“Institutionalized Racism”: Advocacy and Literature at Oberlin College
Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper’s long-standing career as an academic began in 1971 when she attended Oberlin College and Conservatory. Sullivan-Harper, at the time just Sullivan, was a well-rounded student who was very involved in the Black Power and Black Arts Movements. She graduated in 1975 with honors in English. Her senior thesis, “Langston Hughes as a Proponent of the Black Aesthetic” was among the first literary explorations of Langston Hughes’ work. Hughes has been a key through line of Sullivan-Harper’s life; she has held many esteemed positions in which she emphasizes the importance of Hughes’ work. These positions have included time at Oglethorpe University, Emory University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Grinnell College and ultimately Spelman College. Before Sullivan-Harper went on to inspire many students through courses like “Early African American Literature” or “Seminal Writers in the African American Tradition,” she began her academic career as a student at Oberlin College. Upon graduation she was offered the position as the Dormitory Director of the African Heritage House. This highly dynamic role included supervision as “program coordinator of guest speakers and cultural events related to the dorm and/or the Black Studies Program” and beginning in 1976, teaching a course entitled “Langston Hughes and the Black Aesthetic.”[1] Alongside a love for Langston Hughes, Sullivan also carried a key component of the Black Power and the Black Arts Movement with her, the need for culturally sensitive (or, afro-centric) education for black students.
Sullivan put pressure on Oberlin’s administration and student body to create a formal Black Studies Department through essays, letters, and articles. Her article “Institutionalized Racism” showcases her argument clearly and succinctly. Written alongside Kim White, a house director and Religious intern, and printed in the March 12, 1976 issue of the Oberlin Review. Sullivan was about a year into her tenure as House Director of the Afro House and lecturer in the AACSDP. The AACSDP or Afro-American Community Student Development Program was the precursor to the Africana Studies Department. This program emphasized increasing access of education that aligns with minority group’s cultural values, aligning with the values of many Independent Black Institutions. [2]
This article encapsulates the ways that Oberlin students rallied around the Black Power and Black Arts Movements. Students fought for diversity, equity, and inclusion through protests, conferences, speeches, and rallies. Among the most tangible changes they fought for was the formation of the African Heritage House and the Africana Studies department. The African Heritage House was created at Oberlin in 1969 - a few years before Sullivan attended Oberlin, and precursors to the Black Studies department existed until 1983 when it was given official status.[3] The African Heritage House (then called Afro-American House) moved to Lord and Saunders in 1971, the same year Sullivan began at Oberlin. This transition marks the entrance of women living in the house as well as an emphasis on “living-learning” rather than just academics. Within the same year, the Afro-American Studies department began the road to establishment. The earliest stages of courses in the department were held at Lord and Saunders, alongside the students who lived and ate in the dorm.[4]
“Institutionalized Racism” explores these afro-centric values while simultaneously explaining how they can be woven into a historically white institution. They explore the importance of emphasizing culturally congruent education in Oberlin. The authors explain that Oberlin’s “polarization” is the source of racism in the College. Minority students exist “in an overwhelmingly white environment”, where they are forced to ascribe to white norms. As a result, only “Euro-centered values” are respected, forcing any other values to the sidelines. Most importantly, the authors explain that if Oberlin’s goal is the “education of the whole person,” the college must redefine who that ‘person’ is. Students who do not align with these euro-centric values are forced to assimilate, causing immense “misunderstandings of the needs, wants, and preferences of black folk at Oberlin.” Sullivan and White express clearly that the combination of black students on campus and “the absence of an institutional commitment to their total development is Oberlin’s institutional racism.” In order to more effectively meet those needs, Oberlin must “adjust to the presence of blacks.” The authors propose the creation of a “full-accredited Black Studies major” so that Oberlin can meet its goal of having a “variety” of students.[5]
The emphasis on creating black studies departments was common during the period of the Black Power and Arts Movements. The goal of this education, to address the “cultural mismatches” that African American students experience, was exactly what Sullivan and White were writing about.[6] Authors like Kofi Lomotey, Pauline Lipman, and Craig Brookins argue that educators must meet the needs of these students by centering their minds, modes of learning, and cultural values.[7]
Sullivan was among the students and faculty members who strove to meet the needs of black students - both on more intimate levels as well as institutionally. Her main pathway into these conversations was through literature and art, a form of activism she would carry throughout her career. Reading this article nearly 50 years later prompts one question, what did it mean to be a young black woman writing about institutional racism in an academy that would not look at itself critically? To be able to take a risk like writing this article in her first-year teaching must have been daunting. How did the institution receive her words? Were they even willing to listen? While we cannot explore this more fully on paper, we can understand that Sullivan’s opposition to the white cultural values that Oberlin would be one of her driving forces.
[1] “Donna Akiba Sullivan Harper.” Spelman College. https://www.spelman.edu/docs/faculty_cv/donna-akiba-harper-cv.pdf?sfvrsn=f8329550_0. Curriculum Vitae.
[2] Ikemma, William. “AACSDP: White liberal paternalism, black acquiescence.” April 18, 1975. Newspaper Article, Oberlin Review Vol. 103, No. 44. In: Black Organizations etc. Clippings. Courtesy of the Oberlin College Archives.
[3] “Black Studies Gers Department Status” The Observer. May 12, 1983., SUBGROUP I. Administrative Records (cont.) Series 4. Correspondence Files (cont.) Subseries 2. Inner Office Files (alpha) (cont.): Series 3. Committee Files: Box 1, Afro-American Committee, 1968-1969 (4f)
[4] Willson, Peters. “Afro-American House Becomes Co-ed”, Oberlin Review. March 12, 1971. SUBGROUP I. Administrative Records (cont.) Series 4. Correspondence Files (cont.) Subseries 2. Inner Office Files (alpha) (cont.): Series 3. Committee Files: Box 1, Afro-American Committee, 1968-1969 (4f)
[5] Sullivan, Akiba; Kim White. “Institutionalized Racism.” March 12, 1976. Newspaper Article, Oberlin Review Vol. 104, No. 38.
[6] Lipman, Pauline. Race, Class, and Power in School Restructuring. Albany, NY: State Univ. of New York Press, 1998.
[7] Lomotey, Kofi. "Independent Black Institutions: African-Centered Education Models." The Journal of Negro Education 61, no. 4 (Oct 1, 1992): 455-462. doi:10.2307/2295363. https://www.jstor.org/stable/2295363. 457.