Humanities, Research

Life stories of early African American faculty offer window onto history

Eighteen African American faculty and senior administrators, hired before the advent of affirmative-action policies in the 1970s, recount their life stories — and transformative events at Berkeley — in a recently completed oral-history series. "The Originals," an exhibit at the Library, showcases the project and the contributions of these pioneers.

By Cathy Cockrell

June 3, 2014

In 1942 a young African American Ph.D. in mathematics, David Blackwell, interviewed for a teaching job at Berkeley. He was hired, but not for many years.

When he finally came to Berkeley to teach statistics, in 1954, several of Blackwell’s new colleagues told him there was a backstory to his failed application more than a decade earlier. It had been decided to offer him a position in mathematics, they said, but the wife of the departmental chair, who sometimes invited the faculty to dinner, insisted she would not have a black person in her house — and the offer was squelched.

Professor Emeritus of Music Olly Wilson with Mary Lovelace O'Neal. (Joanne Connelly photo)

four 'Originals' — Sociologist Harry Edwards with San Jose State athletes Tommie Smith, John Carlos and Lee Evans, in training for the 1968 Summer Olympics. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

Associate University Archivist Kathryn Neal helped curate "The Originals," an exhibit on view through August at the Library. (Joanne Connelly photo)

Bil Banks and James Baldwin — Bil Banks takes James Baldwin though a Library exhibit in Baldwin's honor, during the author's 1979 campus visit as Regents' lecturer. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

Jewelle Taylor Gibbs, professor of social welfare: "Being first has its ups and downs... It's an honor ... and it's a psychic burden." (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

Russ Ellis, John Payton, Thelton Henderson, and Troy Duster — A collegial confab, in 2003 (L-R): Russ Ellis; civil-rights lawyer John Payton; Thelton Henderson, senior federal judge, Northern District of California; and Troy Duster. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

exhibit detail — A current exhibit includes excerpts from the oral history of Michele Francis (later Michele Woods Jones), who served as Educational Opportunity Program counselor, director of student services and staff ombudsperson. (Joanne Connelly photo)

A formally trained classical singer and performer, Henrietta Harris taught dramatic arts at Berkeley from 1954 to 1969. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

Nadine Wilmot and Mary Perry Smith — ROHO interviewer Nadine Wilmot speaks again with Mary Perry Smith. (Joanne Connelly photo)

Norvel and Mary Perry Smith — Norvel Smith and his wife, Mary Perry Smith, cofounder of the campus's Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement (MESA) program. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

After heading Merritt College in Oakland, Norvel Smith (1924-2004) served as vice chancellor of student affairs at Berkeley. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

black-power salute at 1968 Summer Olympics. — Edwards' efforts against racism in sports and society led to the black-power salute at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Harry Edwards and Ula Taylor — Harry Edwards, professor emeritus of sociology, chats with Ula Taylor, associate professor of African American studies. (Joanne Connelly photo)

Bil Banks and Mary Lovelace O'Neal share a moment at the event, held in Morrison Library. (Joanne Connelly photo)

Mary Lovelace in art studio — Painter and printmaker Mary Lovelace, born in Jackson, Miss. in 1942, served as professor of art practice. Her oral history, the last of the series, will be released soon.

Legal scholar Patricia Williams — Keynote speaker Patricia Williams at an event honoring pioneering African American faculty: "Your stories are a lens through which we can better understand what needs to be done for the next generation's survival." (Joanne Connelly photo)

William 'Bil' Banks — William ('Bil') Banks, professor of African American studies: "What's the use of being at the University if you're not going to be part of it?" (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

Professor David Blackwell, hired in the early '50s, was the first black professor to receive tenure at UC Berkeley. A new undergraduate dormitory will be named in his honor. (Photo courtesy of The Bancroft Library)

Blackwell, who eventually became the first tenured black professor in the University of California system, shares this vivid memory in a 10-hour interview with the Bancroft Library’s Regional Oral History Office (ROHO). His life history is part of a recently completed oral-history series on 18 pioneering African American faculty and senior administrators, hired before the advent of affirmative-action policies in the 1970s, who broke barriers and laid the groundwork for those who followed.

Twelve years in the making, the series involves more than 250 hours of interviews, tracing the subjects’ life journeys and recounting transformative events, such as the Third World College Strike of 1969, which led to curricular and institutional changes at Berkeley that reverberated across the nation. The oldest of the interviewees is dramatic-arts lecturer Henrietta Harris, born in 1916; Blackwell was born in 1919 and died in 2010.

The interviews shed light on the courage involved in being a pioneer and role model, the role of historically black colleges, and how the interviewees’ lives intersected with major historical events and figures, says Neil Henry, ROHO interim director and associate professor of journalism. He notes that some pioneering colleagues — among them Barbara Christian (African American studies), O’Neil Ray Collins (botany), Harry Morrison (physics), William Shack (anthropology), Kenneth Harlan Simmons (architecture) and Staten Wentford Webster (education) — passed away before they could be included in the project.

Historic reunion

A number of the interviewees, now in their 70s and beyond, were on hand for a historic reunion in the Morrison Library May 16, which happened to be the eve of the 60th anniversary of Brown v. Board of Education, the Supreme Court decision outlawing segregation in public education, which figures large in the lives of many of those gathered.

“This is a party we’ve been waiting 12 years to have… There couldn’t be a better day to have this celebration,” said Bancroft director Elaine Tennant.

Both Russ Ellis, professor emeritus of architecture and former vice chancellor of undergraduate affairs, and keynote speaker Patricia Williams, legal scholar and Nation columnist, spoke of the joy of reading interviewees’ words. The life stories serve as “a lens through which we can better understand what needs to be done for the next generation’s survival,” Williams said.

Chancellor Nicholas Dirks, a historian as well as anthropologist, predicted the series will become one of ROHO’s “most important and enduring” contributions.

Honorees present included, among others, composer Olly Wilson, professor emeritus of music and one-time faculty assistant for affirmative action; Chancellor’s Professor Troy Duster, professor emeritus of sociology; Mary Lovelace O’Neal, professor emerita of art practice; and Harry Edwards, professor emeritus of sociology, whose activism led to the black-power salute protest by two African American athletes at the 1968 Summer Olympics.

Library exhibit

Following formal presentation of the completed oral histories, each bound in blue, interviewees were invited to view “The Originals,” an exhibition showcasing photos and excerpts from the project, on display in the Rowell Cases, located in the Bancroft-Doe corridor, through August.

The series website includes complete transcripts and video excerpts of the oral-history interviews.