Introduction:
TCU has never been particularly apt at conversations pertaining to issues that people of color, particularly women, face on this campus. For decades, administration, students and professors have attempted to engage in a dialogue of sorts, but looking back, it becomes clear that some of the issues of the status quo have been around for significantly longer then the average student may know. The advent of the CRES and WGST departments have been monumental in shifting discourse, perceptions and activism on campus, however what is little known is that TCU had a Black Studies department dating back to the 1970’s. The Skiff Volume 69 Issue 33, published on February 9th, 1971 explains the formation of the Black Studies Department. What is missing from this article, however, is the voice of women. The first people of color on this campus were women, and ever since then women of color have been fighting for justice and equality. This Skiff article points out the systematic silencing of women that coincided with the Black Studies Department at TCU. I have decided to focus my research on the absence of the voice of women of color in the formation of the Black Studies Department at TCU. Without women of color, this campus would be a relic of its racist past—thus, discussing the silencing of these women is just as pertinent as discussing their voice.
Context:
In 1971, a group of black students, including four athletes, compiled a list of demands for the TCU administration. They demanded greater discourse, dialogue, and more access to black studies centered classes taught by black professors. The catalyst to this list of demands was Jennifer Giddings. Giddings, the 1970 Homecoming Queen, had been excluded from Cotton Bowl Activities because she was a black woman. This exclusion sparked walkouts, protest, and the eventual list of demands from black athletes, and students, campus wide.
They were met with disdain from administration. Then Vice- Chancellor James Newcomer is quoted in this Skiff article as saying “making demands is not a very congenial spirit under which to get constructive work done,” and Dr. Floyd Durham, and economics teacher at the time, added that “there are three and a half [black professors] now,” thus, there was no need to hire more. Newcomer further makes the claim that black professors are paid more relative to their white counterparts, and thus, oftentimes do not want to teach at institutions which pay less. Another response to this list of demands comes from This list of demands, however, made it clear that the administration had to act, and thus, discussions began about the formation of a Black Studies Department.
Flash forward to April 2nd, 1971—the Skiff Volume 69 Issue 48 publishes an article describing the actual formation, implementation and instruction of the Black Studies Department. However, every professor mentioned, shown and quoted is a white one. The article also explains that there is no need to create a Black Studies major, only a minor, because “there is not enough practical value to warrant a major degree in Black Studies.”
There are issues here that are too far reaching to be discussed in a blog post, however, what is most clear to me is that in the entirety of the implementation of this program, only one woman of color was mentioned, briefly, in one article. If one was reading this without proper historical context of TCU, it would seem as if Women of Color were not present on this campus. However they were present, revolutionary, and vocal, and almost entirely left out of this co-opted, "white-savior," narrative constructed at the time.
Black Studies and WOC at TCU Now
The black studies program was started because a Women of Color, as well as athletes on campus, spoke out about the inequality that they were enduring at the hands of decades old policies of tokenism and racism. However, the narrative constructed around the events shows that women were purposefully silenced. A woman of color was not mentioned in relation to the Black Studies program for 5 years after the Skiff about Jennifer Giddings was published. This clearly shows a lack of interesectionality on the side of administration. They were, In their own way, working to address some of the grievances brought forward, however were unable to see how women of color were particularly effected by policies and attitudes held on campus at the time. That is why history continues to repeat itself at TCU-- students have brought forth lists of demands several times, and administration has been poor in their response. Women of color have been silenced, forgotten, and rejected time and time again. It took me hours of combing through the archives available to locate information about the original Black Studies program. It took me even longer to locate the relation that Jennifer Giddings had to it.
bell hooks brings up the "double- bind," in her writings, and the lack of female voice here makes it evident that women of color at TCU in the 1970's were struggling to be a part of attaining both more rights as people of color and as women. Speaking out as a woman, in their eyes, may have taken away from the increase in rights people of color were experiencing on this campus, and thus, the silencing of women of color continued. When comparing the past to the status quo, one can draw many parallels. Lists of grievances continue to be drafted due to various discriminatory policies at TCU. People of color continue to be silenced, relegated to the shadows while administration puts on a narrative of equality.
Comments