The inspiring story of black students, faculty, and administrators who changed America's leading educational institutions and paved the way for social justice and racial progress is told in Upending the Ivory Tower. The book highlights how the Black Power movement took root in the Ivy League and transformed the demographics and operation of the schools. It tells the stories of those who pushed for change at the risk of losing their privilege and made enrichments that endure in the diversity initiatives and activism surrounding issues of race today.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 480 pages
Publication date: 19 January 2021
Publisher: New York University Press

The inspiring story of the black students, faculty, and administrators who forever changed America's leading educational institutions and paved the way for social justice and racial progress is told in Upending the Ivory Tower. The eight elite institutions that comprise the Ivy League, sometimes known as the Ancient Eight—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell—are American stalwarts that have profoundly influenced history and culture by producing the nation's and the world's leaders. The few black students who attended Ivy League schools in the decades following WWII not only went on to greatly influence black America and the nation in general, but unquestionably awakened these most traditional and selective of American spaces. In the twentieth century, black youth were in the vanguard of the black freedom movement and educational reform. Upending the Ivory Tower illuminates how the Black Power movement, which was borne out of an effort to edify the most disfranchised of the black masses, also took root in the hallowed halls of America's most esteemed institutions of higher education. Between the close of WWII and 1975, the civil rights and Black Power movements transformed the demographics and operation of the Ivy League on and off campus. As desegregators and racial pioneers, black students, staff, and faculty used their status in the black intelligentsia to enhance their predominantly white institutions while advancing black freedom. Although they were often met with resistance and hostility, they persisted in their efforts, and their impact can still be seen today. The book also highlights the contributions of black women to the Black Power movement, which have often been overlooked or marginalized. Overall, Upending the Ivory Tower is a compelling and important work that sheds light on the history of black education and the struggle for social justice in America. It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of education or the Black Power movement.

Winner, 2019 Anna Julia Cooper and C.L.R. James Award, given by the National Council for Black Studies

Finalist, 2019 Pauli Murray Book Prize in Black Intellectual History, given by the African American Intellectual History Society

Winner, 2019 Outstanding Book Award, given by the History of Education Society

The inspiring story of the black students, faculty, and administrators who forever changed America's leading educational institutions and paved the way for social justice and racial progress

The eight elite institutions that comprise the Ivy League, sometimes known as the Ancient Eight—Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Columbia, Brown, Dartmouth, and Cornell—are American stalwarts that have profoundly influenced history and culture by producing the nation's and the world's leaders.

The few black students who attended Ivy League schools in the decades following WWII not only went on to greatly influence black America and the nation in general, but unquestionably awakened these most traditional and selective of American spaces.

In the twentieth century, black youth were in the vanguard of the black freedom movement and educational reform.

Upending the Ivory Tower illuminates how the Black Power movement, which was borne out of an effort to edify the most disfranchised of the black masses, also took root in the hallowed halls of America's most esteemed institutions of higher education.

Between the close of WWII and 1975, the civil rights and Black Power movements transformed the demographics and operation of the Ivy League on and off campus.

As desegregators and racial pioneers, black students, staff, and faculty used their status in the black intelligentsia to enhance their predominantly white institutions while advancing black freedom.

Although they were often met with resistance and hostility, they persisted in their efforts, and their impact can still be seen today.

The book also highlights the contributions of black women to the Black Power movement, which have often been overlooked or marginalized.

Overall, Upending the Ivory Tower is a compelling and important work that sheds light on the history of black education and the struggle for social justice in America.

It is a must-read for anyone interested in the history of education or the Black Power movement.

Weight: 730g
Dimension: 152 x 230 x 32 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781479806027