Black Leadership and Civil Rights: Transforming the Curriculum, Inspiring Student Activism

Abstract

Evelyn M. Simien is assistant professor in the department of political science at the University of Connecticut, Storrs. Her current research interests include African American public opinion ancl political behavior, black feminist thought andcritical race theory, survey research, and quantitative methodoloqy. She can be reached at simien@uconn.e7u. African American women have a long history of political activism, starting with anti-slavery networks, civil rights organizations, and black feminist collectives (Collins 2000). Overcoming racism and sexism has had a profound impact on African American women's political activism by inspiring them to actively participate in social movements, political parties, campaigns, elections, and, ultimately, run for public office. Nonetheless, efforts to transform the curriculum and integrate the perspectives of African American women have met with varying degrees of success. African American women's political activism within the civil rights movement has not been accurately documented but rather conveniently forgotten. African American women were instrumental to the movement in their roles as organizers, fundraisers, and leaders in orchestrating tremendously successful grassroots campaigns that advanced black liberation and attested to their leadership capabilities. It is this writer's view that African American women of the civil rights movement should not to be presented as victims or celebrated as mainstream heroines from a contributionist approach. Perhaps Rosa Parks is the easiest for instructors to use in this way, considering the frequent trivialization of her role in the Montgomery Bus Boycott. It is in this regard that Cedric the Entertainer's comedic performance in the film, Barbershop, becomes illustrative. He insists that all Rosa Parks did was "sit down" because she was tired, which minimizes her role as an important civil rights activist. Obviously, this message is problematic. However, it is indicative of an educational system that treats black history month as cultural enrichment. During the month of February, students learn about black firsts and their achievements to develop tolerance for difference as opposed to challenge basic assumptions about cultural stereotypes (Higginbotham 1990; Omolade 1993; Banks 2003). An alternative or transformative approach to the curriculum enables students to critically evaluate political processes. Such an approach allows students to consider why, for example, African American women are conspicuously absent from the curriculum on black leadership and civil rights. Students can begin to question and understand how race, sexuality, class, and gender dynamics operate within the context of the movement. They come to appreciate multiple perspectives and realities as they relate to the unequal distribution of power and privilege in the United States, thereby creating a new framework by which students view key concepts, issues, themes, and problems inherent to the movement that counter mainstream perspectives. African American women are then integrated into the curriculum as leaders, performing roles similar to those of black men without privileging one experience over the other. Therefore, black liberation is not equated with black masculinity or manhood. My course on the civil rights movement is designed to introduce students to black leadership, specifically the principles, goals, and strategies used by African American men and women to secure basic citizenship rights. It provides a fairly broad, yet comprehensive account of the civil rights movement so students can develop a critical perspective of historical and contemporary trends in African American political life. An in-depth analysis of the civil rights movement often inspires students to become more informed and politically active citizens. Through critical examination of the major philosophical and theoretical arguments contesting interlocking systems of oppression, students arrive at some understanding of how African American men and women influenced the political process via public persuasion, litigation, grassroots mobilization, and direct action despite different movement experiences determined by race, sexuality, class, and gender dynamics (Weber 2001). This course is unique in that it expands the curriculum on black leadership and civil rights to include African American women thereby offering students an alternative vision that recognizes African American