Alumni Committee Launches Campaign To Boost Official Support for Afro-Am

A newly formed group of Harvard alumni yesterday called on the University to reaffirm its commitment to the Afro-American Studies Department complaining that the department is currently "reported to be in great trouble a department in name only."

In a full-page advertisement that first ran in yesterday's Crimson, the group also demanded immediate "good faith negotiations" with Ephriam Isaac, a former associate professor of Afro-American Studies, who is suing the University for discrimination in its decision not to grant him tenure.

The Ad Hoe Alumni Committee to Support Afro-American Studies was started last fall to counteract what it considers a lack of University support for the department. Dayna L. Cunnigham '81, one of the organizers of the committee, said yesterday. She noted that the group already has more than 30 members and is growing rapidly. Because of a policy of "deliberate neglect and abuse by the College" the department will require" hard work by students and alumni to maintain it," she added.

Out of Town

President Bok was out of town yesterday and could not be reached for comment on the formation of the group. Nathan I. Huggins, chairman of the department, yesterday declined to comment.

In a related development, members of the Black Student Association (BSA) met with Huggins Thursday to discuss what input students would have in the future of the department. BSA President Gaye Williams '83 said yesterday she was "a little disappointed--I think we have a difference of opinion, but he's the chair."

Williams pointed out that heated student protests played a key role in the formation of the department in 1969, and argued consequently that students should play a greater part in forming the curriculum and general philosophy of the department. Huggins "does not see any formal student role" she added.

The alumni committee was established in an attempt to hold the University to "unfulfilled promises dating back to 1969" to make the department "internally strong," Cindy Robbins '80, a member of the group, said yesterday.

The organization is focusing on the Isaac tenure case in part because members believe it is an example of the University's wrongly restricting the academic areas the department will include, Cunningham said. She explained that Isaac was denied tenure because he is an Africa expert, and the University wants to limit the department to the experiences of Blacks in America.

History

"They are saying Afro-American history begins with the slave trade: they are saying Afro-American history is a slave history, and Afro-Americans are a slave people."

The BSA has scheduled a rally for next Friday to raise the question of where the department is headed, specifically focusing on the Issac case, Williams said. She added that a show of support is important now, since the case is moving close to a trial.

The alumni group has not yet decided on its next move, but organizers say that it intends to pursue its campaign to keep people thinking about the direction of the department "We don't plan to let the issue die." Cunningham said.