“white girls” and “Strong Black Women”

Abstract

Higher education has been transformed in the last quarter of the twentieth century. The “multicultural revolution” has mandated an increasingly diverse core curriculum and faculty in the nations colleges and universities. Neither as broad nor as deep a change as conservative pundits fear, the landscape on America’s ivy-covered campuses has been significantly altered. The history of the African American people, once limited in the curriculum and minds of many academics to a study of slavery and “gritty” ghetto life, has moved toward the mainstream. Students majoring in political science, engineering, art history, and literature find the experience of African Americans relevant to their course of study. Unfortunately, mere exposure to the subject matter does not transform the way Americans, first as students, then as real world actors, understand black historical experiences or interact with people of African descent. Certainly, it takes more than the study of history to foment change in American race relations. History, well taught, does however have the power to inspire serious contemplation about our nation’s past, present, and future.