Students speak out for Africana Studies

Author: Samantha Michaels

Amidst the typical dinner ambiance of appetizing aromas, clanging dishes and throngs of hungry bodies, Ross Dining Hall was imbued with sparks of protest and activism on March 12 as a group of students gathered to raise awareness about the lack of an Africana Studies major at the College. Congregating at a central table and surrounding themselves with posters and fliers - some informational, other painted with maps of Africa and slogans such as "Ignorance is not bliss" - these activists sang along to cultural music, danced the Electric Slide, chanted "Africana" and informed interested diners about their cause.

According to Sheyenne Brown '09, a primary leader in this movement, Africana Studies is an interdisciplinary study which focuses on the history, politics, cultures and literatures of Africa, and of the African Diaspora in Europe, the Americas and the Caribbean. The College is one of three NESCAC schools which does not include such a program in its curriculum, explained Angelica Towne '08, a student who has petitioned for an Africana department since her first year at the College and has recently emerged as another primary activist force.

"We just thought it was odd that the College lacks this major," said Towne, "considering how much we boast about being internationally focused [and] how we boast about being so diverse in our curriculum."

Consequently, Brown, Towne and a host of other supporters - including members of the African American Alliance (AAA), Women's and Gender Studies and Alianza Latinoamerica Y Caribeña (ALC) - have responded with efforts to reveal this paradox to students and administration alike, holding the sit-in gathering at Ross, sending letters to President of the College Ronald D. Liebowitz and sponsoring a student-initiated discussion on March 19.

Demonstrating the need for an Africana Studies major - most notably by distinguishing this discipline from the current International Studies (IS) focus in African Studies, or the American Studies emphasis in Race and Ethnicity - has been one of the most significant tasks for the activists. Leaders of the protest were clear, however, that differences are definite and the need for Africana Studies is undeniable.

First, the Race and Ethnicity emphasis in American Studies concentrates solely on America, reducing the history of African Diaspora to only studies of the trans-Atlantic slave trade and the Civil Rights Movement. Moreover, as an emphasis and not a major, it only obliges students to take four or five classes over a four-year period.

Second, the IS African focus lacks institutional structure and is chronically underfunded, according to activists.

"Right now, under International Studies, you can focus on Africa but there is no funding," said Abigail Opoku-Agyemang '11, "so there is no money for research and no money to bring speakers."

The funding of academic departments at the College depends upon the number of students and professors within them, and as African Studies currently includes a mere three professors, the money is extremely deficient.

Furthermore, according to existing curriculum guidelines, students interested in an IS African focus must petition to pursue their study, proposing a plan and proving their ability to implement it.

James Davis '08, who will graduate with this African focus in May, shared the difficulties of writing a proposal and fulfilling requirements for the major.

"It's a process … since there are so few classes here which are relevant to Africa," said Davis. "And next year, with [Assistant Professor of Political Science] Nadia Horning gone on sabbatical, there is going to be a real lack of knowledge here."

Opoku-Agyemang highlighted Davis' points, expressing fears that she may have to modify her intended major if Africana Studies is not implemented. A first-year planning to study abroad during her junior year, Opoku-Agyemang cannot fulfill many of her required courses until she is a senior, especially in light of Horning's upcoming absence.

Studying abroad poses another obstacle, as the College is not affiliated withone program program in Africa, located in Alexandria, Egypt. Also, certain classes on in the Africana focus are not offered every year, giving students a narrow window to tak e the certain classes. If they miss the window, they have to wait several years for another chance.

"If you happen to catch the class, you can do that major," she said. "But if the [Africana Studies] department is there, the courses will always be offered and you can do the major whenever you want."

"It's sort of a challenge to prove to [the administration] that you can make [the major] happen," said Towne. "And we think that that is sort of counterintuitive to how it should work. There should be enough courses. There should be at least an effort to make an alliance with a school abroad if [the College] does not make one of its own."

Such criticisms coincide with other curriculum-based problems, and recent activism is now also bringing these issues to light. Towne cited her frustration with an unequal representation of Africa, Asia and Latin America (AAL) in the College's Cultures and Civilizations distribution requirement, which she said "enforces the idea of white, white and other."

Moriel Rothman '11 has played a key role rallying awareness of this problem since coming to the College in the fall.

"The AAL requirement essentially … puts together Latin America, Asia and Africa as if they are some big similarity," said Rothman, "[and they're not] … other than the fact that they are not European, North American [and] white-centric." He saw a direct relationship with this bias and the absence of Africana Studies at the College.

These complaints are gaining the attention of students, parents and outside organizations, including the Association of Africans Living in Vermont. For the activists, it is now a matter of demonstrating this support to Liebowitz, as well as persuading the administration that more professors, courses and institutional investment in Africana Studies are needed to truly offer a diverse curriculum at the College.

Towne, Brown, Opoku-Agyemang, Davis and a large number of other students have sent letters to Liebowitz, imploring him to establish the Africana Studies major. Lemar Clarke '08 is the only student who has received a response thus far.

Still, according to Brown, "This is a sign that [Liebowitz] is paying attention."

In a few weeks, Towne and other leaders will address a formal administrative panel and submit their proposal. This committee decides which departments receive funding, and they choose which new departments are accepted at the College. The administrative answer to Towne has been negative in past years, but as explained by Opoku-Agyemang, "This year we're coming at them from all angles, so I really don't see how they can say no."

Indeed, the enthusiasm and passion for Africana Studies is evident. In her letter to Liebowitz, Opoku-Agyemang wrote that the benefits of their requests will far outweigh any cost.

"I know that money is important. But our knowledge is more important," she wrote. "In order to be fully equipped and be on the level of Williams, Harvard, Dartmouth, Wesleyan and various other schools … we need this department. We are behind. You can expand the campus [and] make Proctor nice … but we would rather ... the campus remain the same if it means getting the education we were promised upon our arrival at Middlebury."

Browne echoed this sentiment.

"Sooner or later [this issue] can't be ignored any longer," said Browne at the March 12 sit-in. "That's what this is all about … to get the attention it needs and to get the word out."