Beyond Benevolence

The first time I walked across Brown’s campus as a member of the Brown-Tougaloo Semester Exchange Program, I felt a quiet, humbling awareness of two worlds converging. The buildings loomed tall, whispering stories of centuries-old tradition, while I carried with me the legacy of Tougaloo—a legacy grounded in resilience, resistance, and the pursuit of Black excellence. I was standing in a place where histories met: sometimes clashing, sometimes blending, each bringing its own weight and purpose. Moving between these spaces was a humbling and energizing experience, one that allowed me to see both institutions from the inside out. I found myself reflecting on how each campus held its own truths and tensions, and its own aspirations and limitations. Brown University, with its centuries-old halls, represented an established structure of knowledge, a place of deep resources and influence. Tougaloo College, with its roots in community and activism, embodied the courage and drive that have sustained Black educational spaces through decades of challenge and change.

The Brown-Tougaloo Partnership, established in 1964 amid the turbulence of the Civil Rights Movement, remains one of the most remarkable and pioneering collaborations between an Ivy League university and a Historically Black College. Initiated by the Rhode Island Friends of Tougaloo and championed by advocates like the Reverend Larry Durgin of Central Congregational Church, the Partnership began as a response to the Mississippi legislature’s attacks on Tougaloo’s charter. 1 1 “Partnership History,” Brown-Tougaloo Partnership, Tougaloo College and Brown University, Accessed July 18, 2024, https://tougaloo.brown.edu/partnership-history; See also Clarice T. Campbell and Oscar Allan Rogers Jr., Mississippi: The View from Tougaloo (University Press of Mississippi, 1979); Maria R. Lowe “An ‘Oasis of Freedom’ in a ‘Closed Society’: The Development of Tougaloo College as a Free Space in Mississippi’s Civil Rights Movement, 1960 to 1964,” Journal of Historical Sociology 20, no. 4 (2007): 488–510, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-6443.2007.00321.x. With funding from the Ford Foundation, the Partnership laid a framework for student exchanges, academic collaboration, and the sharing of resources between the two institutions. From the beginning, it was more than an administrative arrangement; it was a radical statement of mutual support and an act of institutional courage, illustrating the belief that intersectional and cross-institutional alliances across lines of geography and race could transform the landscape of higher education.

In each classroom, in each conversation, I felt both histories pressing against one another, shaping how I understood the possibilities and challenges of this Partnership. This collaboration was not simply about support or exchange; it was an invitation to see differently, to bring forward Tougaloo’s story within Brown’s walls, and to let both histories inform one another. Through this Partnership, Brown and Tougaloo offered each other—and those of us crossing between them—a new way of seeing, one that embraced both the past and the potential of what might be built together. This commitment to equity and growth became a powerful model, influencing the creation of Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965, which aimed to strengthen HBCUs through federal support. 2 2 Higher Education Act of 1965, Public Law 89–329, 8 Nov. 1965, 79 Stat. 1219. The Partnership’s success highlighted the potential for sustained institutional collaboration, going beyond departmental projects to embrace a broader, more inclusive mission of educational equity.

The Brown-Tougaloo Partnership was not merely transactional; it was transformational. The collaboration opened doors for students and faculty from both institutions to learn from each other, forging connections that transcended racial and socioeconomic distinctions. These exchanges fostered a mutual appreciation for the unique strengths that each institution brought to the table. Tougaloo’s history as a bastion of Black intellectualism, activism, and resistance enriched Brown’s academic community, while Brown’s resources and legacy provided Tougaloo with valuable opportunities to expand its reach and influence. Together, they demonstrated that collaboration across racial and institutional lines could create new possibilities for educational excellence.

Generative Tensions and Opportunities for Growth

The Brown-Tougaloo Partnership emerged during a period when educational institutions were grappling with the legacies of segregation and the need for systemic transformation. The 1960s marked a time of intense social upheaval and activism, during which the Civil Rights Movement demanded equal access not only to public spaces but also to educational opportunities. This demand for equity led many predominantly white institutions to re-evaluate their own roles within a racially divided society, with some pursuing partnerships with HBCUs as a way to bridge this historical divide. These partnerships, however, often bore the weight of conflicting aims, aspirations, and institutional power dynamics, revealing the challenges inherent in cross-institutional collaboration between historically privileged and marginalized institutions.

The Brown-Tougaloo Partnership was thus part of a larger landscape of educational alliances that began forming in response to Civil Rights legislation and the moral imperative for social justice. During the Civil Rights Movement, the racial climate in the United States was shifting, catalyzing significant changes in educational partnerships between predominantly white and historically Black institutions. Many of these collaborations were geographically diverse, bridging Northern and Southern institutions. For example, in 1963, Tuskegee Institute partnered with the University of Michigan, followed by initiatives at Indiana University and Stillman College, the University of Wisconsin and North Carolina College, and Central Illinois and Winston-Salem State University, all emerging between 1964 and 1965. However, the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership, established in 1964, stands out as a unique moment due to its connection between an Ivy League institution and a Historically Black College, marking a distinctive model of institutional collaboration during this transformative era.

At a time when many HBCUs struggled with chronic underfunding and political hostility, partnerships with wealthy, predominantly white institutions offered access to financial resources, broader academic networks, and potential federal support. Yet, as these partnerships gained prominence, they also attracted scrutiny. The concern that such collaborations might reinforce paternalistic structures or compromise the cultural autonomy of Black institutions was palpable, with critics raising questions about whose interests these alliances truly served. The public perception of partnerships like Brown-Tougaloo was often simplified, casting these collaborations in terms of benevolence and dependency rather than mutual growth. In the broader public narrative, predominantly white institutions were frequently framed as “rescuers” of underfunded HBCUs, suggesting that these partnerships primarily functioned to “uplift” Black colleges that otherwise lacked the resources to survive independently. 3 3 “Brown Adopts Southern Waif,” New York Herald Tribune, May 18, 1964. Brown University Library, Brown Digital Repository. https://repository.library.brown.edu/studio/item/bdr:1166456/. This reductive reading positioned HBCUs as passive recipients of aid rather than as active and equal partners with distinct intellectual traditions, histories of resilience, and essential contributions to American higher education.

During the late 1960s, as the Black Power Movement brought a sharper focus to issues of Black autonomy and self-determination, Stokely Carmichael emerged as a vocal critic of these types of partnerships. His comments were especially significant because they addressed the underlying tensions that could arise when predominantly white institutions partnered with HBCUs. 4 4 Stokely Carmichael, “We Ain’t Going,” speech delivered at Tougaloo College, Tougaloo, Mississippi, April 11, 1967, mentioned in Harambee, April 1967, Tougaloo College Archives, https://www.speeches-usa.com/Transcripts/stokeley_carmichael-weaint.html. For Carmichael, alliances with white institutions risked undermining the missions of HBCUs if they were framed as charitable efforts aimed at “improving” Black institutions. He argued that predominantly Black colleges, such as Tougaloo, were already essential sites of intellectual rigor, activism, and political resistance. They did not require validation from wealthier white institutions; instead, they needed partnerships that respected their independence and celebrated their contributions to Black intellectual life.

Carmichael’s critique posed a critical challenge to the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership, underscoring the potential dangers of reinforcing paternalistic narratives. He warned that without careful attention, partnerships could unintentionally cast HBCUs as junior partners in need of white intervention, diluting their radical potential and compromising their autonomy. Carmichael believed that true partnership meant recognizing HBCUs not as institutions in need of rescue but as vibrant intellectual communities that could offer invaluable perspectives to their partners. His words resonated deeply within the Black educational community, encouraging both predominantly white institutions and HBCUs to consider how such collaborations could honor the unique legacies of Black colleges.

In contrast to the public’s uncharitable framing, Brown and Tougaloo were keenly aware of the need to approach their collaboration with respect and reciprocity. 5 5 “Brown Adopts Southern Waif,” New York Herald Tribune, May 18, 1964. Within both institutions, there was a concerted effort to honor each other’s unique strengths and missions, resisting the reductive dynamics of “giver” and “receiver.” This commitment to fostering a genuinely balanced relationship required both Brown and Tougaloo to engage in critical self-reflection and ongoing dialogue. Brown, for instance, sought to counterbalance its privilege by creating spaces where Tougaloo’s intellectual leadership and community wisdom were foregrounded, ensuring that its partner’s contributions were viewed not as supplementary but as central to the Partnership’s success. Faculty exchanges allowed Tougaloo professors to teach and share their scholarship at Brown, while cultural exchanges brought Tougaloo students into campus life in ways that highlighted their voices and experiences within the Partnership.

Carmichael’s critique, though challenging, became a pivotal influence on the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership’s evolution. His emphasis on the autonomy and strength of HBCUs pushed Brown and Tougaloo to build a model of collaboration that upheld Tougaloo’s agency and intellectual contributions. Rather than casting Tougaloo as a project of charity, the Partnership worked to amplify the college’s rich intellectual history and legacy of resistance, recognizing it as a critical force within American higher education. This dynamic became a cornerstone of the Brown-Tougaloo alliance, reinforcing that the value of HBCUs lies in their resilience, vision, and commitment to cultivating Black intellectualism.

Recontextualizing Partnerships at the 1965 Working Conference

One pivotal moment in the early development of these institutional partnerships occurred at the 1965 Working Conference on Cooperative Programs Among Universities and Predominantly Negro Colleges, where representatives from institutions across the nation, including Brown and Tougaloo, gathered to address these complex issues. 6 6 A Working Conference on Cooperative Programs Among Universities and Predominantly Negro Colleges: Proceedings of the Conference, Atlanta, GA, August 20–21, 1965 (Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, 1965), ERIC, https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED034016. There, leaders voiced the need for partnerships that would honor the unique mission of HBCUs and resist treating these institutions merely as beneficiaries of white benevolence. Various speakers including Harold Pfautz, Professor of Sociology at Brown and early director of the Partnership, emphasized that interinstitutional partnerships would only succeed if they moved beyond symbolic gestures and engaged in substantive, long-term commitments. Rather than revolving faculty consultancies and seasonal exchanges, they advocated for robust, enduring exchanges that would foster meaningful engagement and respect for the intellectual and cultural contributions of HBCUs.

The conference illuminated the tension between aspiration and reality in these alliances. While partnership models held the potential to redistribute resources and promote shared learning, they also risked reproducing the very hierarchies they sought to dismantle. This awareness of potential limitations catalyzed a shift in perspective for partnerships like Brown-Tougaloo, prompting each institution to consider how they might enact mutual support that was transformative rather than transactional. For Brown, this required a commitment to not only share resources but to open itself to the perspectives and leadership of Tougaloo’s scholars, honoring the college as an equal partner. Recognizing the broader challenges and public perceptions that often accompanied such partnerships, conference participants explored how cross-institutional collaborations could be structured to advance the interests of both institutions equitably. The conference emphasized that partnerships should resist perpetuating hierarchies and instead support a model of partnership that genuinely recognized HBCUs as critical, self-determined centers of scholarship and activism.

Leaders at the conference, including Pfautz, advocated for partnerships to go beyond short-term initiatives, proposing instead more immersive, sustained exchanges that would facilitate deeper connections. These extended exchanges, they argued, would allow predominantly white institutions to fully appreciate and engage with the intellectual wealth and community-centered approaches of HBCUs. Rather than viewing HBCUs as institutions in need of “improvement,” these leaders encouraged predominantly white institutions to consider the transformative potential of truly mutual partnerships—ones that might reshape both parties and strengthen higher education as a whole.

In response to these discussions, the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership evolved with a renewed focus on ensuring that each institution’s identity was honored and that the power dynamics inherent in their relationship were consistently examined. This model of partnership, born of both critique and mutual commitment, set a new precedent for how cross-institutional alliances could operate in ways that were not only supportive but also intentionally transformative. The discussions and insights shared at the 1965 conference became foundational, guiding partnerships like Brown-Tougaloo to navigate the complex landscape of educational equity with a shared vision for meaningful advancement.

Embracing the Legacy and Future of Transformative Partnerships

The Brown-Tougaloo Partnership stands as a testament to the power of collaboration rooted in mutual respect, shared growth, and a commitment to educational equity. What began as an act of solidarity in the face of racial and political adversity grew into a transformative alliance that would influence higher education partnerships for HBCUs. This partnership moved beyond mere transactions, embodying a space where both institutions could bring their histories, strengths, and aspirations into an evolving, dynamic relationship.

As Brown and Tougaloo navigated the complexities of cross-institutional collaboration, they challenged traditional narratives, questioned embedded hierarchies, and demonstrated that partnerships can be generative spaces for both critique and growth. The Partnership’s journey—reflecting the insights of thinkers like Stokely Carmichael and the foundational discussions at the 1965 Working Conference—reminds us that truly transformative partnerships require a willingness to honor each institution’s autonomy and to approach collaboration as an exchange of equals.

Today, the legacy of the Brown-Tougaloo Partnership invites us to reimagine what educational equity can look like when institutions embrace both their unique identities and their shared purpose. It calls for continued exploration into how diverse educational communities can support one another in ways that are meaningful, enduring, and just. As we reflect on this legacy, we are reminded that the path forward is one of intentional, courageous engagement—a journey that holds the promise of deepening our collective understanding of what it means to build partnerships that honor history, embrace critique, and look toward a more inclusive future.