Constructing Black Education at Oberlin

In 1835 Oberlin became the first institute of higher education to make a cause of racial egalitarianism when it decided to educate students "irrespective of color." Yet the visionary collegers"s implementation of this admissions policy was uneven. In Constructing Black Education at Oberlin College: A Documentary History, Roland M. Baumann presents a comprehensive documentary history of the education of African American students at Oberlin College. Following the Reconstruction era, Oberlin College mirrored the rest of society as it reduced its commitment to black students by treating them as less than equals of their white counterparts. By the middle of the twentieth century, black and white student activists partially reclaimed the Oberlin legacy by refusing to be defined by race. Generations of Oberlin students, plus a minority of faculty and staff, rekindled the collegers"s commitment to racial equality by 1970. In time, black separatism in its many forms replaced the integrationist ethic on campus as African Americans sought to chart their own destiny and advance curricular change. Oberlinrs"s is not a story of unbroken progress, but rather of irony, of contradictions and integrity, of myth and reality, and of imperfections. Baumann takes readers directly to the original sources by including thirty complete documents from the Oberlin College Archives. This richly illustrated volume is an important contribution to the collegers"s 175th anniversary celebration of its distinguished history, for it convincingly documents how Oberlin wrestled over the meaning of race and the destiny of black people in American society.

Roland M. Baumann, emeritus archivist and professor of history at Oberlin College, is a Society of American Archivists Fellow and founding member of the Academy of Certified Archivists. He teaches for the School of Library and Information Science, Kent State University, and has authored a number of award-winning publications in archives and history including The 1858 Oberlin-Wellington Rescue: A Reappraisal.

List of Illustrations	p. xi
Preface	p. xiii
Acknowledgments	p. xvii
Introduction. Oberlin-A College and a Cause	p. 1
Original Commitments to Black Education, 1833-35	p. 15
Interest in Black Education Makes Its Debut before the Arrival of the Lane Rebels, 1834	p. 20
Oberlin Collegiate Institute Presses the Trustees to Make a Daring Choice, 1835	p. 22
Oberlin Collegiate Institute Launches a Colorblind Admissions Policy, 1835	p. 24
Building an Interracial Society, 1835-75	p. 26
John Keep and William Dawes Conduct a Fund-Raising Tour in England to Save Oberlin, 1839-40	p. 36
Black Abolitionism Joins White Abolitionism in a Community Venture, 1841	p. 42
Oberlin Supports Equal Participation of Female Students in Abolitionism, 1850	p. 44
A Student Pays Tribute to Philanthropist Charles Avery, 1858	p. 48
Thomas L. Harris Applies for Scholarship Aid to Attend Oberlin, 1858	p. 50
Blanche Harris Teaches in the New South and Faces Racial Prejudice, 1866	p. 54
Moderating the Oberlin Tradition, 1875-1959	p. 71
A Benefactor Comments on the College's Retreat from Tradition, 1882	p. 81
Students Struggle with Societal Views on Race, 1910	p. 87
Mary Church Terrell Appeals to Oberlin for a Return to Integration, 1913	p. 101
The College Privately Rationalizes Segregated Housing on Campus, 1920	p. 108
The Administration Dances around the Question of Social Integration, 1937	p. 111
A Theology Professor Preaches against Segregation at Local Barbershops, 1944	p. 116
The Student Senate Takes the Lead in Restoring Interracial Relations on Campus, 1946	p. 121
The Campus Chapter of the NAACP Confronts Racial Discrimination at Lunch Parlors, 1948	p. 127
An Alumnus and a Historian Reflect on the Tangled History of Race in the 1950s	p. 130
A White Student Makes His Case to Participate in Black College Exchange Program, 1958	p. 133
Reclaiming Equal Educational Opportunity, 1960-85	p. 138
The College Appeals to Foundations to Support Oberlin's History and Mission of Inclusion and Access to Higher Education, 1969-72	p. 156
A Black Faculty Member's View of the Meaning of Black Solidarity, 1968	p. 165
The College Reaffirms Its Commitment by Agreeing to Recruit no Students of Color, 1971	p. 168
The College Trustees Call for Voluntary Affirmative Action in Employment, 1972	p. 175
The General Faculty Debates the Future of the Integrationist Model at Oberlin, 1981	p. 180
Moving toward Multiculturalism, 1985-Present	p. 201
A Student and a Professor Document Racism at Oberlin, 1988	p. 234
The Faculty Address Minority Concerns through Curricular Change, 1991	p. 246
The Administration Supports Multiculturalism on Campus, 1999	p. 252
Students Create Safe Space in a Multicultural Environment, 2000	p. 256
A White Student Addresses Racism in OSCA, 2003	p. 260
Academic Politics, Race, and Strategic Planning, 2005-7	p. 269
Epilogue	p. 282
Notes	p. 295
Selecte Bibliography	p. 387
Index	p. 405
Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved.

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Constructing Black Education at Oberlin College

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