Cleveland, D. (Ed.). (2004). A long way to go: Conversations about race by African American faculty and graduate students. Reviewed by Dorian L. McCoy, Louisiana State University & A&M College

Cleveland, D. (Ed.). (2004). A long way to go: Conversations about race by African American faculty and graduate students. New York: Peter Lang. Pp. xx + 275 $32.95   ISBN 0-8204-6366-3 Reviewed by Dorian L. McCoy Louisiana State University & A&M College June 30, 2005 A Long Way to Go is a collection of 22 essays on the graduate and professional experiences of African Americans in higher education. Engaging and easy to read, this edited text addresses many of the issues and concerns that African Americans encounter as they navigate their way through higher education. In the introduction, the editor acknowledges that this book is not the first aimed at African Americans but that it “offers concrete strategies for completing graduate school and succeeding in the academy” (p. xv). The target audience for this text includes graduate students, faculty, and administrators. A Long Way to Go is divided into four major parts. Part I focuses on issues and concerns that African American graduate students typically experience during graduate school as they prepare for their initial entry into the professorate. Part II explores the experiences of African American faculty and provides strategies for succeeding in the professorate. This section also addresses some of the myths surrounding higher education and faculty of color in the academy. In addition, there are discussions regarding the experiences of African American faculty at a variety of institutional types. The third part explores the experiences of African American faculty who teach courses on race in predominantly white institutions. The challenges of instructing courses on race to white students and the resistance encountered by faculty of color is one of the major themes that develops in this section. Part IV discusses the current status of African American graduate students, faculty, and administrators and what should to be done to address their concerns. In the first essay, “Can You Hear Me?: Voices and Experiences of African American Students in Higher Education,” Fred Bonner and Marcheta Evans offer a historical overview for understanding the experiences of African Americans in the academy. They also suggest the following rationales for the low matriculation of African Americans through the academy: 1) campus climates and environmental factors that are not welcoming; 2) the lack of appropriate academic integration and mentoring; and 3) poor social integration experiences. Each rationale is supported by previous research on the experiences of African Americans in higher education. H. Richard Milner further discusses the lack of mentoring available to African Americans in the academy. There is considerable dialogue in this chapter regarding the perceived lack of value and respect of African American graduate students. Milner suggests that African American graduate students are often “silenced” (p. 20) when they perceive they are disvalued and disrespected. This is a valid argument considering how often African American students are asked to “represent the race” in many classroom discussions. Milner offers three significant strategies for maximizing the persistence of African Americans in the academy. They include making the implicit explicit, providing substantive mentoring relationships, and developing culturally appropriate advising. More discussion on how higher education could further advance culturally appropriate advising for its faculty and administrators that are not of color is warranted in this chapter. Joy Gaston’s chapter on preparing for the professorate begins by asking if the graduate school experience really prepared her for the professorate. She discusses some of the more common barriers that impact faculty of color upon entering the academy: alienation, discrimination, and a lack of respect for their research interests. Probably the most compelling advice given in this chapter is for graduate students entering the professorate. According to Gaston, graduate students should not expect the workload to decrease upon completion of the dissertation, but should expect it to increase because of the demands of pursuing tenure. This is not new advice, but it is sound advice that doctoral students often lose sight of when pursuing their degree. One of the more vexing chapters in this section is Theodorea Berry’s chapter on pursuing her doctorate. She begins by reflecting upon the household responsibilities of her parents. I am not sure of the purpose of this section unless she was attempting to demonstrate the role reversal of her parents’ household responsibilities and how that influenced her experiences in the academy. If this is the case, I would have liked more discussion indicating that to be so. Too much is left for the reader to interpret. Later in the chapter, Berry differentiates between feminist theory and critical race feminism and discusses how she identifies with critical race feminism. She does a nice job of explaining this in a manner that the novice researcher can understand. Berry concludes her chapter with a powerful poem about her experiences in the academy. The essays in Part II of A Long Way to Go explore some of the issues that African American faculty encounter while in academia. This section offers advice on how to succeed as a faculty member and it also examines some of the barriers that African American faculty encounter. Robin Hughes’ chapter attempts to dispel three prominent myths surrounding higher education and African American faculty. First, she addresses the myth that African Americans enter the academy on a level playing field. Second, she examines the Doppelganger Effect, “the existence and promulgation of homogeneity in organizations” (p. 86) in higher education. In other words, the lack of diversity that occurs when faculty and administrators are hired who look like those individuals already employed at the institution. The final myth addressed is the one that contends that classrooms in the academy are color-blind and that somehow racism and other “isms” no longer exist in the ivory tower. Although there are individuals in and outside of higher education that would like for the general public to believe that the playing field is level, diversity is rampant, and that color-blindness pervades the academy, the unfortunate reality is that higher education must continue confronting these issues. Hughes does a good job of reminding us that there is still work to be done. Lisa Hobson-Horton’s chapter on avoiding the “clock stoppers” (p. 99) of tenure is an informative chapter aimed at those just entering the academy. The author offers seven strategies on how to advance the tenure clock. I found these strategies to be enlightening. Despite being aimed at African American faculty, these strategies are sound advice for junior faculty regardless, of race, ethnicity, or gender. In Kimberly Lenease King and Ivan Watts’ chapter, King begins by recalling an experience she had with a white colleague upon her initial entry into the professorate. She honestly admits that she naively thought that entering the professorate meant she “had arrived” (p. 111). She quickly learned otherwise. She recalls numerous encounters with a junior colleague who bluntly expressed to her that she was hired only because of the tone of her skin. King, the first African American in her department, responded to him by questioning whether he received his position because he was white. In addition to being marginalized, King’s mentor informed her that some senior faculty questioned her qualifications (she was hired prior to defending her dissertation). I found the sharing of this story very compelling. The issues that King had to confront are typical of the experiences of African American faculty employed at predominantly white institutions and provide further evidence of the marginalization and isolation that African Americans so often encounter. Additionally, King and Watts, provide an excellent recommendation for maintaining a sense of sanity. They recommend that African American faculty create a “homeplace” (p. 118) within and outside of the institution. Essential to doing so is identifying a mentor who can assist the junior faculty member in dealing with difficult situations within the institution. Outside of the institution they suggest turning to the church, the surrounding African American communities, and your own home for a “homeplace.” Part III of A Long Way to Go explores the experiences of those who instruct courses on race and diversity in predominantly white institutions. A reoccurring theme in this section is the struggles that African American faculty encounter when facilitating dialogues centered on race, culture, and ethnicity in a heterogeneous environment. Cyrus Marcellus Ellis’ chapter is the shortest in the book, but I found it to be one of the most powerful. Ellis offers strong advice to those who teach race in a multiethnic classroom. His essay explores the difficulty of teaching race, culture, and ethnicity as an African American faculty member. African American faculty often not only have to contend with issues regarding their race but also are confronted with having the “legitimacy” (p. 154) of their research questioned if that research focuses on race, ethnicity, or culture. Ellis presents a symbolic icon for discussing racial issues with passion but without fear and without assigning blame. His icon is “The Four Points of a Circle” (p. 155) and is comprised of respect, listening, equity, and healing. “The Four Points of a Circle” illustrates how “the bearer can respect others while listening to their views, thus ensuring equity among all those engaged in the dialogue to promote their healing” (p. 155). Ellis provides an email address for readers who are interested in contacting him to learn more about his model. Despite the brevity of this chapter, it is one of the more engaging chapters in the book. “Who Does She Think She Is?’ Growing up Nationalist and Ending up Teaching Race in White Space” is written by Denise M. Taliaferro Baszile. Taliaferro Baszile’s chapter begins with a narrative that explains how her parents’ and relatives’ involvement in the Nationalist Movement shaped her views on race. She discusses being uncomfortable, given her background and upbringing, engaging white students in discussions on race. Taliaferro Baszile admits struggling with appearing more understanding to the experiences of African American students when those experiences are shared with students from other racial and ethnic backgrounds. In addition, she acknowledges that she does not view the classroom as a safe place and defines it as a “contested space” (p. 166). A space where the various cultures present compete and struggle among themselves. Silence is once again addressed. But it is the silence of the White students who have chosen to be silent; and not the silence of those who have experienced marginalization or isolation. As so often is the case, when the dialogue turned to race and the White students in Taliaferro Baszile’s class were challenged, they often responded with a self-imposed silence. The final part of A Long Way To Go explores how higher education can meet the needs of African American graduate students and faculty. In Amiri Yasin Al-Hadid’s chapter, he begins by describing the graduate experience for African Americans as a rite of passage. He transitions from a discussion of African Americans’ graduate experiences to their experiences as faculty members by questioning the authenticity of their blackness. Al-Hadid suggests that African Americans who wear dreadlocks as graduate students and then cut them prior to entering the professorate compromise their blackness and are sell outs. His discussion on the promotion and tenure process refers to it as a “Darwinian process of natural selection,” (p. 207) indicating that only the strongest tenure-track or junior faculty survive in the hostile environments of higher education. Weaker faculty are “eliminated” and resigned to pursuing career opportunities either elsewhere or outside of academia. Although the promotion and tenure process is described in extreme terms, I must admit that I agree with his assessment of who succeeds and who does not succeed in academia. Of the 22 chapters in A Long Way to Go, only one focuses on the experiences of African American administrators in the academy. Jerlando F. L. Jackson presents a brief description of his theoretical framework for engaging, retaining, and advancing African American administrators. The Emerging Model for Engaging, Retaining, and Advancing (ERA) African American Administrators at Predominantly White Institutions is comprised of four phases: 1) Preengagement; 2) Engagement; 3) Advancement; and 4) Outcomes. This chapter is obviously an abbreviated version of a much more detailed and thorough work. Jackson acknowledges so and informs the reader that this is the first step in refining the model and that the next step will be comprised of conducting empirical research. Ella Forbes’ chapter, “20/20 Hindsight” offers 13 strategies for junior faculty to succeed in higher education. Surprisingly there is very little overlap between the tips offered here and Hobson-Horton’s strategies for advancing the tenure clock. This chapter focuses more on what to do as junior faculty prepare to go before the tenure and promotion committee. Based on her personal experiences, one of Forbes recommendations is that junior faculty members not accept a position within their own academic department immediately after completion of the doctorate. “I Got Mine, Now You Get Yours’: Derailing the Underground Railroad” is the final chapter of the book. In this essay Mark A. Williams reminds us that completion of the doctoral studies is never accomplished singly. He refers to those individuals (professors, mentors, etc.) who have assisted in completion of the dissertation process as “conductors” (p. 241); thus the reference in the chapter to Harriet Tubman and the Underground Railroad. The concept of being a “conductor” was enlightening. Williams states it is prudent that those who have achieved success in academia serve as conductors for others who are in the process of pursuing a terminal degree. As I near the completion of my dissertation, this chapter made me reflect on those individuals who have served as conductors for me. The advice given by the author did not fall upon deaf ears, as I have made a personal commitment to serve as a conductor for others upon completion of my doctorate. There are a couple of areas of concern regarding this text. The first concern is the numerous grammatical mistakes throughout the text. There were frequent occurrences of misspelled words or words being omitted from a sentence. Second, the transitions between concepts in several of the chapters did not flow well. The authors often “jumped” from subject to subject without any transition. A concern related to the topics discussed in the text is the lack of discussion of African Americans in student affairs administration. Student affairs administrators are often overlooked when research is conducted on the experiences of African Americans in higher education. Jackson’s research may address this in part, but additional research should be conducted. A Long Way to Go: Conversations about Race by African American Faculty and Graduate Students offers additional perspectives on how the experiences of African American graduate students and faculty can be enhanced as they navigate through the academy. Despite the above stated concerns, I would recommend this text to African American graduate students and faculty and administrators of all races and ethnicities. There are some chapters that I would also recommend as assigned readings for a variety of courses in higher education, particularly race and gender courses. Copyright is retained by the first or sole author, who grants right of first publication to the Education Review.