Embedded Files
University: Harvard University
Years of Employment: 1974-1987
1974:
1974:
Starting at Harvard
Starting at Harvard
After getting her teaching start at historically black colleges and being rejected by Harvard in 1970 due to a "quota problem", Eileen Jackson Southern joins the Harvard faculty
"Southern in one of the Harvard music department classrooms", 1975.
1975:
1975:
Making History
Making History
Eileen Jackson Southern makes history as the first black woman to have the title of full professor with tenure at Harvard University
Stewart, Martha, "Portrait of Eileen Southern in a Harvard classroom", Schlesinger Library, Harvard Radcliffe Institute.
1976-1980:
1976-1980:
Chair of the Department
Chair of the Department
Eileen Jackson Southern serves as the chair for the highly controversial Afro-American Studies department before retiring in 1986 with recognition as professor emerita
"Eileen Southern", 1986, Lillian Kemp Photography.
Imagine you have just begun working at a prestigious Ivy League school, and you are the only faculty member that identifies as both your race and gender.
How would you feel, and what kinds of unique challenges might you face compared to other colleagues?
The "Black Presence" at Harvard
The "Black Presence" at Harvard
When Eileen Jackson Southern began at Harvard, the only other black faculty members were four men, only one of whom worked in the Afro-American Studies department. In her essay, she explained that their attitude towards her was that of "indifference, shifting at times to outright hostility."
At the time of her retirement in 1986, Southern noted that there were still only three tenured black professors, all of whom were men.
The "Female Presence" at Harvard
The "Female Presence" at Harvard
When Eileen Jackson Southern began at Harvard, the only female faculty were "a dozen or so" white women, two of whom worked alongside her in the music department.
At the time of her retirement in 1986, Southern noted that significant improvement had been made regarding the number of tenured female professors at Harvard.
"A Pioneer: Black and Female" from Blacks at Harvard
In 1993, Eileen Jackson Southern published an essay about her experience as the only black female professor during her time at Harvard:
"To me, as a newcomer, it seemed that the minorities already at Harvard did not welcome the idea of being joined by others. It was as if they were reluctant to lose their status of being 'the only one'... Some honors came, in my opinion, not only because I was qualified, but also because as a black woman I was highly visible..."
Want to learn more? Read the rest of Eileen Jackson Southern's essay, "A Pioneer" from Blacks at Harvard, or check out this page for a more in-depth perspective of her career.
Page updated
Google Sites
Report abuse