National Council for Black Studies facts for kids

The National Council for Black Studies (NCBS) is a group dedicated to helping the field of Africana/African American/Black Studies grow. It is a non-profit organization that started in 1975. Bertha Maxwell-Roddey, who was the first director of the Black Studies program at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, founded NCBS.

How NCBS Started

During the time of the Civil Rights Movement, many people realized that it was important to study the experiences of African Americans. This led to student movements on college campuses. Students wanted their education to include more diverse topics. The Black Studies movement (around 1968-1969) and the idea of a Black University (in the late 1960s) helped create more courses about African and African diaspora cultures in colleges. In April 1968, a national meeting for Black teachers took place.

Bertha Maxwell-Roddey started NCBS in 1975 as part of this larger effort to promote African American studies. Before NCBS began, Maxwell-Roddey's important work at UNC Charlotte with its Black Studies program inspired the way NCBS was set up, its ideas, and its goals. She also organized many meetings and conferences.

UNC Charlotte's Role

Maxwell-Roddey understood the need for Black Studies education at UNC Charlotte. The Black Studies program there was very important for creating NCBS. Maxwell-Roddey was the second Black full-time professor at UNC Charlotte. She also helped start the Afro-American Cultural Center in North Carolina, which is now called the Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture. She was also the national president of the Delta Sigma Theta sorority from 1992 to 1996.

The Black Studies program at UNC Charlotte was designed to help with the "academic, intellectual, social, and economic life of the Black student." This was done through different stages, or levels of courses, that students would complete. These stages were:

• Phase I: Who Am I?
• Phase II: Why Am I Here?
• Phase III: Where Did I Come From?
• Phase IV: Where Do I Go From Here?

Each stage included community service projects. The higher stages also involved research projects. The lower stages were introductory classes about African American history and other subjects. The Black Studies committee wanted the program to help the community and work with the whole university by combining different subjects.

Several groups were connected to UNC Charlotte's Black Studies program. These included the Black Student Union, Black Gospel Choir, Basketball, Student Government, and various Black sororities and fraternities.

Early Days of NCBS

The first idea behind NCBS was that "Education should lead to both excellent academics and social responsibility." NCBS wanted to grow and strengthen academic departments and community programs focused on African American studies. It first worked as a group for Black Studies professionals. Its goal was to develop the field into a respected academic subject.

What NCBS Does

Members of NCBS are dedicated to making the field of Africana Studies grow. Their work has helped create and keep school lessons from kindergarten to college that include the experiences and contributions of people from the African diaspora and other groups. NCBS actively:

• Helps colleges and universities find Black scholars for teaching and research roles.
• Assists in creating and putting in place multicultural education programs and materials for schools and colleges.
• Encourages scholarly research focused on African experiences around the world.
• Improves and increases information about Pan-African life and culture for everyone.
• Gives professional advice to leaders in education, government, and community development.
• Keeps connections strong among Africana Studies scholars around the world.
• Works to empower African People.

Recent Activities

The California Bill ACR-71, which supported Africana studies programs, was successful thanks to the efforts of former NCBS member and president Shirley Weber.

A current NCBS board member and head of the Africana Studies program at California State University at Long Beach, Maulana Karenga, is the person who started the Pan-African holiday Kwanzaa.

NCBS also offers a community grant that members can apply for. This funding has helped new leaders and scholars bring African Studies to different communities.

NCBS is currently located at the University of Delaware in Newark, DE. Before that, it was at the University of Cincinnati in Cincinnati, Ohio.