Af-Am Dept. Celebrates 30th Anniversary

Shortly after he was chosen to be the 26th president of Harvard, Neil L. Rudenstine invited Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr., the chair of the Afro-American studies department, to lunch.

At one point during the meal, Rudenstine handed Gates a legal pad and a pen and told him to write down a fantasy faculty list.

Gates did, writing down such names as Lani C. Guinier '71, A. Leon Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham and Lawrence Bobo. Rudenstine then told him to "go for it," Gates recalled.

Almost a decade later, practically all of the people he named are tenured professors at Harvard.

"The list is in my top drawer," Gates said Saturday, recounting the story in his opening remarks for the 30th anniversary celebration of Afro-American Studies at Harvard.

The celebration drew hundreds of alumni, past members of the department and scholars in the field to Harvard's campus.

Among the attendees were many of the founders of the department, including 10 of the 18 students who formed the Ad Hoc Committee of Black Students in 1968.

Members of the group, which was instrumental in agitating for the department's creation as well as changes in many of Harvard's policies towards minorities, were honored with DuBois medals at the opening ceremonies in Memorial Church.

"We were young and foolish, but we were also right," said one of the members of the group.

Gates also awarded medals to four faculty and community members who helped create the department.

In addition, Gates announced the creation of an annual prize to be given in honor of Ephraim Isaac, the department's first professor, who also attended the celebration.

Gates gave more informal nods to some of his colleagues, including popular Fletcher University Professor Cornel R. West '74.

"My main man, Cornel West: you're the best!" Gates told his friend.

At the opening event, Climenko Professor Charles J. Ogletree noted the lack of undergraduates in attendance.

In his remarks, Gates said the department now has a $40 million endowment and is assured of a strong future.

In the three decades since its inception, the Afro-American studies department has grown from a troubled upstart to the nation's best.

Gates is largely credited with its revitalization since his arrival in July 1991, particularly with the recruitment of the academic superstars commonly known as the "Dream Team."

In a letter addressed to "Skip," President Clinton, who was unable to attend the event personally, congratulated Gates on the department's anniversary.

"By promoting the study of the history and culture of African Americans, the [W.E.B. DuBois] Institute [for Afro-American Research] and the Department have brought enlightenment not only to Harvard, but to the entire nation, and you and your colleagues continue to illuminate our collective path forward," the president wrote.

This year also marks the 25th anniversary of the Institute.

Vice President Al Gore '69 sent Gates a similar letter of congratulations.

Rudenstine, in his remarks at the ceremony, dubbed Gates "a force of nature," and emphasized the importance of the field and the department.

Before the creation of Afro-American studies, said Rudenstine, "ignorance there was, but also a devastating blindness."

But the work is far from over, he added.

"In many ways, we have barely begun," he said.

The series of panels and events that followed featured a dizzying array of department scholars and affiliates, as well as other luminaries, including singer Jessye Norman and musician Quincy Jones.

On Friday night, University and Time-Warner officials announced that the Time Warner Endowment would fund a Quincy Jones Professorship of African-American Music.

Jones was on hand at a press conference at the Fairmont Copley Plaza Hotel to receive the honor (see related story).

Gerald M. Levin, Chief Executive Officer of Time Warner, was also present at the conference.

"Our conviction [is] that what's been created here at Harvard through Skip Gates is extraordinary," Levin said.

In addition to Norman and Jones, many academic stars attended the conference, coming from all over the country and globe to attend, moderate and speak at a variety of panels with the department's faculty.

Saturday's panel topics included the department's evolution, African-American music, African-American women, African-American art and literature, race in the 21st century, African-American religion, the Afro-Atlantic diaspora, the future of Afro-American Studies, and race and the economy.

At the panel concerning African-American women, Visiting Professor Jamaica Kincaid said the day's celebration "moved" her.

By describing the events marking the department's creation in 1969 so clearly, she said, Rudenstine and others were implicitly apologizing for what the president called Harvard's "previous ignorance."

She added, "And I think the audience acted very lovingly in forgiving this institution."

-Vasugi V. Ganeshananthan contributed to the reporting of this story.