David Hamilton Golland, Ph.D.
|
Now Airing on C-Span3's American History TV:
The Oral History of Affirmative Action:
Reconstructing the Philadelphia Plan and Arthur Fletcher
|
|
|
Now in Paperback from the University Press of Kansas:
A Terrible Thing to Waste: Arthur Fletcher and the Conundrum of the Black Republican
2020-21 Washburn University iRead (freshman common read) selection
Arthur Fletcher (1924-2005) was the most important civil rights leader you've (probably) never heard of. The first Black player for the Baltimore Colts, the father of affirmative action and adviser to four presidents, he coined the United Negro College Fund's motto: "A Mind Is a Terrible Thing to Waste." Modern readers might be surprised to learn that Fletcher was also a Republican. Fletcher's story, told in full for the first time in this book, embodies the conundrum of the post-World War II Black Republican—the civil rights leader who remained loyal to the party even as it abandoned the principles he espoused.
|
|
|
|
|
Latest Post
10/8/21: Voter Turnout
Continuing my recent theme of recounting some of my experiences running faculty elections, today I write about voter turnout. My university does not require faculty to vote, so encouraging people to cast ballots is important to election integrity. Too few voters and the winners cannot claim with any credibility that they truly represent the faculty. Also, in my experience there are always a number of people on any faculty who for whatever reason seek to undermine the process, or have grudges against particular colleagues or administrators, and these folks tend to be among the most vocal on campus. Since they almost always vote, the lower the turnout, the greater the danger that they will win races or otherwise cause havoc. To borrow a Nixonian phrase, the "silent majority" of the faculty is good and smart and competent and sane; they may not always have time to serve in leadership, but when as many of them vote as possible, there is a greater likelhood that faculty leadership will similarly be good and smart and competent and sane.
I've used a variety of methods to increase turnout. One is to work extra hard to convince people to run for Senate and committee seats. The more contested seats in any particular election, the more faculty will vote--not only because so many of them are running, but because of the reserved method we tend to favor for what one might call "campaigning"--that is, word of mouth. Each candidate for a contested seat is likely to ask a small circle of colleagues for their vote (often by simply telling them they're running; actually asking people for their support is considered gauche). And when faculty start filling out a ballot to vote for one colleague in one race, they tend to fill out the rest of the ballot too.
I've also gone door to door among faculty offices around campus--something not limited to election time--to chat with my colleagues, get to know them and their concerns. Reminding them to vote is always part of that conversation.
Finally, during the ballot process itself, I tread the fine line between sufficient email reminders to vote and over-burdening my colleagues' inboxes.
 | | |
|
|
|
Current Class:
HIST4100: Beyond the Dream: Current Black Social Issues
Governors State University
Fall Semester, 2021
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 3:00-4:15
Room C3380
Examines issues in education, politics, business, economics, social life, and the arts as they relate to developments in the black community since the Civil Rights Era. The African American Community comprises a major community in the United States today and throughout history and is of particular interest to the residents of Chicago's Southland. The Civil Rights Era set the stage for major cultural accomplishments. This course examines and explores those accomplishments in the context of a society that continues to struggle with its racial diversity. Intended for history majors, secondary education majors (particularly those in the social sciences concentration), elementary education majors, early childhood education majors, and other interested undergraduates.
|
|
|
Current Class:
HIST1110: History of the U.S. to 1865
Governors State University
Fall Semester, 2021
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 10:00-11:15
Tuesdays and Thursdays, 11:30-12:45
Room C3380
Provides a historical examination of the United States from the founding of the colonies through Reconstruction with special emphasis on connections between historical transformations and issues of race, class, gender, religion, nation-building, economic development and modernization, and the sectional conflict. Familiarity with the historical developments in the United States is critical to a nuanced and complex understanding of the United States and it's place in the world today. This is a required course for history majors and fills a requirement for students majoring in elementary, early childhood, and secondary education. This course also meets the Humanities General Education requirement.
|
|
|
Published 2011 by the University Press of Kentucky:
Constructing Affirmative Action: The Struggle for Equal Employment Opportunity
Book panel, 2012 National Association for Ethnic Studies conference, New Orleans
Between 1965, when President Lyndon B. Johnson defined affirmative action as a legitimate federal goal, and 1972, when President Richard M. Nixon named one of affirmative action's chief antagonists the head of the Department of Labor, government officials at all levels addressed racial economic inequality in earnest. Providing members of historically disadvantaged groups an equal chance at obtaining limited and competitive positions, affirmative action had the potential to alienate large numbers of white Americans, even those who had viewed school desegregation and voting rights in a positive light. Thus, affirmative action was―and continues to be―controversial.
|
|
|
