Kilson Blasts Black Student Critics Of Freidel's 'Afro-American' Course

Martin Kilson, assistant professor of Government, yesterday denounced the black student critics of Social Sciences 5. In a letter to the CRIMSON editors, he called the assumptions underlying their criticism "racially bigoted and disgustingly anti-intellectual."

[The text of the letter appears on page 2 of today's CRIMSON.]

Kilson, a member of the teaching staff for the course, blasted the black critics for holding the prejudice that no white professor could ever teach a course about black people and their history. "Blissfully unaware that their bigoted and paranoid outlook makes shambles of scholarship and learning," Kilson charged, "the black critics of Social Sciences 5 seek to reduce the course to a platform for black nationalist propaganda."

Kilson attacked the Ad Hoc Committee of Black Students for its role as the channel for such complaints and said that the staff would give no assistance to the critics of the course.

Robert L. Hall, '69, a member of Ad Hoc, said Kilson's reaction to the criticism was predictable.

"It seems he misinterpreted the intent of the proposed criticism. Our concern is that the course be a good course and a solid one. We want to review the course as it has unfolded up untill now and this does not imply that we are saying what kind of action should be taken," Hall said.

The Ad Hoc Committee, which was instrumental in setting up the course, is going to meet with the black students in the course, especially the freshmen, to talk about the course and find out specifically what the grievances are. The meeting is planned for next week.

Peter H. Wood, teaching fellow in the course, said that criticism of the course is good because Soc Sci 5 is most amenable to change. Wood also said "the students really care enough about the content of the course" to devote their energies toward constructive change. He said, however, that more of the dissatisfaction with the course should have been expressed to the section men.

Student criticism remains centered on the content of the lectures. "The real problem," said one junior, "is that Freidel [Frank Freidel, professor of History] devotes all his time to refuting prejudices his audience does not hold. The lecture series might better be called 'Negro Heroes I Have Known'--it consists of black equivalents of the George Washington cherry tree tale.