The Black Campus Movement: Black Students and the Racial Reconstitution of Higher Education, 1965–1972
by Kathy Grear 07/30/2021
Between 1965 and 1972, African American students at upwards of a thousand historically black and white American colleges and universities organized, demanded, and protested for Black Studies, progressive Black universities, new faces, new ideas–in short, a truly diverse system of higher education relevant to the Black community. Taking inspiration from the Black Power Movement, Black students drew support from many quarters–including White, Latino, Chicano, Asian American, and Native American students–and disrupted and challenged institutions in nearly every state. By the end, they had thoroughly reshaped the face of the academy. The Black Campus Movement provides the first national study of this remarkable and inspiring struggle, illuminating the complex context for one of the most transformative educational movements in American history through a history of black higher education and black student activism before 1965. This authoritative study is essential to understanding modern American higher education.
Between 1965 and 1972, African American students at upwards of a thousand historically black and white American colleges and universities organized, demanded, and protested for Black Studies, progressive Black universities, new faces, new ideas–in short, a truly diverse system of higher education relevant to the Black community.
Dr. Ibram X. Kendi will expound on his book, “THE BLACK CAMPUS MOVEMENT: Black Students and the Racial Reconstitution of Higher Education, 1965-1972,” which synthesizes records from more than three hundred colleges and universities, including documents from 163 college archives, into one national story. This authoritative study is essential to understanding modern American higher education.
BOOK AWARDS
2011-2012 W.E.B. Du Bois Book Prize,
Northeast Black Studies Association
2012 Best Scholarly Book,
Diopian Institute for Scholarly Advancement
PRAISE
“In many ways [Kendi’s] book covers the most expansive assemblage of college campuses examined in any single volume to date. The sheer breadth of [Kendi’s] work is remarkable as he seamlessly weaves together the stories of student activism across numerous campuses…The Black Campus Movement may represent a touchstone for future researchers interested in more localized or regional aspects of this larger story. As a monograh, it will be used and interrogated for some time to come.”
“Overall, The Black Campus Movement is notable for its thorough research and fresh historical analysis. The work breaks new and important ground by providing insights into trends and patterns of Black student activism across geography, institutional types, and time. The Black Campus Movement is the first work to compile such an inclusive account of actions nationwide. Therefore, this text is invaluable for students and researchers of the 1960s, the Black power movement, and Black student protest.”
“The Black Campus Movement melds accounts of racial protest and reform at ‘historically white colleges’ with the thriving activism on historically black colleges and universities during the 1960s and 1970s, offering readers a cohesive and comprehensive history of a transformative time for black people on the country’s campuses.”
“Kendi “has written a powerful account of the role of black student movements in US higher education from the mid-1960s to the early 1970s. The most impressive aspect of Rogers’s work is his prodigious archival research. This is an important study. Highly recommended.”
“This book breaks new ground within the fields of history, African American Studies, diversity studies, higher education, and policy studies. It is interdisciplinary and far reaching, and a welcome addition to the field.”
“The Black Campus Movement is one of the best books yet published analyzing the long history of struggle by African Americans to achieve equality in American higher education and the contradictory role of the university in Black freedom struggles. [It] should be required reading for those involved in contemporary freedom struggles.”
