Black Studies

By authorizing the groundwork for a degree-granting program in Afro-American studies last week, Dean Ford started the process of filling a shameful hole in the University's curriculum. Ford's support is crucial for any proposed academic change, and his responsiveness to the black students proposal may be a turning point in building a program for students of Afro-American culture here. And since innovations at Harvard have echoes in other parts of the country, the new program could give academic legitimacy to the study of black history and institutions, which is now neglected in almost all secondary schools and most colleges.

But there is still work to be done here in translating the sentiment for an Afro-American studies into a workable program. The mechanics of setting up a degree committee should not prove difficult; the CEP earlier this year discussed a proposal by Bruce Chalmers, Master of Winthrop House, to establish such committees for any student with a legitimate plan for concentration which fell outside the range of normal Harvard fields.

The critical problem which remains is creating courses to fill out the program. For Afro-American studies to exist at Harvard more than nominally, the Faculty must quickly recruit black scholars and make sure that departments do not continue to slight Africa in the group of courses they offer to undergraduates.