Letters

Black Issues in Higher Education, April 11, 2002

DEAR EDITOR:

In your Feb. 14 issue, Dr. Julianne Malveaux was clicking on all cylinders when she incisively noted that "the media want a controversy" at Harvard between President Lawrence Summers and the university's African American studies department. According to media theorists Max McCombs and Donald Shaw, "the media not only tell us what to think about, but also how to think about it, and consequently what to think." So in this case, the general media tell us what to think about (Africana studies), how to think about it (questioning its rigor and value) and consequently what to think (do we even need African American studies?). So thank goodness we have Black Issues In Higher Education and the nation's 200-plus African American newspapers.

In addition, as a journalist, communication professor and former dean of a Black cultural center in California and board member of ABCC (Association of Black Culture Centers), I am glad to see Black Issues give these centers a public forum to make their case. However, question marks in a title or headline, as was the case in this story, suggest that the editor or writer already decided that these centers are "standing on shaky ground." The bigger question is, "Are these centers located on a level playing field or in a war zone?"

Keith Orlando Hilton, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor, Communication
University of the Pacific
Stockton, Calif.
khilton@uop.edu

DEAR BLACK ISSUES:

I am writing this letter in response to the feature story on young African American scholars in the Jan. 3 issue. I thoroughly enjoyed this publication. In fact, this particular edition was my introduction to Black Issues, which I had never read. I would like to briefly share the impact reading this issue had on my life.

While visiting my friend in Washington, she passed on a copy of this issue to me and brought attention to one scholar who was doing research on Spanish-speaking persons of African descent, which is a personal area of interest. I read the entire issue and was at once struck by the breadth of accomplishments and research interests reflected by the subjects of the feature article.

I was further affected by the statistics on doctoral production in the pages that followed. My first thought was "Wow, these men and women are impressive!" My second thought was "I can do this, too!" That was the weekend of Feb. 8. On March 4, I submitted one application to a doctoral program and held my breath. On March 9, I received an acceptance letter! In the fall of this year I will begin doctoral studies in medical anthropology with a concentration in urban health at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland.

Thank you, Black Issues, for bringing attention to the need for African American scholars and for showcasing some of the people who have already answered "the call." I intend to do my part to continue the legacy of Black scholarship in the United States and abroad.

Sincerely,
Jewel M. Hagood
Euclid, Ohio