Terrel H. Bell: 'The Thirteenth Man,' 1921-1996 - educator - Obituary

Black Issues in Higher Education, July 11, 1996 by Donald G. Phelps

During the early months of Ronald Reagan's first term

As President of the United States, the African American

men and women engaged in teaching and administering

community colleges throughout the nation met in

Atlanta, Georgia. The group, known as the National

Council on Black American Affairs (NCBAA), had

assembled to determine what steps we might take as

a national Black organization to stave off Reagan's

declared promise to destroy the U.S. Department of

Education (ED). The department, which had only

recently been created by President Jimmy Carter,

before his defeat by Reagan, was being headed by the

"thirteenth" member of the Reagan Cabinet, Terrel H.

(Ted) Bell.

Dr. Bell, a little known educator outside of the state of

Utah, whose national reputation extended only as far as the U.S.

Commissioner of Education before his appointment to the

Cabinet, was seen by Reagan point men as the perfect individual

to disassemble the department.

The NCBAA, which already had begun mourning the death

of the newly-created department, indifferently decided to invite

the new secretary to our meeting with less than enthusiasm and

literally no optimism that any help from the federal government

would be forthcoming. Much to our surprise, not only did

Secretary Bell accept our invitation but he came, listened

carefully to our concerns, assured us that the demise of ED was

quite premature and that he looked forward to working with us

in the months ahead. it was not long before his words to us in

Atlanta were reinforced by his widely acclaimed report of the

National Commission on Excellence in Education, A Nation at

Risk.

Ted Bell was not the first person selected for high office by

a conservative administration to he a disappointment to his

bosses, but more importantly to he committed to serving the

people of this country, to include Blacks, rather than the

ideologues that put him there.

Secretary Bell vividly illustrated the importance of our

reserving judgment about public officials rather than making

snap judgments based on little or no information simply because

they are appointed by a less than friendly administration or

before knowing what their positions on issues are--especially

those that affect the Black Community in general and urban

education in particular. Ted Bell was a man from Mormon

country, Salt Lake City, Utah. It is a region not known for its

hospitality towards African Americans, and until quite recently,

the home of a religious faith that did not believe Blacks worthy

to become priests in the church. Secretary Bell at no time

reflected any of that dogma, nor did being from an isolated part

of the country render him insensitive to the plight of urban

America or the decline of the quality of urban schools.

Dr. Bell was appointed Secretary of Education with a

mandate to dismantle the Department of Education. Instead, his

A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform called

national attention to the plight of American public schools and

launched the most massive reform initiative in the nation's

history.

Dr. Bell also believed strongly in the value of open-access

community colleges. On many occasions, he likened the

community college to the inscription on the Statue of

Liberty. He believed in individual worth and the value of

"opportunity for all."

If there is anything that drives Black folks at all

levels of education up the wall, it is liberal, well-intended

white folks who know what is good "for us"

without ever talking or, more importantly, listening to

any of us. Secretary Bell made no pretense about

an "expert" on Black American affairs, but he

was more than willing to go that extra mile to try to

become knowledgeable. just as important was the

lesson he taught us about how government can be

made to become responsive to the plight of the people

regardless of who is at the top even though the inner

circle may be hell bent to remove as much government from

the people as possible.

Secretary Terrel Bell's tenure in the Reagan administration

was never easy or for that matter, pleasant. He was appointed

for the expressed purpose of dismantling ED. And while lie

questioned its need before his appointment, he never agreed to

push for the department's elimination before lie completed his

own evaluation. Although Reagan endorsed and verbally supported

the findings and recommendations of A Nation at Risk,

the president never saw it as the federal government's role to

oversee the implementation of the report. Dr. Bell tried to no

avail to convince the president that implementation of the report

would not interfere with local control of the schools.

As Dr. Bell writes in his book, The Thirteenth Man, it was

his intent to remain as secretary during Reagan's second term

but this decision was not greeted with any enthusiasm in the

White House. It soon became apparent shortly after the second

term was about to begin that the secretary was no longer in

asset to the President and that in order for Dr. Bell to stay lie

would have to lead the charge to, once and for all, kill off ED.

Once again, Blacks, other minorities, teachers and educators