wfn.org | Philander Smith College announces Black Family Studies program

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

Aug. 5, 1998	Contact: Linda Green*(615)742-5470*Nashville, Tenn.
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By United Methodist News Service*

United Methodist-related Philander Smith College is starting the 1998-99
school year by launching what it describes as the nation's first
academic discipline in black family studies.

The 121-year-old historically black institution in Little Rock, Ark.,
developed the new area of study to open the field for students to learn
and research means of strengthening the black family system. The Black
Family Studies program is initially being offered as a field of minor
study but will soon be available as a major also.

The new discipline emphasizes critical, historical and social
examination of the African-American family, said college president
Trudie Kibbe Reed, who announced the program in July. It also aims to
cultivate a deeper understanding of the past in order to plan and
educate for the future.

"Many scholars are talking about the plight of the black family," Reed
said. "At Philander Smith, we are making it a separate discipline in
order to develop both classroom learning and research."

The need for such a program results from "the crisis in which most
African-American families find themselves," she said. Black families in
the past survived through communities endowed with both discipline and
value formation, reflected today in the phrase, 'It takes a village to
raise a child,' she said. 

Despite slavery, she said, the family was held together through
community support and high expectations of the young people. By learning
from these communities and applying their strengths to new societal
shifts, alternative foundations for success in the new millennium are
being built, Reed said.

Students enrolled in the Black Family Studies discipline will examine
the effects of racism on the black family structure; participate in
continuous learning processes to eradicate negative stereotypes and
behavior; and form leadership networks that model racial justice and
unity to strengthen the black family.

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*This story was adapted from a press release from Philander Smith's
college relations department.

United Methodist News Service
(615)742-5470
Releases and photos also available at
http://www.umc.org/umns/