Maryemma Graham, NEH, and African American literary studies

Maryemma Graham, NEH Summer Institute, Kanas, July 2015

Here are two interrelated things we haven’t talked about enough:

1.) The decimation of the NEH by the current administration can—and will—have devastating effects on African American literary studies.

 
2.) Maryemma Graham has been one of our most crucial forces in implementing NEH Summer Institutes and other NEH-funded projects focused on African American literary studies.

There hasn’t been enough research or writing on the role and impact of the NEH in shaping our field, so it’s not surprising that many people simply aren’t aware of how summer institutes and other initiatives extended scholarly contributions and ideas well beyond the walls of academia. Folks often don’t realize how rare and important it was to bring together veteran scholars, rising scholars, and K–12 educators to focus on subjects in African American literature.

Consider just three of the many NEH-funded projects that Graham led at the University of Kansas: In 2010, "Making the Wright Connection: Reading Native Son, Black Boy, and Uncle Tom’s Children;" In 2013, "Don’t Deny My Voice: Reading and Teaching African American Poetry." And in 2015, "Black Poetry after the Black Arts Movement."

Those projects brought together several dozen specialists in African American literary studies and approximately 75 summer scholars to study Black literature and literary history, and then take what they learned back to their classrooms and communities. It was an incredible undertaking. Just imagine the intellectual and practical benefits for the wide networks of scholars, educators, students, general readers, and more.

But what happens when funding and institutional support for such projects disappears or is drastically defunded? We find ourselves in a position where an entire generation of professionals and students may be unaware of what they missed, of what could’ve been.

Meanwhile, hundreds of people benefited directly or indirectly from the many NEH projects that Maryemma Graham led, supported by her large, evolving teams of contributors. We knew, at the time, that what Graham was doing was special. But I don’t think we fully understood how fleeting those moments were, or how fragile that kind of support has always been.

If and when we find ourselves in better circumstances, it will be because we studied, took note of, and passed along the lessons from the gatherings and projects she organized.

Related:

• Black Poetry After the Black Arts Movement: Reflections