New African American Studies Minor

Oklahoma Christian University now offers an African American studies minor after years of building support and resources. The first African American studies class is being offered this fall semester as an online course taught by Professor Alecia Cobb.

Professor Harold Orndorff, the chair of behavioral and social sciences and associate professor of political science, initiated the drive to make African American studies more permanent on campus. He worked with Professor Tina Winn, the division chair for education and behavioral and social science, and the history faculty to get a proposal approved.

Winn said the biggest catalyst for the program’s beginning was a group of students that presented the idea to Scott LaMascus when he was the chief academic officer. Trinity Carpenter, a senior student and Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion member, said students came back from the 2019 civil rights tour over spring break and felt dissatisfied with their education.

“We learned more in that week about our history than we learned in decades of studying in school,” Carpenter said.

Student and Black Student Union member Alexandra Stewart started a petition to have an African American studies course offered. Within a few hours of asking for student support, they had 200 signatures. They approached LaMascus with the petition and were met with support. According to Carpenter, LaMascus responded, “If you would have given me just two signatures, I would have been all for it.”

It was LaMascus’ idea to have a minor instead of just a course.

“More of us need to understand our neighbors better and listen to them if we’re to love them as Jesus commands us to do,” LaMascus said.

Professor Robert Edison, a national expert in African American history, helped create the curriculum for the new program. He also taught several courses on campus in fall 2019, spring 2020 and fall 2020.

“Dr. Edison was very instrumental in connecting us with resources and helping us build the program that was eventually approved,” Winn said.

Carpenter said Edison felt strongly about the courses he taught. He traveled back and forth from Texas every week to teach at Oklahoma Christian. Carpenter said this was an opportunity for students.

“We wanted the opportunity to learn about our forgotten, erased, and ignored history,” Carpenter said. “Our only goal was to get that opportunity.”

Winn said the combination of the desire on administration’s part, the desire on the student’s part, Edison’s retirement out of the Dallas school system and the reconciliation event on campus all contributed to the approval of the minor proposal.

Oklahoma Christian hosted a reconciliation event in March 2019 to formally apologize to seven of the 18 African American students who had been arrested and expelled on campus years ago. They had staged a sit-in in the president’s office to discuss equal rights on March 6, 1969. They were issued a pardon exactly 50 years later.

Carpenter said students were concerned the minor might not continue after Edison’s retirement in spring 2021, as there was no full-time faculty, but having adjunct professors was an acceptable solution.

“It wasn’t the most appealing idea to us, but we were okay with anything that continued the existence of these courses on our campus,” Carpenter said.

Beyond the addition of a minor, Oklahoma Christian’s campus has also changed the hiring process. Committees now work collaboratively to hire rather than singular individuals passing the request up a chain of command. The university also no longer excludes those who are not members of the Church of Christ.

Orndorff said even talking about having more diversity on campus is a sign of change.

“What we talk about, what we’re willing to talk about is indicative of what we’re willing to talk about institutionally,” Orndorff said.

Winn said the campus is not yet fully diverse.

“We want to fully reflect the richness and diversity of God’s creation, and we don’t fully do that yet,” Winn said.

In years past, Oklahoma Christian used to offer some African American studies courses. Professor John Thompson taught several African American history courses, but after his death in 2008, the classes were no longer offered.

The current minor includes a core of three history courses with a choice of nine electives from the Bible, history, music and political science departments. The electives will rotate in the future.

Orndorff said he hopes students will take advantage of the new curriculum.

“A minor is a great place to do something different, to expand one’s horizons, and I think this is a great opportunity to take on a minor,” Orndorff said.