African-American studies has joined Georgetown’s growing interdisciplinary studies program. The determined efforts of students and faculty came to fruition last week as Georgetown formally launched a new African-American Studies pilot program.
Beginning this year, students will be able to minor in African-American Studies in the interdisciplinary studies program. Students pursuing the minor must take at least six courses that focus on the history, culture and development of the African-American identity.
“The program affords students the opportunity to learn about the many facets of the African-American experience, an experience impossible to compartmentalize within one discipline,” said Nazareth Haysbert (SFS ‘05), who helped write the proposal for the minor.
Students and faculty submitted petitions for the program to the administration with over a thousand signatures in the spring of 2001. Dr. Angelyn Mitchell, the director of the new program, called the petition effort a “watershed moment” in its creation, but she said that the effort really began in the 1970s, when African-American students began to enroll at Georgetown in large numbers and found the curriculum lacking.
The administration was not opposed to the program, but it took time to bring together the faculty and resources, said Bill Hahn, Associate Dean for the College. The seed money for the program came from Valerie Lancaster-Beal (CAS ‘76), a senior vice president at an investment banking firm on Wall Street. “She would have liked to take courses devoted to the African-American experience,” said Mitchell.
Considering that D.C. was 60 percent black in 2000, many are relieved to finally see the program arrive on campus. Dionne E. Young (CAS ‘04), who will be the first student to graduate with a minor in African-American Studies this May, welcomed the program as a way to increase awareness of the black majority in the District.
“We do not take into consideration that there is a high minority population here, and it is one of the most impoverished cities in the U.S.,” said Young. Mitchell echoed that hope, though she noted that the program would be important regardless of the location.
“Georgetown students have little understanding of the very rich history, in terms of race, this city has to offer,” she said.
Young is grateful for the University’s efforts, but she expressed regret that it took so long. “It shows me that they are really invested in this and ready to support it, but it has been in the works for four years. Where are the kids who could have this major now?” she asked.
Young was optimistic that the minor would help her in her chosen field of broadcast journalism, but she emphasized the personal impact of the new program. “A lot of people think the minor is divisive, a way for African-Americans to separate themselves from the University, but I think it’s quite the opposite,” she said. “It makes us part of the campus, we own something, we have our own place on campus. Now we have a way to contribute to the diversity, history and legacy of the school.”
For now, the African-American Studies program is only a pilot program. Over the next few years, the viability of the minor will be evaluated based on several factors, including student and faculty interest, resources, and outside recognition, Hahn said.
“There’s an interest on-campus and there are students enrolled right now. It’s not a huge program. There are about five to seven students per class. Over time, they want to see those numbers increase for it to be a viable program to keep on campus,” said Jaime Winne, Assistant Media Relations Officer for the College of Arts and Sciences.
Mitchell said creating a research institute for African-American studies is her long-term goal. Hahn cautioned that funding problems make expansion of the program unlikely in the near future. “Right now, the financial climate is not accommodating for a new full hire from outside the University,” he said.
Right now, the nascent department has only one class, Introduction to African-American Studies, taught by Mitchell. The rest of the classes are drawn from a variety of outside departments, including history, Portuguese and women’s studies.
