The Peculiar Status of Black Educational Administrators

Abstract

Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King and the subsequent riots in April of 1968, through about the end of 1972, universities were faced with the necessity of hiring more Blacks to serve in various capacities. This need resulted from pressures which were exerted by the Black community (primarily through the threat of more violence) and by the federal government through its threat to withhold funds from institutions with an insufficient number of Black personnel. Subsequently, Blacks were appointed to administrative positions at various levels in a variety of educational institutions. In reviewing what has happened to Black administrators who were appointed during this period of time, it now becomes crystal clear that most of these appointments were made simply to appease the Black community and to maintain the flow of federal dollars into the institutions concerned. A cursory review of the situation indicates that a disproportionate number of Black administrators hired in the latter part of the 1960s and early 1970s are experiencing numerous