The Black Professor's Burden: Teaching African-American Literature and Culture in a White Classroom

Authors

Saunda Liggins, Assistant Professor, Department of English, State University of New York College (SUNY) at Fredonia, Fredonia, NY

Date of this Version

November 2003

Abstract

As an African-American female at a predominantly White college, I feel the added senseof duty that other women and minorities in academia frequently feel, the pull to serve not only as a teacher but also as a mentor, advisor, and role model for minority students on campus. As one of two professors who teach African American Literature and Culture - and the only African American -I also feel, perhaps mistakenly, as if I am viewed by the White students, and maybe by the African American students as well, as the ambassador to African-American culture. I sense that the White students expect to learn everything about Black culture from me, in fifteen weeks. I am not merely teaching a subject, then, but representing it as well. As I learned over the past three years at this college, the role of minority professor at a predominantly white college is one of constant negotiation