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Minority Scholars Committee
Report from the Minority Scholars’ Committee 2002
The Minority Scholars’ Committee looks forward to the annual meeting in Houston, Texas, where we will introduce our newest members, John Michael Rivera and Theodore Gonzalves. In preparation, we are planning for our joint reception with the Women’s Committee and the Queer Caucus. We will use this occasion to present the history of the Lora Romero First Book Prize, with a short program of speakers, including Kandice Chuh, Cathy Davidson, Dana Nelson, Ann Cvetkovich, and Sharon Holland, who will celebrate her work and life. In addition, the chair of the Prize Committee, former MSC member Dwight McBride, will announce the 2002 winner of the prize, which was highly competitive in its first year. The public presentation of the award and its winner in this inaugural year will increase its visibility and highlight its significance to the organization and to the American Studies field at large. It will also give us the opportunity to thank the many people whose hard work, commitment, and support brought this proposed prize into fruition, including current and former members of the Minority Scholars Committee, the Women’s Committee, the Ethnic Studies Task Force, the Prize Committee and the Executive Committee.
At the annual meeting, we will discuss the following issues and strategies for increasing our constituency’s presence and productivity in the ASA:
Assess Relationship of Our Constituency to the ASA
In order to follow up on the goals set for last year, we will discuss the ongoing task of the MSC as stated in our charge and its relationship to the goals of other committees with whom we share strong ties, including the Women’s Committee and the Ethnic Studies Task Force. We will discuss the Ethnic Studies Task Force’s proposal to become a standing committee and our support for this proposal, as well as our complementary relationship to this proposed committee. We will also revisit our endorsement of the ASA’s continued responses to anti-affirmative action efforts nationwide and effective strategies for maintaining support for its objectives. In addition, we will discuss the MSC’s response to the “War on Terror” and the increased violence against people of color both domestically and internationally.
Support Systems for Our Constituency
We will develop strategies for promoting continuity and productivity throughout the year and outside of the annual meeting. We will continue to develop programs that maintain our collaborative relationship with the Women’s Committee. We need to revisit our proposed attempts to reestablish a more active relationship with the Queer Caucus in addition to the joint reception and co-sponsored panels, such as our meeting to discuss nominees for the 2004 Lora Romero First Book Prize Committee.
Current/Future Projects
We plan to continue our efforts to develop specific proposals for conferences. More specifically, we will propose panels for next year’s annual meeting in Hartford, CT, including a panel or roundtable based on work that fulfills the criteria for the Lora Romero First Book Prize. This is also in response to great interest in this type of work evidenced by the large number of books that were nominated for the prize this first year. We will also discuss the finalization of the “Minority Scholarship in the 21st Century: Conditions of Existence and Conditions of Possibility” panel proposed last year and potential co-sponsored panels with the Women’s Committee and the International Committee. Since the mid-year report, we requested copies of papers from two Affirmative Action panels at past ASA conferences for publication and appointed a liaison, Duchess Harris, to meet with the Ethnic Studies Task Force. We will hear a report as to the status of the project to publish a cluster of papers given on MSC-sponsored panels. We will also hear a report from our liaison Duchess Harris before discussing the most productive way to support the Ethnic Studies Task Force’s objectives, as stated in its proposal for standing committee status. Finally, we will nominate a new MSC Chair Elect to submit for approval by the Executive Committee. This new Chair will take over facilitation of the MSC in July 2003.
Prospects for Domestic/International Funding
We will continue to explore other resources for research/travel grants for minority graduate students to promote minority participation in the ASA. By following up on our proposed minority mentorship program, we may locate funding from individual institutions for these types of relationships.
We expect to use the annual meeting to reestablish our connections, to continue to develop the professional and personal relationships of MSC members, and to maintain the institutional memory of the MSC’s accomplishments. This vital meeting will allow us to review the goals that we have accomplished with renewed energy and to refocus on those objectives that we have not yet achieved.
Respectfully Submitted,
Diana R. Paulin and Dionne Espinoza, Co-Chairs
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