitated access. We also felt that these acquisitions seemed
to have enormous impact on the quality of teaching at Indiana. Since
African American Studies, by definition, is interdisciplinary, these archives
enabled professors and students to explore easily and in depth the links between
print, visual, oral, and music culture within the field.
Conferences were a less central component of the Indiana initiative
than they were at other institutions we visited. However, two conferences
in 1991–92 did attract national attention and again capitalized on departmental
strength. Professor William Wiggins’s ongoing work on Joe Louis
provided the inspiration for a conference entitled “Joe Louis and the American
Press.” Interdisciplinary in concept, the conference featured lectures,
films, an exhibition, and musical presentations.