"BREAKING NEWS: DR. CHARLES V. HAMILTON, Author of BLACK POWER - To Be Honored at Lincoln University's 162 Commencement, May 23, 2021"
LETTER TO DOC HAMILTON UPON LEARNING HE WOULD RECEIVE AN HONORARY DOCTORATE FROM LINCOLN UNIVERSITY -
Dear Doc!!
I
am so happy they are finally giving you the recognition you have
deserved for eons. It's long overdue - but I'm glad you're here to
receive it.
Unfortunately
I won't be able to be there to see you receive the honor in person -
but I'll definitely be watching it via modern technology. I tried to
convince my physician that I wouldn't do anything "dangerous," but he
put his medical foot down on my plans (SMH).
I
just found out that you returned to our side of the
planet. How wonderful!! Of course, knowing you, you've been integrally
involved with whatever is going on. How could you not! It's who you
are! What I find so totally remarkable is that you are still a Fine
Black Man at the age of 92. You had to know that most of us co-eds at
Lincoln had a major crush on you. And still do, by the way.
I
love the fact that you are our own personal LIVING LEGEND - and no one
has come close since. You taught us so much Black in the Day at LU. Ask
anyone from our class (66 through 69) and we'll each have at least 10
Doc Hamilton stories to tell - with fondness and LOVE - if not more.
I
know you'll be pleased with the way we were able to defend and retain
our own homegrown LU Grad and President, Dr. Brenda Allen - straight out
of the Doc Hamiltonian methodology, coupled with the time honored
Lincoln Spirit. She's an absolutely amazing lady.
Below
is an "edited" copy of the letter I originally sent in support of your
receiving our full honors. Sam Anderson thought it was worthy of
publication. No doubt they have the original version - the one below is
slightly edited - but no less true.
Please read it at your leisure -
Again, much love and congratulations on this wonderful accolade.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria DULAN-Wilson LU EMERITA '67
PS:
I generally write in Crimson in honor of my Sorority, Delta Sigma
Theta; but it can also be because of your Fraternity, Kappa Alpha Psi - Stay Blessed - GLORIA
My Recommendation to LU to award honorary Doctorate to Dr. Charles V. Hamilton
Originally submitted on November 6, 2019. This would have happened in 2020 - but, as we all know, the COVID-19 intervened!
Hello All:
I almost want to say it's about time, but I won't.
I'm
responding to Carol Black's request for notes on Doc Hamilton's
worthiness to receive an honorary Doctorate from Lincoln U.
These are my notes and my thoughts - from the heart:
There's
a peculiar magic about Lincoln University, that has been part of its
heritage since its inception in 1854: We either attract greatness or
transform fledglings into greatness. And that has been our M.O. for 165
years!
We are the only HBCU that gave Africa two (2) Black presidents.
We are the only HBCU that produced a Supreme Court Justice.
We gave the world the Poet Laureate Langston Hughes, Gil Scott-Heron, Cab Calloway, among others
But
one of the unsung heroes who really put Lincoln on the map in the 60s
and 70s, during the emergence of Black pride and Black power, was
Professor Charles V. Hamilton, who at the time served as the Chairman of
Lincoln's Political Science Department.
Simultaneously, he served as legal counsel for The Student NonViolent
Coordinating Committee - SNCC - an organization comprised of Black
students across the US, who came together to fight and eradicate racism,
discrimination, segregation through peaceful, nonviolent means. SNCC's
Chair at the time was Stokley Carmichael.
These
were heady times in the 60s. The March on Washington was held in
August 1963. There Kennedy was assassinated in that same year. Many
Black icons and activists - and innocents - were being executed,
primarily in the South. There was an unauthorized war in Viet Nam and
young Black men were being sent there to fight it.
Interestingly
enough Lincoln was an all Black University, whose white president -
Dr. Marvin Wachman - was current on, and concerned about, issues that
affected Black people at that time. Drs. Hamilton and Wachman met at a
conference in Philadelphia while Hamilton was teaching at Rutgers.
After having had an intense conversation on the future of Civil Rights
activism, Wachman liked him so much he offered him the opportunity to
come to Lincoln as chair of the Political Science Department. At the
time Lincoln only had 600 students - all male. Initially Hamilton
turned it down - but Wachman gave him the same lineage of Lincoln I just
shared with you - and it was a lock! He finally agreed!
So
in the Fall of 1964, Hamilton and his family - Dona, his wife, two
daughters, arrived at Lincoln University - all male, wild, but budding
geniuses - geniuses whose minds he could challenge and encourage to dig
deeper.
Hamilton's
ties with SNCC and Stokely Carmichael fired our imaginations. Whenever
anything went wrong in the south - Mississippi, Alabama, North or South
Carolina, Georgia, Florida - Hamilton was on the next jet to represent
SNCC members and save them from lynching, incarceration and a host of
injustices that were routinely being visited on our valiant Brothers and
Sisters.
Hamilton
was Charismatic - which surely must have baffled the southern racists,
because he always emerged victorious. And when he returned to Lincoln,
practically everybody cut class to come hear the HAMILTON REPORT on what
was going on in the south.
HE WAS/IS OUR OWN PERSONAL SUPER HERO!
Doc
Hamilton resides in Chicago - he is still as erudite as ever. He is
still one of my personal heroes. Hamiltonian Politics, as we called it
at Lincoln in the 60s, was comprehensive, savvy, effective - Hamilton
has informed and been consulted my Congressmen and women, presidential
candidates, and others who know his reputation. President Obama audited
his classes!!
Doc (as we lovingly called him) and his wife Dona penned the excellent, in depth bio and analysis entitled, "Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. The Political Biography of an American Dilemma."
It was so well received they were interviewed on several news and talk
shows. It still stands as the single most comprehensive coverage of
Powell's impact on Black (and white) American politics.
Below is one of my blog posts on Doc Hamilton as well as some excerpts from various articles over the past 10 years.
Doc
also travels back and forth between Chicago and South Africa - his
first love - and maintains active communication with African leaders in
several countries - friendships forged during his tenure at Lincoln
University.
I
fully believe that Doc Hamilton is more than worthy of an honorary
Doctorate from Lincoln University. I think we would be remiss in not
doing so. I also think there should be a building and a wing dedicated
to him to house his papers - especially the papers from Black power. He
is our CHARLES V. HAMILTON.
Sincerely and loving submitted
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria DULAN-Wilson - Emerita LU '67
ECLECTICALLY BLACK NEWS BLOG:
https://gloria-dulan-wilson.blogspot.com/2016/10/black-power-at-50-dr-charles-v-hamilton.html
THE
FOLLOWING ARE NOTES AND STATEMENTS FROM A VARIETY OF ARTICLES I'VE
WRITTEN OVER THE YEARS WHERE I MENTION DOC HAMILTON AND HIS HISTORICAL
SIGNIFICANCE
The
60s was the Civil Rights Era, but, more importantly, it was the
beginning of BLACK POWER - and our class of 1967 was the Black Power
Class - thanks to Doc Hamilton and Carmichael.
We are the BLACK POWER CLASS - Before the world even knew what BLACK POWER was about!!!
We
are the beginning of the wearing of naturals and African clothes. We
are the ones who met with Stokeley Carmichael and Doc Hamilton as they
planned the next SNCC strategies. We gave asylum to our African freedom
fighting brothers from South Africa, Mozambique, Angola, the Congo, as
well as classmates to those brothers from newly liberated African
countries such as Kenya, Nigeria, Ghana, Guinea, Mali, Tanzania, Uganda -
as you can see, I love bragging about Lincoln University.
I have always felt that I was in a
privileged space at Lincoln. Especially having the opportunity to
study political science under Dr. Charles V. Hamilton - legal counsel
for SNCC, and one of the finest and most dynamic Black men on the planet
- then and now. He was not only the most dynamic personage on the
campus, but he walked his talk - often having to go to Mississippi and
other areas to rescue members of SNCC from white racists - a bold move
when you consider that this Black man routinely laid his life on the
line to cross into the south to defend our Black heroes from racist
white judges, jailers and policemen. The entire campus would turn out
for the "Hamilton Report," when he returned, updating us on the things
that happened during his foray into the belly of the beast.
 |
| THE GREAT DR CHARLES V. HAMILTON |
Our Iconic professor went on to head
Columbia University's International Political Science Department, but
never forgot his early days at Lincoln. And we have never forgotten
him. He just celebrate his 90th birthday on Thursday, October 19, 2019 still
as active as ever.
| STOKELY CARMICHAEL - KWAME TOURE` |
The other highpoint of my Lincoln life
was Stokely Carmichael and H. Rapp Brown coming to Lincoln to consult
and collaborate with Doc Hamilton on strategies during the high point of
the Civil Rights Movement. But the icing on the cake was when Stokely
came to Lincoln in October, 1966 to enunciate the tenets of BLACK POWER
at Mary Dodd Brown Chapel - to a packed audience. It was the first time
we had heard the statement 'BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!" and the statement
BLACK POWER! We left that assemblage feeling totally empowered.
The
following summer Dr. Hamilton and
Stokely Carmichael wrote and published the definitive book BLACK POWER.
All the research was conducted on Lincoln's campus, utilizing Lincoln
University students as interns to help with the research, BLACK POWER
was the first ever book of its kind to do a definitive, in depth
analysis of Black power and its impact and meaning to Black people -
this is the 50th
anniversary of it's publication and the book has been translated into
at least 50 languages and circulated around the world. More
importantly, it's even more relevant today as
the day it was published.
Lincoln
University was also the first Black college to
offer a full complement of African studies, as well as Swahili language
classes; African cosmology classes, and movies originating from Africa
written and produced by Africans. We read Franz Fanon, Cheik Anta Diop,
Chinua Achebe, Leopold Sedor Senghor, Kwame Nkrumah's principles; along
with WEB DuBois, Carter G. Woodson, Lerone Bennett, E. Franklin
Frazier. You name it we had it at the Vail Memorial Library. If it was
Black we had read it, were reading it, discussing it, throwing in our
own theories to boot. You could actually get a degree in African
studies long before it was popular in the rest of the Black schools.
Even Albert Einstein loved Lincoln University, and left a legacy to our
campus (that was long before we arrived, of course). Hamilton was
familiar with and conversant on their philosophies and integrated it
into his Political Science curriculum - so that we had the full spectrum
of what it meant to wield political power in a positive, pragmatic
manner.
Lincoln
University's Sociology Department, headed by Lawrence“Shabby” Foster,
was the only Black college that relied primarily on texts written by
Black sociologists Goode and Hat. It was the mainstay of our
department. From it we learned the socio-psychological effects of
racism, and how it impacted our child rearing practices.
Dr. Charles V. Hamilton
is also a hero - he stood for the students on campus when the KKK had
the audacity to threaten to burn it down - to the point of securing the
perimeter of the campus with a few, well armed and valiant classmates.
In
1966, we were the students who fought off the KKK with real guns when
they burned a cross across from our campus. We posted guards at every
entry, and made it known that they could come at their own risk. They
threatened but never crossed onto Lincoln Soil. In the 150+ years of
our existence, they have not yet laid set foot on our campus. Hamilton
patroled the campus and checked in with students to make sure they were
safe.
We
were the students who had none other than the great Charles V.
Hamilton, head of our Political Science Department, as our mentor. He
was legal counsel for SNCC (the Student Nonviolent Coordinating
Committee). Students would cut classes and sit in on his class to learn
of their latest status and exploits. We were the campus where Stokely
Carmichael and H. Rap Brown and other Black leaders would come to
formulate strategies for liberation. Dr. Hamilton co-authored “Black
Power” along with Stokely Carmichael, on our campus.
Dr. Charles V. Hamilton - Legal Council for SNCC, Chair of the
Political Science Department, and later head of Columbia University's
International Politics division, was both my mentor and my idol (yes,
you guessed it, I have a thing for Smart Fine Black Men). SNCC used to
have strategy meetings at the campus - wow, sitting with Stokely
Carmichael and H. Rap Brown in person!!! We were the only Black
college to offer asylum to African refugees from non-independent African
countries - such as South Africa, Lesotho, Namibia (Southwest Africa)
Congo Brazzaville and Kinshasha, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia), Angola and
Mozambique - as well as attending classes with brothers from all over
the continent of Africa - Ghana, Guinea, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya,
Uganda, Tanzania (Tanganiyika and Madagascar), Senegal, Egypt, Ethiopia,
Somalia, Eritrea, Liberia, Algeria, Guinea Bissau, Sudan, as well as
the Caribbean - Bermuda, Barbados, Trinidad, the Bahamas, and Jamaica;
one student from China, and several Jewish classmates as well. (c)gloriadulanwilson
"Institutional racism (also known as systemic racism) is a form of racism expressed in the practice of social and political institutions. It is reflected in disparities regarding wealth, income, criminal justice, employment, housing, health care, political power and education, among other factors.
The term "institutional racism" was coined and first used in 1967 by Stokely Carmichael (later known as Kwame Ture) and Charles V. Hamilton in Black Power: The Politics of Liberation.[1]
Carmichael and Hamilton wrote that while individual racism is often
identifiable because of its overt nature, institutional racism is less
perceptible because of its "less overt, far more subtle" nature.
Institutional racism "originates in the operation of established and
respected forces in the society, and thus receives far less public
condemnation than [individual racism]".[2] They gave examples." WIKIPEDIA
Congratulations on your latest citation:
April 21, 2021
Charles V. Hamilton is the Wallace S. Sayre Professor
Emeritus of Government at Columbia University. One of the first African
Americans to hold an endowed chair at an Ivy League university, Hamilton
focused his research on urban politics and the Civil Rights movement.
His most famous book, which was a best-seller, was co-authored with
Stokely Carmichael-Black Power: The Politics of Liberation in America (1967). This book transformed Hamilton into a high-profile public intellectual. Another important book was his Adam Clayton Powell Jr.: The Political Biography of an American Dilemma (1991). Hamilton is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
NOTE: This is the last major piece I did on Doc Hamilton, but he was constantly in my thoughts and prayers - especially after he moved back to Chicago from New York City, which meant we had little to no interaction with him. We loved Doc, and Doc loved us. To say that we will miss him is an understatement. I know I will - and I'm sure most of my peers feel the same way.
So my condolences go to his family - not only his biological family - but those of us who remain part of his Lincoln University Family - long may his memory live in each of our hearts and spirits.
NOW THAT YOU KNOW
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO ABOUT IT?
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
 |
Gloria DULAN-Wilson
|
By Gloria Dulan-Wilson
Needless
to say that this has been a milestone era for Black People - starting
with the March on Washington in 1963, through the Voting Rights and
Civil Rights Acts of 1964 and 1965; through the march on Selma in 1965.
But nothing has been more momentous in my book than the era of Black
power, which was ushered in in 1966 by Stokely Carmichael (aka Kwame
Toure) and Dr. Charles V. Hamilton, when they co-authored the epoch
making book, BLACK POWER, which was researched largely at the campus of
Lincoln University. Doc Hamilton, or "Doc" as we lovingly called him,
was not only the head of the Political Science Department, and my Poly
Sci professor; but he was also Legal Counsel for SNCC (the Student
Non-Violent Coordinating Committee), of which Stokely and H. Rapp Brown
and others were the leaders.
Talk
about living in a privileged space, in a privileged time!! Lincoln U
was the epicenter of Black Liberation and cohesive Black thought. It
was the bedrock of Black Philosophy. Students would cut class to come
and hear the "Hamilton Report" - which is what we called it when Doc had
to do down and rescue SNCC members from the snares of white racists in
Mississippi, Alabama, and other areas - actually risking his own life to
do so. Students who weren't even enrolled in Poly Sci classes would
sit in the windows, crowd the doorways, or sit on the floor to learn of
the latest happenings.
And
it didn't hurt that Doc Hamilton was one of the Finest of the Fine
Black Men on the campus - more than one of us had a secret crush on him -
including yours truly! And what was not to like? He stood for all
that was great in Black manhood. He was erudite, articulate,
forthright, and fearless- and he had a razor wit and a biting sense of
humor. We were part and parcel of history in the making. We had what
no one else had: THE GREAT DR. CHARLES V. HAMILTON!!!
I
will also never forget when Stokely Carmichael first enunciated BLACK
POWER - it was at Lincoln University, October 1966 - in Mary Dodd Brown
Chapel - our go to center for practically everything - from weddings, to
funerals, from talent shows, to concerts - and we, the students of
Lincoln were privileged to hear said to us for the first time ever: BLACK IS BEAUTIFUL!!!
It
practically took our breath away. No one had ever said that before.
We were still "negroes!" "Black" was a pejorative that would get your
teeth knocked out your mouth if you called some one that - even as a
joke!
And
here was Stokely Carmichael honoring himself, and us, as no one else
had ever done before (other than Marcus Garvey, of course) for being
both BLACK and BEAUTIFUL. And there was Chuck Hamilton, beaming proudly
as he continued to redefine us and change the negative paradigm under
which we had been struggling into a badge of honor.
I
looked around the room to see who else was feeling the moment of magic
the way I was, and it appeared that the entire campus was totally taking
it in and letting it marinate in their psyches.
And,
I guess, if there was anyone we loved and revered as much as Doc
Hamilton, it was definitely Stokely Carmichael. And those two as a team
- UNSTOPPABLE!!
We
learned the tenets of Black Power that evening, and our lives were
never the same as a result. The love and cohesiveness that ensued,
between African, African American and Caribbean mostly male students at
the time - Lincoln had just gone Co-Ed in 1965 - the year I entered as a
junior, after having been expelled from Hampton for being too Black
& Militant - could be felt all over the chapel and spilled out onto
the campus. You could hear Brothers saying "BLACK POWER" and raising
their fists in the symbol of Solidarity. Stokely and Doc Hamilton were
our Ebony Guardians who stood against all the heinous, negative lies
that had been told about us throughout the year. They spoke truth to
power and made it real!!
From
our culture, to our intellect, to our hair - which by the way, this
October marks the 50th year of my wearing my hair in an Afro/Natural
style - thanks to Sam Anderson, Anthony Monteiro, Paul Moore, Julian
Ellison and Maxine Stewart!!! I am still happy nappy!! (LOL)
From
our rhythm, to our resilience, to our families, and our ability to
survive, withstand, and continue to move forward - by the time Stokely
completed his speech - we were in tears of joy, applauding wildly and
hugging or high-fiving him for his message.
Back
to my hero, Doc Hamilton, though. If there ever was a charismatic
leader it was and is Dr. Charles V. Hamilton! He smoked a pipe - yes in
class - we weren't as uptight then as people are nowadays. His
favorite term was "vis a vis" - which became one of his nicknames among
the LU Rabble. He had two beautiful daughters - Carol and Valli - that I
had the privilege of babysitting from time to time - and a beautiful,
dynamic wife and life partner - Dona - who became a sister/friend during
my time on campus.
Doc
would hold meetings with the leaders of SNCC and other activists on
campus, and allow a few of the more activist students to attend - thanks
Doc!! As I said I felt I was in a privileged space - and still do to
this day.
When
the KKK threatened to come and burn crosses on Lincoln's Campus -
something they had been doing for more than 100 years - Doc didn't run
and hide; he stood with the men of the campus, surrounded the grounds
and made sure that none of them set foot on Lincoln Soil. And yes, they
did burn a cross - but it was several miles away from us - but still
bright enough to be seen from certain points of the campus.
It
was only a matter of time that his genius would be noticed by Columbia
University's School of International Politics, and he would leave the
confines of Lincoln's small collegiate campus. I'm just glad that I had
the opportunity and the privilege of having him of two years - in an
intimate setting where we could share and exchange and rap about what
was happening in a semi-colleague/mentorhship relationship.
I
am so excited that he will be keynoting the 50th Anniversary
Celebration of Black Power at Columbia University!! He is an icon in the
hearts and minds of so many of us who still talk of "Hamiltonian
Politics" - in terms of the Great Charles V. Hamilton - and not that
"other guy" - LOL
Below is the information about registration and the agenda for the two-day Event:
A scholarly Conference
In Honor of
Charles V. Hamilton
and in loving memory of
Dona Cooper Hamilton
and in celebration of the
50th anniversary of the publication of
Black Power
Keynote Address:
October 20th 4:00PM
Panels and Presentations:
October 21st 9:00AM—4:30PM
Columbia University,
International Affairs Building,
Kellogg Conference Center
Sponsored by Columbia’s Center on African American Politics and Society;
SIPA Urban and Social Policy Program;
Barnard-Columbia Urban Studies Program;
and funded with the generous support of the
Institute for Social and Economic Research and Policy Research (ISERP).
We
have been privileged at Lincoln to have had some wonderful
professors who have had major impacts on our lives, but for me, none was
and is more indelible in my mind and life than Dr. Charles V. Hamilton.
Doc
and his wife researched the life of Adam Clayton Powell Jr., and wrote a
comprehensive tome on his life, times, power and influence. He
was interviewed in a documentary on Powell which initially appeared on
PBS, but is now in Youtube:
https://youtu.be/2XJAUVwm92Q
I
am so proud to be here to celebrate the 50th Anniversary of his book
BLACK POWER, and the many other contributions he has made to our lives.
Stay Blessed &
ECLECTICALLY BLACK
Gloria LU'67
