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Upending the Ivory Tower: Civil Rights, Black Power, and the Ivy League
The inspiring story of the black students, faculty, and administrators who forever changed America's leading educational institutions and paved the way for social justice and racial progress The eight elite institutions that comprise the Ivy League, sometimes known as the Ancient Eight--Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell--are American stalwarts that have profoundly influenced history and culture by producing the nation's and the world's leaders. The few black students who attended Ivy League schools in the decades following WWII not only went on to greatly influence black America and the nation in general, but unquestionably awakened these most traditional and selective of American spaces. In the twentieth century, black youth were in the vanguard of the black freedom movement and educational reform. Upending the Ivory Tower illuminates how the Black Power movement, which was borne out of an effort to edify the most disfranchised of the black masses, also took root in the hallowed halls of America's most esteemed institutions of higher education. Between the close of WWII and 1975, the civil rights and Black Power movements transformed the demographics and operation of the Ivy League on and off campus. As desegregators and racial pioneers, black students, staff, and faculty used their status in the black intelligentsia to enhance their predominantly white institutions while advancing black freedom. Although they were often marginalized because of their race and class, the newcomers altered educational policies and inserted blackness into the curricula and culture of the unabashedly exclusive and starkly white schools. This book attempts to complete the narrative of higher education history, while adding a much needed nuance to the history of the Black Power movement. It tells the stories of those students, professors, staff, and administrators who pushed for change at the risk of losing what privilege they had. Putting their status, and sometimes even their lives, in jeopardy, black activists negotiated, protested, and demonstrated to create opportunities for the generations that followed. The enrichments these change agents made endure in the diversity initiatives and activism surrounding issues of race that exist in the modern Ivy League. Upending the Ivory Tower not only informs the civil rights and Black Power movements of the postwar era but also provides critical context for the Black Lives Matter movement that is growing in the streets and on campuses throughout the country today. As higher education continues to be a catalyst for change, there is no one better to inform today's activists than those who transformed our country's past and paved the way for its future.
480 pages, Hardcover
First published September 25, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
September 25, 2018
The black experience at Ivy League; from historical perspectives
The admission of black students into the Ivy League wasn’t an idealistic response to the civil rights movement, but the realization of a need for social and economic justice at institutions of higher learning that would be a model for the American society. Ivy League schools became part of a movement led largely by black students. They fought the division between less-fortunate and privileged Americans in institutions of higher learning. Historically, Ivy League or the Ancient Eight, as the author refers to, were constructed and maintained to advance certain demographics. They favored wealthy students with lesser credentials—children of alumni, politicians, big donors, entertainers and celebrities who were largely white.
Professor Stefan Bradley of Loyola Marymount University illuminates on the ever-changing definition of privilege of being at elite colleges like Harvard and Yale. This is a century-long battle that became intense during civil rights era for opportunities in American society. This book offers a new perspective on American history, especially from the point of contributions made by African American students who defiantly resisted unfairness on college campuses, and fought to bring inclusion and social justice. In the century between the Civil War and the civil rights movement, a critical increase in black student’s educational attainment mirrored national growth. Black students demanded space, and asserted their voices as educators, despite such barriers as violence, discrimination, and oppressive campus policies. Life was complex for these students, from Martin Delaney to Cornell West to Obama’s. In the process, they enriched the American experience and its leadership in the decades after WWII. It highlighted the issue of race in the most elite environments, and the struggles to defeat bigotry and prejudice.
Separate chapters have been devoted for the black movements at each of the eight Ivy League schools that included; how Princeton continued to support Jim Crow laws on its campus until WWII. Brown University’s complex relationship with black freedom and education; Dartmouth College’s efforts to assimilate black students and creating a healthy environment for education and scholarship on its campus; The expansion of Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania in largely black neighborhoods of New York and Philadelphia respectively, and its slow and steady realization of its obligations and responsibilities for their neighbors who were long ignored because of their race; the role of black students and faculty members at Yale University in creating the field of Black Studies program; and the last two chapters looks into a more militant style struggle to establish African American studies program at Harvard and Cornell Universities. Now Black studies program remains one of the enduring and outstanding legacies of the black power movement. Harvard alumni, W.E.B DuBois, Carter G. Woodson, and William Leo Hansberry paved the way for thousands for aspiring African Americans. Beyond Black Studies program, black students struggled to create opportunities for the rest black population in the country.
This book is highly engaging and a very readable. I recommend this to readers interested in American history, African-American history, the shaping of African-American Studies programs on college campuses and the history of Ivy League schools.
The admission of black students into the Ivy League wasn’t an idealistic response to the civil rights movement, but the realization of a need for social and economic justice at institutions of higher learning that would be a model for the American society. Ivy League schools became part of a movement led largely by black students. They fought the division between less-fortunate and privileged Americans in institutions of higher learning. Historically, Ivy League or the Ancient Eight, as the author refers to, were constructed and maintained to advance certain demographics. They favored wealthy students with lesser credentials—children of alumni, politicians, big donors, entertainers and celebrities who were largely white.
Professor Stefan Bradley of Loyola Marymount University illuminates on the ever-changing definition of privilege of being at elite colleges like Harvard and Yale. This is a century-long battle that became intense during civil rights era for opportunities in American society. This book offers a new perspective on American history, especially from the point of contributions made by African American students who defiantly resisted unfairness on college campuses, and fought to bring inclusion and social justice. In the century between the Civil War and the civil rights movement, a critical increase in black student’s educational attainment mirrored national growth. Black students demanded space, and asserted their voices as educators, despite such barriers as violence, discrimination, and oppressive campus policies. Life was complex for these students, from Martin Delaney to Cornell West to Obama’s. In the process, they enriched the American experience and its leadership in the decades after WWII. It highlighted the issue of race in the most elite environments, and the struggles to defeat bigotry and prejudice.
Separate chapters have been devoted for the black movements at each of the eight Ivy League schools that included; how Princeton continued to support Jim Crow laws on its campus until WWII. Brown University’s complex relationship with black freedom and education; Dartmouth College’s efforts to assimilate black students and creating a healthy environment for education and scholarship on its campus; The expansion of Columbia University and University of Pennsylvania in largely black neighborhoods of New York and Philadelphia respectively, and its slow and steady realization of its obligations and responsibilities for their neighbors who were long ignored because of their race; the role of black students and faculty members at Yale University in creating the field of Black Studies program; and the last two chapters looks into a more militant style struggle to establish African American studies program at Harvard and Cornell Universities. Now Black studies program remains one of the enduring and outstanding legacies of the black power movement. Harvard alumni, W.E.B DuBois, Carter G. Woodson, and William Leo Hansberry paved the way for thousands for aspiring African Americans. Beyond Black Studies program, black students struggled to create opportunities for the rest black population in the country.
This book is highly engaging and a very readable. I recommend this to readers interested in American history, African-American history, the shaping of African-American Studies programs on college campuses and the history of Ivy League schools.
February 28, 2021
I discovered this book while browsing online, and given that I work in higher education it felt like the perfect book for me to read, especially given that February is Black History Month. So, I bought it, and I am glad I did.
Upending the Ivory Tower looks at the eight Ivy League institutions in this United States, and the challenges and battles students of color faced when attending these institutions. In many instances black students were not allowed to live on campus and had to find alternate housing. Additionally, they were not allowed to eat in the dining clubs or rooms and had to resort to other places for meals. In many cases there was only a handful of black students on campus which often led to students feeling very isolated and alone.
This book exams chapter by chapter each of the Ivy Leagues and how students challenged the status quo at each institution by staging sit-ins, walking off campus, etc. in order to make the universities more hospitable for students of color. Students also lobbied for African American Studies or Black Studies Programs at each of these institutions as well as increased enrollment of black students.
If you are interested in civil rights, the Ivy Leagues or higher education in general, and how these two entities worked to change the culture this is a book you should read.
Upending the Ivory Tower looks at the eight Ivy League institutions in this United States, and the challenges and battles students of color faced when attending these institutions. In many instances black students were not allowed to live on campus and had to find alternate housing. Additionally, they were not allowed to eat in the dining clubs or rooms and had to resort to other places for meals. In many cases there was only a handful of black students on campus which often led to students feeling very isolated and alone.
This book exams chapter by chapter each of the Ivy Leagues and how students challenged the status quo at each institution by staging sit-ins, walking off campus, etc. in order to make the universities more hospitable for students of color. Students also lobbied for African American Studies or Black Studies Programs at each of these institutions as well as increased enrollment of black students.
If you are interested in civil rights, the Ivy Leagues or higher education in general, and how these two entities worked to change the culture this is a book you should read.
May 28, 2020
One of my dissertation faculty advisors gave me this book to read to get a better idea of how to outline and organize my history of higher education dissertation. Professor Stefan Bradley won the History of Education Society’s book award for this work, and I can see why. He presents a fluid historical narrative of how different the Black Power movement looks like at each Ivy League university between the 1950s through late 1960s. Advocacy at urban Ivy League universities like Columbia and Penn focus on issues of equity housing, community relations, and the commandeering of Black neighborhoods for the middle to upper-middle class university members. Meanwhile, black student activism at Dartmouth and Cornell, both located in predominantly White, rural areas, focus on recruiting and retaining black students on campus. His research is meticulous, combining a mix of various archival documents with interviews from former activists.
Make no mistake, this is still is a dense read and requires patience and concentration. The audience seems to be for folks who are familiar with the history of black student activism, as he argues that this book is necessary to contrast the violent perceptions of Black Power activism. He shows that Black Power movements on campus were mostly non-violent and famous images of black men toting guns (e.g. the Cornell sit-ins) were racially skewed by the media. He adds enough national context to situate the reader but doesn’t bog down the historical narrative with overly tangential summaries of what happened during that period. It was really fascinating to see how students reacted to the same national event—notably the assassination of MLK—and how they honored MLK on their Ivy League campuses. This strategy is something I will consider when writing my dissertation.
As I read through his work, there were a few things I wished were included to make it easier to visualize, mainly figures and graphs of national and school black student enrollment. When describing how urban Ivies took over black neighborhoods, it would have been helpful to include various maps to show how much city blocks the universities were taking away from the surrounding communities. These are minor things. Overall, Professor Bradley’s book sets a high standard for historians of education/higher education to aspire to!
Make no mistake, this is still is a dense read and requires patience and concentration. The audience seems to be for folks who are familiar with the history of black student activism, as he argues that this book is necessary to contrast the violent perceptions of Black Power activism. He shows that Black Power movements on campus were mostly non-violent and famous images of black men toting guns (e.g. the Cornell sit-ins) were racially skewed by the media. He adds enough national context to situate the reader but doesn’t bog down the historical narrative with overly tangential summaries of what happened during that period. It was really fascinating to see how students reacted to the same national event—notably the assassination of MLK—and how they honored MLK on their Ivy League campuses. This strategy is something I will consider when writing my dissertation.
As I read through his work, there were a few things I wished were included to make it easier to visualize, mainly figures and graphs of national and school black student enrollment. When describing how urban Ivies took over black neighborhoods, it would have been helpful to include various maps to show how much city blocks the universities were taking away from the surrounding communities. These are minor things. Overall, Professor Bradley’s book sets a high standard for historians of education/higher education to aspire to!
March 2, 2021
I don’t know what impressed me more about "Upending the Ivory Tower": the sheer amount of information Bradley gathered or the cogent way the history is told. [disclaimer: the author is a colleague and friend.]
Bradley puts the 1960s campus uprisings into a racial justice context that has (unsurprisingly) not often been done at book length. The context he gives to integrating the Ivy League schools -- the extent to which they were segregationist is obvious yet still disheartening -- and to the agitation for Black studies programs and departments is insightful and pertinent for the 2020s. The lessons he draws point to better institutions and a better country (so many Ivy Leaguers, after all, fill the halls of power).
From academic concerns (curriculum, hierarchy, enrollment, higher ed politics) to the social politics of the 60s (Vietnam, student uprisings, the Civil Rights Movement, housing battles), Bradley fills in details and writes in a perceptive way that make the urgency of the issues and the high stakes vivid.
I highly recommend "Upending the Ivory Tower" to academics, history buffs, and 60s-era devotees.
Bradley puts the 1960s campus uprisings into a racial justice context that has (unsurprisingly) not often been done at book length. The context he gives to integrating the Ivy League schools -- the extent to which they were segregationist is obvious yet still disheartening -- and to the agitation for Black studies programs and departments is insightful and pertinent for the 2020s. The lessons he draws point to better institutions and a better country (so many Ivy Leaguers, after all, fill the halls of power).
From academic concerns (curriculum, hierarchy, enrollment, higher ed politics) to the social politics of the 60s (Vietnam, student uprisings, the Civil Rights Movement, housing battles), Bradley fills in details and writes in a perceptive way that make the urgency of the issues and the high stakes vivid.
I highly recommend "Upending the Ivory Tower" to academics, history buffs, and 60s-era devotees.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews