Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies - Ford Foundation

Inclusive Scholarship: Developing Black Studies in the United States 15
the current status of Afro-American studies on American campuses in light
of the early experience and future needs of the field. The report that follows
is the result of that investigation.
A distinguished Afro-American scholar (his books on Frederick Douglass,
on American slavery, and on the cultural flowering of Harlem are
widely used references), Professor Huggins begins his report by placing the
rise of the Black Studies movement within the context of the huge postwar
growth of American higher education and of Black demands for social justice.
He describes the effort to gain a place for Black Studies in the curriculum
as part of a broader movement to integrate Black students and faculty
into a traditionally White educational system. Strong programs were established
in a number of institutions, with the result that by the 1980’s few
scholars any longer questioned whether the field was a legitimate subject
for study. The aim now, Professor Huggins tells us, is to bring more sophisticated
methodologies to bear on the study of Black issues and to expand
the presence of Black Studies in conventional disciplines.
Professor Huggins’s report makes a valuable contribution to our understanding
of an important chapter in American academic history, and
the foundation is pleased to publish it. We hope that it will serve as a guide
and stimulus to other donors interested in aiding a scholarly initiative now
well under way.
Susan V. Berresford
Vice President, United States and
International Affairs Programs
Ford Foundation. B
B Susan V. Berresford became president of the Ford Foundation in 1995.