Robert Chrisman facts for kids

Robert Chrisman (May 28, 1937 – March 10, 2013) was an important American writer, poet, and scholar. He is best known for starting and publishing The Black Scholar (TBS). This journal was a leader in making sure that Black Studies was seen as a serious subject in universities.

Early Life and Education

Robert Chrisman was born on May 28, 1937, in Yuma, Arizona. He grew up near Nogales, Arizona. His parents had moved to Arizona from Chicago. His father, Alfred, was a car mechanic. His mother, Thelma Allimono, took care of their home and later became a teacher. Her father was the first African-American certified public accountant.

In the 1950s, Chrisman's family moved to the Bay Area. He quickly became part of the lively San Francisco culture. He studied literature at UC Berkeley. There, he learned from a teacher named Josephine Miles. He also read many important writers on his own. These included Frederick Douglass, W. E. B. Du Bois, Langston Hughes, and James Baldwin. He also studied thinkers like Karl Marx and Mao Tse-tung.

Chrisman earned his first degree in English Literature from UC Berkeley in 1958. He also studied Philosophy. In 1960, he got his master's degree from San Francisco State University. His master's project was a collection of poems. These poems later became his first book, Children of Empire (1981). One of his poems, "Swan Lake," won an award and was published in Best Poems of 1962. He later earned a PhD in English from the University of Michigan. His PhD work was about the poet Robert Hayden.

Starting The Black Scholar

In November 1969, Robert Chrisman helped start The Black Scholar (TBS). He started it with Nathan Hare and Allan Ross. This happened after a big strike at San Francisco State University in 1968. Thousands of students and teachers, including Chrisman and Hare, were part of this strike. It was one of the longest strikes of its kind in the US.

The strike lasted five months. Students and teachers wanted the university to create a special Black Studies department. They eventually won this demand. However, Chrisman and Nathan Hare lost their teaching jobs. Chrisman was hired back, but not in a permanent position.

Chrisman, Hare, and Ross were unhappy with how news media showed black struggles. They decided they needed their own journal. They wanted to create a journal that would bring together black activists and thinkers. Their goal was to work together for the needs of the black community.

TBS was inspired by the Black Power movement. But it did not belong to any one political group. Chrisman believed that black people needed to build their own language and style. He said, "Let a thousand flowers bloom. Let's have a lot of different styles."

Robert L. Allen, a long-time editor at TBS, spoke about Chrisman's impact. He said Chrisman worked very hard to make his ideas real. Chrisman built TBS by relying on support from the community. This included teachers, students, activists, and working people. This support helped the journal stay independent for over forty years.

Teaching Career

Besides writing and editing, Chrisman also had a long career as a teacher. He taught many courses. These included literature, creative writing, cultural studies, and black studies. He taught at several universities. Some of these were the University of Hawaii, the University of San Francisco, and UC Berkeley.

In 2005, he retired as a Professor and Chair of the Black Studies Department. This was at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO). While at UNO, he helped create an annual Malcolm X Festival in Omaha. Malcolm X was born in that city.

Poetry

Robert Chrisman was known as "a poet worthy of praise." He published three books of poetry:

• The Dirty Wars. San Francisco: The Black Scholar Press, 2012. ISBN: 978-0-578-08767-2
• Minor Casualties: New and Selected Poems. Detroit: Lotus Press, 1993. ISBN: 978-0-916418-82-3
• Children of Empire. Sausalito: The Black Scholar Press, 1981. ISBN: 0-933296-02-9

His poems appeared in many journals. These included Occident, Transfer, and Callaloo. Chrisman used poetry to share his ideas. He tried many different styles and topics in his poems. His poetry was known for its strong structure and deep meaning.

Chrisman often wrote about the effects of empires, both old and new. He looked at both local and global issues. For example, in "The Road to Basra" and "Leviathan." Poet Andrew Salkey said Chrisman's poems were "politically engaged" and against imperialism. Chrisman also wrote about American popular culture. He used satire to make fun of certain ideas or groups.

He explored cities and wild places in his poems. He also used stories from Greek and Roman myths. Chrisman wrote about love and close relationships. He also wrote about feeling alone, loss, and pain. Some poems were about friendship. Writers like Alice Walker and James Baldwin praised his poetry. Baldwin called him "a very beautiful poet."

Essays and Other Writings

Chrisman also edited four major collections of writings from TBS. These books include:

• The Obama Phenomenon: Toward a Multiracial Democracy. Henry, Charles P., Robert L. Allen and Robert Chrisman, eds. Champaign: University of Illinois Press, 2011. ISBN: 0-252-07822-5
• Court of Appeal: The Black Community Speaks out on the Racial and Sexual Politics of Clarence Thomas vs. Anita Hill. The Black Scholar ed. New York: Ballantine Books, 1992. ISBN: 0-345-58136-9
• Contemporary Black Thought: The Best of The Black Scholar. Chrisman, Robert, and Nathan Hare, eds. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1974. ISBN: 0-672-51821-X
• Pan-Africanism. Chrisman, Robert and Nathan Hare, eds. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1972. ISBN: 0-672-51869-4

In 2001, Chrisman also helped edit a book called Robert Hayden: Essays on the Poetry. He wrote many essays on various topics. These included black people in prison, global political struggles, and the literary style of slave narratives. Some of his essays are:

• "Globalization and the Media Industry." The Black Scholar 38.2 (2008)
• "Black Studies, the Talented Tenth, and the Organic Intellectual." The Black Scholar 35.2 (2005)
• "The Slave Narrative: Its Influence Upon Black Publishing and Literature." Black Renaissance/Renaissance Noire 3.3 (2001)
• "Nicolas Guillen, Langston Hughes, and the Black American / Afro-Cuban Connection." Michigan Quarterly Review. 33.4 (1994)
• "Nuclear Policy, Social Justice, and the Third World." The Black Scholar 14.6 (1983)
• "The Role of Mass Media in US Imperialism", The Black Scholar 14. 3–4 (1983)
• "Cuba: Forge of the Revolution." The Black Scholar 11.6 (1980)
• "Blacks, Racism, and Bourgeois Culture." College English 38.8 (1977)
• "Aspects of Pan Africanism." The Black Scholar, 4. 10 (1973)
• "Black Prisoners: White Law." The Black Scholar 2.8 (1971)
• "The Formation of a Revolutionary Black Culture." The Black Scholar 1.8 (1970)
• "The Crisis of Harold Cruse", The Black Scholar 1.1 (1969)

Death

Robert Chrisman passed away on March 10, 2013. He was 75 years old. He died at his home in San Francisco from problems related to congestive heart failure. He is survived by his daughter, Laura Chrisman.