Scylla and Charybdis

Navigating the Waters of Academic Freedom at Fisk University During Charles S. Johnson's Administration (1946–1956)

Bibliographic Data

ID8224085
AuthorsMarybeth Gasman (0000-0002-4612-0505, Indiana University, corresponding author)
Year1999
Volume36
Issue4
Pages739-758
Publication date1999-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Educational Research Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0002-8312 • E-ISSN: 1935-1011
PublisherAmerican Educational Research Association (AERA) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.3102/00028312036004739
OpenAlexW2013781528
LanguageEN
Citations received5
References cited3

A prominent sociologist and race relations activist, Charles S. Johnson dedicated his life to the advancement of Blacks. His presidency at Fisk University, a historically Black college, was the culmination of his career. During the latter part of his administration, he faced a dilemma involving an outspoken professor named Lee Lorch, who, in 1954, was accused of being a communist. Johnson and the Board of Trustees dismissed Lorch because he refused to answer a congressional committee's questions about his previous political affiliations. In 1959, the American Association of University Professors found the late President Johnson guilty of violating the principles of academic freedom. This article explores the ways in which academic freedom, civil liberties, and civil rights clashed in the Lee Lorch case. Furthermore, it examines the ways in which the setting of a historically Black college alters traditional assumptions about the application of these principles

Academic freedom · Administration (probate law · Civil liberties · Civil rights · Dilemma · Epistemology · Higher education · Political science · Politics · Presidency · Sociology · Academic Freedom and Politics · Higher Education Research Studies · Law · Philosophy · Race, History, and American Society

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