Introduction
For nearly 50 years, people of color received poor educated in the Institution of Education, which is the most critical government entity in the United States. The requirements of black students were utterly unimportant, and they were even assumed to be nonexistent. The documentary Agents of Change puts its primary focus on the struggles of minority students in the 1960s to establish the curriculum that would best fit their interests, heritage, and background. Here, the main issues were the success of previous movements, the Black Students’ Union, goals, and the transformation of curriculum for ethnic communities were essential in the documentary to give a complete overview of the black studies riots and concessions.
The Idea of Black Studies
The ideas of black studies formed in the early 1960s and found many supporters. The phrase black power was coined by Stokely Carmichael (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). This was a phrase that naturally became, in modern parlance, viral. Stokely was giving speeches on college campuses around the nation, encouraging black students to come together and proclaiming that “black was beautiful” (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016, 07:57). Nationalism was the trend, and it was possible to find people interested in it on university campuses across the country. However, while the documentary shed light on nationalism, it did not give a deeper insight into it, and thus, such points were omitted.
A similar point was raised by Bunzel in his essay from the 1960s. Bunzel (1968) wrote that at this time, black nationalism was already rising with significant power and intention on college campuses around the states. It came in a variety of styles, forms, and even colors. Black students were seeking a Black Studies curriculum at higher education institutions, which would not only assist them in confirming their own identity and self-worth but also acknowledge the emerging demands of the black community, helping to define the term black awareness in the process (Bunzel, 1968). The concept of black studies became the primary means through which black students could advocate for an educational reformation in universities across the country.
Previous Movements
During this decade, many performers who were a part of the black community advocated for a better education. James Brown was the one who said to “embrace yourself, be yourself” (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016, 08:10 ). He claimed that if people did not have a decent education, they would not be able to achieve anything (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). The performers motivated the minorities to never imagine themselves to be below anyone and to simply be proud and carry out all obligations (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). Revolutionary poems were written by Sonia Sanchez and Amiri Baraka as part of the well-known Black Arts Movement (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). Bunzel (1968) stated that the Experimental College launched the Black Arts and Culture Series in the autumn of 1960. The goal was to cast a favorable spotlight on black Americans’ actual experiences. History, law, psychology, the humanities, the social sciences, and dance were all topics of study.
Black Students’ Union
In the following years, other movements started to take root. The Black Student Union struggle began to take shape at San Francisco State in 1966 (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). Likewise, it was mentioned by Bunzel (1968) states that the Black Students’ Union first appeared in the summer of that year, and it almost instantly rose to prominence among the student council. The following year, it focused on the academic issues facing black and other minority university students, which they characterized in the widest terms as issues with identity, significance, and alienation.
Moreover, supporters of the Union claimed that in addition to a general sense of segregation, the high drop-out rate, poor academic performance, and overall lack of enthusiasm among a significant number of such students were caused by the more persuasive reality. Such statements implied that schooling from kindergarten through college was run by the white community, which caused neglect to concentrate on topics relevant to the lives of those in the minority community (Bunzel, 1968). In particular, it was frequently said that black and other minority students have limited opportunities in the standard curriculum to situate themselves in a recognizable historical and personal setting.
Goals of the Black Studies Movement
Increasing the number of black students at San Francisco State University was the primary priority of the Black Students’ Union. The supporters believed that the objections made by minority students at this university, or, more crucially, the minority groups who were not admitted, were quite well-founded (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). Additionally, they just authorized and made public a proposal to enroll 400 exceptional students from minority groups the next year (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). Once the new students were admitted, the Union built up the necessary framework so that the enrolled individuals could be tutored. The Union sought to create an example of what black studies ought to be for the public, the administration, and the students (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). There was, nevertheless, controversy over the worth of black education.
The Union sought individuals who would genuinely question the leadership and demand the establishment of a Black Studies Department, for which Nathan Hare was the perfect figure. While the documentary mentions Hare, it does not provide a full picture of his persona. In this sense, Bunzel gives an overview of the given activist and sociologist. He was characterized as “a man seething with anger about the path of Negro leadership, the duplicity of whites, and the fallibility of many Negros who follow both!” (Bunzel, 1968, p.259). In the end, the supporters of the Union, along with Hare, went on strike in November 1968 (Bunzel, 1968). They had 15 demands, the most vital of which was the establishment of the Black Studies Department and curriculum (Bunzel, 1968). Therefore, it was necessary to fulfill at least one major demand.
Compromises and the New Definition of Black Studies
In the face of unstoppable strikes, concessions had to be made. However, it was impossible to satisfy all 15 requests. However, the most important one, the statement that a Black Studies Department will exist, was kept (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). Additionally, it was stated that a comparable curriculum would be available for other ethnic communities (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016). The issues in the documentary were covered effectively, without any unsubstantiated claims. Additionally, Gordon (1981) made a similar point and emphasized that Black studies are characterized as an examination of the variables and circumstances that have impacted the social, cultural, legal, and moral standing of African Americans and other Africans across the world. He mentioned that black studies were focused on the creation of fresh perspectives on the Black experience in addition to the culture of the Afro-American ethnicity as historically and sociologically described by the canonical literature.
Transformation of the Educational System
After the riots, the educational system and curriculum for minorities underwent a transformation. Before, as Kimberle Crenshaw put it, whenever black students were not interacting with one another, they saw “white people and white ideas” wherever they turned (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016, 36:37). When they arrived at some of these campuses, the extracurricular activities and courses were all white and had a European focus. With “alternative perspectives, alternative histories, to make a more credible claim as to how society should be reorganized,” it was intended that students would respond (Ginzberg & Dawson, 2016, 36:52). At this point, the coverage of this issue in the documentary was successful, without omissions or misinterpretations.
However, this was additionally corroborated in other pieces of literature. As Pentony (1969) discussed, the proponents of a black studies department tended to view such an approach as a solution for the white curriculum they have lived through their entire lives and as a method to give black people joy, confidence, and fellowship. Supporters of the movement argued that the ways of life and worldviews prevalent in the majority of the black community were and will be considered distinct to warrant a new, nearly bicultural strategy (Pentony, 1969). They were questioning the significance of the style and contents of the curriculum created to fulfill the needs and expectations of the white people.
Conclusion
Hence, in order to provide a thorough picture of the black studies riots and compromises, the documentary had to address several key issues, including the Black Students’ Union’s aims and the alteration of the curriculum. Early in the 1960s, black studies concepts emerged and attracted supporters. The Black Arts and Culture Series was first introduced by the Experimental College in the fall of 1960. Other movements began to emerge in the years that followed. San Francisco State was where the Black Student Union battle first took shape in 1966. The Black Students’ Union’s top aim was to increase the proportion of black students at San Francisco State University. The declaration that a Black Studies Department would be present was maintained by the authorities in the face of rioting. The educational system changed as a result of the riots.
References
Bunzel, J. H. (1968). Black studies at San Francisco State. In N. Norment (Ed). The African American studies reader (pp. 255-267). Carolina Academic Press.
Ginzberg A. & Dawson, F. (Directors). (2016). Agents of change: The longest student strike in U.S. history [Film]. California Newsreel.
Gordon, V. V. (1981). The coming of age of black studies. In N. Norment (Ed). The African American studies reader (pp. 275-283). Carolina Academic Press.
Pentony, D. E. (1969). The case for black studies. In N. Norment (Ed). The African American studies reader (pp. 9-15). Carolina Academic Press.