Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

236 Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States
other interdisciplinary programs and is one of the primary reasons that many
call for autonomy in the hiring and tenuring of faculty.
African American Studies and the Challenge of Leadership Succession
Leadership development is necessary to ensure sustainability in
any field. Historically, African American Studies programs and departments
have relied on the long-term leadership of a few charismatic individuals.
Generational shifts require the emergence of a new cadre of
intellectual and institutional leadership to ensure the stability and
longevity of the field.
African American Studies and the Challenge of Collaborations and
Partnerships
The relationship and tensions between African American Studies and
African Studies requires further thoughtful analysis. In some institutions
these two fields have established collaborative relationships; in others they
can be quite contentious. The very different intellectual origins of the two
projects are of importance here: nineteenth- and early twentieth-century
scholars of the Black experience insisted upon the importance of Africa to
the experiences of Africans in the Diaspora, as did the students and faculty
who helped to establish the first academic programs in the late 1960s.
As Huggins noted in his report, 7 contemporary African American
Studies departments and programs emerged from an environment of
broader social change, protest, and struggle. In contrast, many African Studies
programs were founded during the period of decolonization as area studies
programs, some of which were funded by the U.S. government.
Continued exploration of the relationship between African American and
African Studies is needed as more African American Studies programs seek
to broaden their perspectives to include Africa and the African Diaspora. It is
also necessary to understand the institutional and intellectual relationship
between African American Studies and Ethnic Studies as both fields continue
to grow.