Online Edition | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Friday, February 8, 2002

'Citizen of the World'
Blackwell to receive 
Distinguished Alumnus Award
By Rod Foss, Pat Caraher
University Relations

Nationally known and venerated sociologist James E. Blackwell has been selected for Washington State University’s highest alumnus honor, the Regents’ Distinguished Alumnus Award. The announcement was made Jan. 25 at the board of regents meeting.

Karen DePauw, dean of the graduate school, said selecting Blackwell, a Ph.D., was appropriate as WSU celebrates its Century of Graduation — 100 years of conferring graduate degrees.

Blackwell was among WSU’s first black graduate students in sociology to earn a doctorate, completing his degree in 1959. The New Orleans resident plans to return April 15 to WSU to accept the award. He will be the keynote speaker for the alumni achievement awards ceremony in Kimbrough Hall on the 16th.

Blackwell is a leading scholar in the areas of minorities in higher education and social movement in black communities. A 1986 study reported in "Social Forces" ranked him No. 5 among all black sociologists who made the most significant contribution in the field. He has written a number of books, including "The Black Community: Diversity and Unity." He also has been a consultant for the "Today Show" and major television networks and newspapers, and he has testified as an expert witness in antisegregation court cases.

Blackwell becomes the 31st recipient of WSU’s top award, established in 1961 to recognize individuals who have made lasting contributions to society and, through their personal achievements, have brought distinction to WSU. Blackwell now stands in a distinguished company that includes Edward R. Murrow, Philip and Neva Abelson, Laurence J. Peter, John Fabian, William Julius Wilson and Paul Allen. His earlier WSU honors include the College of Sciences and Liberal Arts Distinguished Achievement Award for Alumni, 1992, and the WSU Alumni Achievement Award, 1994.

Penne Pierson, chair of the award committee, said that Blackwell was the clear choice. "We were impressed by the whole tenor of his career and by the respect and admiration he has garnered from so many professionals over the years."

Blackwell’s long-time friend and early mentor, James Short, professor emeritus in sociology, remembers Blackwell as his first and ultimately most distinguished doctoral student. "He has had a remarkable career in both academia and in the real world," Short says. "He has been honored and awarded often. He is a true citizen of the world."

That’s a powerful statement, but even a glance at Blackwell’s history bears it out.

East, west and south
After completing his bachelor’s and master’s degree in sociology at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Blackwell was among nearly a dozen black graduate students in sociology recruited to WSU in the late ‘40s and ‘50s to complete their doctorates.

During his WSU days, Blackwell served as president of three organizations — Associated Graduate Students, the student chapter of Alpha Kappa Delta (the national sociology honor society), and South House residence hall.

At the outset of his career, he was concerned for the welfare of others, committing himself to the principles of racial social justice and bringing people together across segregational lines. Blackwell believes that these are the traits that convinced the NAACP to select him, a young associate professor of sociology at San Jose State in 1962, to also serve as president of their local chapter.

But prestige for that office was lacking. In fact, the "office" itself was lacking — no building in San Jose would house the chapter. Blackwell and his wife, Myrtle (Dapremont) ran the chapter’s business out of their own home. And the two of them experienced something fairly common for blacks who lived in the South in those days — a burning cross on their front lawn.

"Seems unheard of in California," Blackwell mused.

Undaunted, Blackwell set about building prestige, and his accomplishments with the NAACP from 1962 to 1963 are impressive.

"Membership within the chapter increased five-fold," he said, and with that expanded team, he knocked down barriers to employment opportunities for minorities. He saw a national retail chain that offered only menial jobs to nonwhites in the San Jose area change their policy, such that one of Blackwell’s minority students eventually became the regional manager. He enlisted the aid of other faculty at the college to collect and present evidence of housing discrimination to the city council. The result was a fair housing ordinance. They succeeded in desegregating San Jose pools and playgrounds, and they were finally able to rent office space for the chapter.

One of Blackwell’s proudest moments came when both the chapter and some San Jose State faculty reached out to several black students who had been expelled from Alabama State University by the governor for protesting discrimination. San Jose waived tuition so that the students could transfer in, and several families offered free room and board.

Asia, Africa
Blackwell worked for the Peace Corps from 1963 to 1966. He was assigned to temporary duty in Asian countries, including Southeast Asia, where he helped these developing nations work toward racial justice within their own borders. Back in the U.S., he helped develop training for Asian teachers who then took their knowledge back to their native countries.

This proved successful for Africa as well. Blackwell trained many Peace Corps volunteers headed for Tanzania and Mulawi in teaching, communication and mediation. And when teachers native to these countries came back from training in Europe or the U.S., they found Blackwell’s teams ready to lend support.

In 1964, when Tanganyika was merging with Zanzibar to form the nation Tanzania, Blackwell was privileged to meet African heads of state. He recalls attending mass with the president of Tanzania, and he made the acquaintance of Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie.

After a stint with the U.S. Agency for International Development in Tanzania, Malawi and Nepal from 1966-69, Blackwell accepted a position with the University of Massachusetts.

Boston
Blackwell chaired the department of sociology at the University of Massachusetts for nearly 20 years, during which time he mentored undergraduates, graduates and professionals. He retired as professor emeritus in 1989, at which time he received the UM’s Chancellor’s Medal. The university established the Blackwell Fellowship to benefit graduate students in sociology whose work focuses on minority group relations, racial equality and Third World development.

Retired to New Orleans
Thinking over his career, Blackwell says he is an activist who believes that an academic’s job is not only learning and writing for professional journals but also putting knowledge to use in the world. He says he enjoyed being a teacher and working with a range of student ability and challenges. "I never doubted the capacity of any student to achieve," he says.

Revisiting WSU
Blackwell says he looks forward to returning to Pullman and WSU. He’s eager to see the changes and old friends.

"I am very deeply honored to receive this award," he said. "I know the value and prestige and meaning behind it. I hope my career has lived up to the expectation."

Professor Short, one of the "old friends" with whom Blackwell will visit and reminisce, sees no problem there. He says that Blackwell is a man of genuine honor and distinction, worthy of the award and worthy to be called a "true citizen of the world."