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46 THE URBAN REVIEW

urban communities were written nearly a quarter of a century apart. The first

statement was made in a 1972 Carnegie Commission Report, and the latter is

from a 1996 essay by former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development

Henry Cisneros. It seems that the more things change the more they stay the

same. While the particulars of urban communityuniversity relations have

changed, the basic structural and cultural aspects that complicate this relation-

ship have not changed. The purpose of this paper is to address select aspects of

the relationship between universities and black urban communities. It is argued

that universities have not fulfilled their potential for alleviating urban malaise.

It is likewise posited that this is true partially as a result of socially constructed

cultural barriers. The issue of university-community relations in the city is one

that has not produced much theoretical or empirical research. It has, however,been written about from anecdotal, historical, and analytical viewpoints for many

years (Kerr, 1968; Wallerstein and Starr, 1971; Berube, 1978; Nichols, 1990;

Bender, 1988). The major contribution of this essay is its construction of a theo-

retical framework with which to examine this cultural phenomenon. The central

question examined is: How do differentials in cultural capital influence the rela-

tionships between universities and black urban communities? The themes inher-

ent in this question are examined in light of the urgency of current urban decay

and the mounting public demand for renewed civility and civic responsibility.

The practice of community outreach by universities to their local commu-

nities has broad social significance in a variety of environments; however, cur-

rent conditions in the African-American inner city demand an immediate re-

sponse. A quote by Allan Freeman captures the essence of this urgency. He

states that equal opportunity is a myth that rationalizes hierarchy, justifies

disproportionate access to goods and power, and shames those at the bottom

into internalizing inadequacy (quoted in Squires, 1994, p. 125). To paraphrase

for the purposes of this essay, the legacy of African-American oppression con-

tributes to the self-fulfilling prophecy which often characterizes high levels of

despair in black inner-city communities. Universities have been aware of and

have attempted to respond to such conditions at least since the 1960s. The

problem according to Bok (1982) is that in a disturbing number of cases,

projects undertaken with high hopes met with failures that actually heightened

local suspicions and frustrations rather than improving relations with the uni-

versity (p. 237). And unless the project brings continuing educational or pro-

fessional rewards to the [university] participants, the risks are great that the

program will not work well or will founder completely. (p. 238). In manyinstances the very nature of the academic culture clashes sharply with elements

that have come to characterize black inner-city culture. Certainly not every

university in an urban area has community outreach as the preeminent portion

of its mission.

The term urban university is an inadequate modifier for those universities


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THE CLASH OF TWO CULTURES 47

that have taken steps to combat urban blight. According to Kerr (1968) the

term urban university has been used in some very strange ways. (p. 5). The

term has been used to identify any university that receives financial support

from the city or any university located in an urban area regardless of its com-

mitment to urban problems. In this paper the term urban university is utilized

for both of these distinctions; however, particular attention is given the latter.

Broad analysis of all of the various types of institutions in urban areas is be-

yond the purview of this paper. There is, however, brief discussion of the low

priority of providing service to their local communities at some urban univer-

sities.

The following two sections of this paper delineate the major social factors

which shape the cultural conflicts between universities and urban environments.Among these factors are public policy issues, economic realities, and the bar-

riers which inhibit higher educations fulfillment of the public service mission.

Finally, there is theoretical analysis of the cultural facets of this intriguing rela-

tionship with special emphasis given to paradigms that utilize aspects of social

reproduction theory (i.e., habitus, cultural capital, and symbolic violence).

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL FACTORS

In the introductory remarks to a historical analysis of the relationship be-

tween universities and cities, Thomas Bender (1988) makes some poignant

comments about the paradoxical nature of the situation:

At times the university in crisis has been rescued by the urban dynamic surroundingit, though at other times urban developments have threatened to undermine the stabil-

ity of the academy. Conversely, the university has at times successfully provided a

focus and a principle of coherence for the cultural life of a city, though at others it

has withdrawn from the city and undermined urban culture. (p. 4).

As can be readily seen in this observation, blame for the recurring tension

between cities and universities cannot be completely attributed to either cultural

entity. Similarly, neither can there be full credit taken for the instances where

there has been successful communion between the two. Just as cities are com-

plex social entities, the structure of universities is equally complex. As a result,

the mere fact of geographic proximity does not necessarily make for amiable

interaction. Max Weber wrote of the nature of social relationships that a rela-

tionship is objectively symmetrical only as, according to the typical expecta-tions of the parties, the meaning for one party is the same as that for the other

(quoted in Heydebrand, 1994, p. 7). The factors that impact the quality of uni-

versity-city relationships are often not viewed similarly or interpreted with the

same degree of reflection. The politicization of many important issues has

fueled tensions in already volatile situations. For example, several public policy


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48 THE URBAN REVIEW

and legal issues have polarized urban residents and higher education institu-

tions.

Many of these issues are closely related to racial tensions. Among these are

affirmative action, welfare reform, and crime legislation. Beneficiaries of affir-

mative action are often seen by the academy as recipients of opportunities

based on racial preferences rather than merit. Similarly, individuals on welfare

are often blamed for the breakdown of the family, female and child poverty, and

many other social ills (Polakow, 1993, pp. 5159). While it is generally agreed

that repeal of affirmative action will seriously curb the prospects for higher

education of African-Americans, recent developments in welfare reform also

make it more difficult for welfare recipients to gain access to college (Schmidt,

1996). Crime legislation has taken on an air of lock em up and throw awaythe key, and as a result, the effect of joblessness on crime in the inner city has

been silenced in the larger political rhetoric. Scholars have recently tried to

address this issue in ways that will contribute to stronger commitments to the

creation of jobs as a means of addressing the crime problem (Currie, 1994;

Wilson, 1996). These scholars argue that solving the problem of joblessness is

the key to problems affecting poor black families in urban areas. Although the

provision of jobs is an important mechanism for decreasing crime, Currie

(1994) cautions legislators and businesses to realize:

that it is not just the fact of having or not having a job that is most important . . . the

more consistent influence is the quality of workits stability, its level of pay, its

capacity to give the workers a sense of dignity and participation, the esteem of peers

and community. In our society these fundamental needs are virtually impossible tosatisfy without a jobbut they are all too often impossible to satisfy with a job, and

nearly impossible in many kinds of jobs available in America today, especially to the

disadvantaged young (p. 426)

Put simply, the creation of jobs alone will not be sufficient to curb the rise in

urban criminal behavior. Wage legislation and labor policies will be significant

factors in addressing the situation. Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich put

it well when he posed the question: Are we condemned to choose between

more jobs but greater inequality and insecurity, as we have in this country, or

better jobs but higher unemployment and a thicker social safety net, as in Eu-

rope? (quoted in Wilson, 1996, p. 207). The complex nature of these social

ills, which are often perceived as black problems, serves in many cases to

alienate the educated elites at higher education institutions from the urban com-munities in which they are located.

Universities cannot avoid addressing these issues in spite of the all too com-

mon belief that universities need not be involved in such affairs. Perhaps the

major economic reality that supports this assertion is the fact that universities

can be and often are the largest employers of urban residents. The position of


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universities as corporate entities and employers has come under attack by some

who have argued that the liberal university operates on the same basic princi-

ples as other capitalist firms and, indeed, is often particularly exploitative be-

cause of the special legal privileges it enjoys as a non-profit corporation. (Wal-

lerstein and Starr, 1971, p. 134). In public universities, where local taxpayers

contribute to the operating fund of the institution, it becomes even more diffi-

cult to reject the notion of civic responsibility to the local community. The

relationship of universities as employers, oddly enough, has contributed to a

great degree to the enclaves of low-income neighborhoods that have developed

around many major universities. In fact, for many generations prior to the de-

segregation of higher education in the United States, blacks worked at univer-

sities in spite of not being allowed to attend them. The following quote illus-trates the commonality of this phenomenon:

I can remember coming through the university when I was 6 or 7 when wed go visit

[my relatives]. We drove through the university [going] and vice-versa coming back.

Coming back on Sunday evenings I remember driving through this big, big, big

school where you saw no blacks [who were students]. The only blacks I ever recall

seeing even walking through the campus were people going home from work.1

As this example illustrates, the cultural realities of urban residents and uni-

versities are partially shaped by historical, economic, and political factors. By

taking the historical connections between universities and cities under consid-

eration, many of the contemporary relationships can be better addressed. It is

impossible to address the tensions inherent in these relationships without trulyunderstanding the developments over time which have contributed to these ten-

sions.

It is arguable that the elements of university-community relations in urban

areas that get the most attention stem from class and racial conflicts. Nichols

(1990) points out that students and faculty often have higher levels of educa-

tional attainment than do local residents. The class differentials are often

enough to cause severe strains on the relationship between a university and

local residents:

Not only do the college students themselves represent a higher level of education, but

the presence of faculty members and professional staff within the community presents

still another striking difference from the norm of the towns residents. The back-

ground and cultures of some faculty members may contrast with those of the towns-people. Faculty members are usually more socially and economically affluent.

Predominantly or historically white universities in predominantly black

neighborhoods have the added burden of dealing with racial conflict that some-

times develops between the university and local residents. One might argue that


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these tensions stem from historical discrimination, cultural differences, and ra-

cial animosity. On the other hand, the relationship between class and racial

conflicts are becoming so convoluted that it is extremely difficult to tell which

came first. Sociologist Gregory Squires poses the following commentary on the

intermingling of class and racial conflict in urban locations:

The dynamics of race and class are integral elements in the uneven development of

cities across regions of the nation as well as within individual metropolitan areas. . . .

The dynamics of class and race remain very difficult to disentangle, but the effect of

both are all too real in urban America. (Squires, 1994, pp. 107109)

The primary focus of the work by Squires from which this quote was taken isthe economic restructuring of American cities. He tells of the simultaneous

existence of the so-called underclass in the bowels of urban America . . . while

glittering office towers, luxury hotels, mega-malls, and entertainment centers

abound in close proximity (Squires, 1994, p. 1). This characteristic display of

the extreme economic gap between capitalist elites and urban poor is likewise

reflected in the cultural differences between academic elites and urban resi-

dents. It is rather tragic that such disparities continue not only to exist but to

thrive in American cities.

The last, but not least important, source of conflict we will examine stems

from the encroachment of universities on local urban space. Many universities

in urban areas, especially public institutions, have caused much resentment in

local communities by expanding their campuses either without the blessing or

against the will of local residents. This type of behavior often causes displace-

ment of residents and the loss of residential facilities. In other words, the physi-

cal well-being of these individuals and their ownership of community space are

undermined. Berube (1978) convincingly argues that federal urban-renewal pol-

icies were partially to blame for problems between neighboring communities

and urban universities undergoing physical expansion. The current trends of

the federal government in the areas of housing and urban development are

considerably more sensitive to urban conditions and universities roles in them.

In fact, there are several programs sponsored by the Department of Housing

and Urban Development that are designed to foster partnerships between uni-

versities and urban communities. There is an Office of University Partnerships

which sponsors a community development work study program, doctoral disser-

tation grants, and a community outreach partnership centers program. Theseprograms highlight the complex issues that impact the relationships between

universities and urban communities and how they are shaped by political and

legal factors. These issues are simultaneously played out in social and cultural

arenas. Many of the issues involved have not yet been theoretically examined,

and as a result the literature on these issues is somewhat anecdotal. This fact


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limits the degree to which the literature is useful to policymakers in addressing

ways to change the structural elements that perpetuate these conflicts.

PUBLIC AND COMMUNITY SERVICE INHIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTIONS

Important books by Bok (1982) and Kerr (1995) have been among the most

often cited sources on the various uses and responsibilities of universities

as they relate to the general mission of higher education in the United States.

Some scholars have accused Kerr of glorifying an institution that was a social

service station responding to effective or market demand rather than to real

human and social needs (Kerr, 1995, pp. viiix). His treatise on the uses ofthe research university has been one of the most often quoted sources in the

literature which attempts to examine the role that universities play in urban life.

It should be noted, however, that Kerr claims that there are certain attempts at

reform that have failed. Among these is the fundamental change that would

have reconstituted the university into a direct agent of social reform (Kerr,

1995, p. 129). He claims that efforts by the federal government to force univer-

sities to take the lead in societal change have been thwarted by faculty conser-

vatism and institutional autonomy. Despite external functions of the larger pol-

ity and populace, the university is very slow to change. If community service

and social revolution are not directly related to institutional mission, outside

pressures have little impact on change. Indeed the modern American university

is resilient to attack and not very subject to fundamental change. The followingquote articulates this resilience:

How protected the university is, surrounded by so many other types of institutions of

higher education that shield it from overwhelming numbers of students and from

educational duties not compatible with its central functions. (Kerr, 1995, p. 138)

Bok (1982) claims that the sharpest conflicts have come when activists

have urged the institution to respond in a collective fashion to social needs and

problems that are not of its own making (p. 301). He lists poverty and other

forms of social injustice as examples of such problems. He later discusses the

incompatibility between the traditional values of universities and the pressing

social conditions:

The issue facing the university, then, is not whether it should trouble itself with the

social concerns of its students but how it can respond in ways that support their

generous instincts while fully respecting the academic values and legitimate interests

of the institution. (Bok, 1982, p. 309)


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52 THE URBAN REVIEW

The recent surge in scholarship on university external relations attests to the

importance of understanding the conflicts between the traditional university

missions and the demands for urban institutions to address the social problems

in their local communities. In the late 1960s, Kerr (1968) proposed a model for

what he called an urban-grant university. This model would incorporate an

aggressive approach to the problems of the city, where the city itself and its

problems would become the animating focus of the university (p. 6). Had this

variation on the successful model of the land-grant university been taken seri-

ously and implemented, perhaps many of the nations urban ills and university-

community problems could have been avoided. There have been recent at-

tempts by the federal legislature to provide for concepts that borrow heavily

from Kerrs vision. However, no official policy has been adopted which isnearly comparable in size or scope to the federal financial aid which gave rise

to land-grant universities.

The opening section of the Spring 1994 issue of Teachers College Record

was entitled Reinventing the American University. The articles reprinted

there were initially presented at the Center for Community Partnerships at the

University of Pennsylvania. Each of the authors explored ways of reinventing

the nations universities that would be helpful to urban environments. They all

believed that this process would have to incorporate the research and teaching

functions of the university. In this manner, the traditional mission of the univer-

sity would be preserved. David Adamany, former president of Wayne State

University, argues that the principal barrier to universities becoming more ac-

tive in cities and urban affairs has been intellectual. He writes:

A well-developed concept of how our traditional missions and an active role in our

urban communities are compatibleand the limits of that compatibilityshould be a

starting point for expanded university commitment and activity in urban schools as

well as in other aspects of urban life. (Adamany, 1994, p. 325)

The point made here is one that has been debated rigorously. The argument

that commitment to community service in any university stems from the mis-

sion of the institution, whether it is urban or not, is compelling. Since at least

the second half of the 19th century, the mission of the American university has

had three facets: research, teaching, and public service. Crosson (1983) stated

that while all types of institutions are engaged in community service, for some

the activity is distinctly peripheral to their more fundamental missions of teach-ing and research (p. 28). As a result of this fact community colleges have

shouldered most of the burdens of providing direct service to the community.

Partially because of community colleges outreach and their direct service to

local communities, universities have been absolved of taking the lead in provid-

ing service to their communities. There are, however, some universities in


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urban areas that have taken community service very seriously. In fact, metro-

politan universities such as George Mason University, Northern Arizona Uni-

versity, and the University of Maryland Baltimore County have developed the

role of outreach to their local communities as an integral part of their mission

rather than following introspective practices of more traditional universities

(Gilley, 1990). These universities have developed their policies and practices

around their commitment to the following credo:

Bonding with the community is a critical benchmark for an evolving interactive uni-

versity. Though some institutions can move forward on their own with only tacit

community support, something special happens when a regional university becomes

bonded to its community through a shared experience. (Gilley, 1990, p. 34)

This type of approach is a definite departure from the autonomous and self-

interested approach to university structure that was criticized by Kerr in his

analysis of the research university. Ultimately, what students of community ser-

vice and outreach in universities should understand is that the fundamental mis-

sion of the university is the factor which determines the level of commitment.

The problem that the conflict between university mission and community needs

presents is that different cultural ideals tend to undermine opportunities for

some universities in urban areas to help alleviate social ills. In effect, some

urban communities will have the benefit of public service from their local uni-

versities while others will not, depending upon institutional missions and cul-

tural dispositions.

Although the problems in Americas inner cities are numerous (e.g., poverty,

crime, unemployment, poor housing) there are a number of ways urban univer-

sities can assist their neighboring communities. Despite the barriers and chal-

lenges presented in this paper there are successful outreach and service initia-

tives being implemented in many U.S. cities. The Department of Housing and

Urban Development (HUD) has instituted an Office of University Partnerships.

The office encourages colleges and universities to expand and transform their

roles in their communities (Stegman, 1996, p. i). Through this division, HUD

has documented and catalogued numerous examples of successful university-

community programs and initiatives. These programs are presented annually in

a publication entitled University-Community Partnerships: Current Practices.

This department and other federal programs such as Title XI of the Higher

Education Act, known as the Urban Community Service Program, provide fi-nancial and informational resources which can be integral to solving the prob-

lems discussed in this paper.

The initiatives that are most successful tend to be those that universities see

as compatible with their traditional missions of research and teaching. There-

fore, many of HUDs funded programs include applied research, service learn-


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54 THE URBAN REVIEW

ing, and faculty involvement projects. However, the types of programs that will

have the most impact on black urban communities are those residents can

clearly recognize as beneficial to the challenges they face. Examples of applied

research which directly impacted communities cited in a recent HUD publica-

tion include community safety and substance abuse prevention programs, eco-

nomic development, and housing discrimination initiatives. Each of these pro-

grams had direct relevance to black urban communities. Service learning

initiatives funded by HUD include literacy support programs for at-risk children

and a tutoring program conducted in conjunction with a public housing author-

ity. Faculty projects which directly impacted inner-city conditions include an

adopt-a-school program where faculty volunteers tutored children and a tech-

nical assistance program in which faculty employed their research and writingskills to assist a housing division to develop proposals, design standards, and

review applications for state and federal funding. These are just a few examples

of what universities can do. However, before any meaningful interactions can

occur there will need to be some understanding of the cultural factors that often

inhibit such relationships. If this phenomenon is understood in terms of the

power dynamics at play, urban residents may be empowered to explore the

many resources available at universities on their own without fear of rejection

and alienation. Therefore, the next section focuses on the socially constructed

aspects of universities and black inner-city communities. I attempt to explain

some of the ways in which these constructs result in very different cultural and

social realities.

THEORETICAL ANALYSIS

The aim of this section is to construct a theoretical model for examining

aspects of the cultural phenomena native to universities and black urban com-

munities. The proposed theoretical model consists of one major premise and

two minor premises. Each premise is presented in the form of a theoretical

assertion. Each of the assertions employed here is an appropriation of argu-

ments made by social theorists who have explored theoretical dimensions of

socialization, social/cultural reproduction, and power dynamics as they relate to

education (Bernstein, 1996; Bourdieu, 1990; Bourdieu and Wacquant, 1992;

Haymes, 1995). The assertions proposed were developed from specific asser-

tions presented by these scholars. Each portion of the proposed framework uti-

lizes a distinct cultural context of the relationships between universities andblack urban communities. These contexts are meant to articulate the conceptual

aspects of the proposed framework.

The broader theoretical premise is derived from Pierre Bourdieus theories

on the educational system and social reproduction. The contention is that the

education system is a major distributor of cultural capital. The more narrow


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theoretical premises are developed from two distinct analyses of power rela-

tions inherent in the cultural contexts associated with social and physical space.

Portions of discussions offered by Bernstein (1996) and Haymes (1995) were

useful in developing this aspect of the analysis.

Critical Analysis of Major Theoretical Premise

In order to present a viable framework for examining the social and cultural

relationship between universities and black urban communities the present anal-

ysis has been limited to three cultural contexts. The overarching cultural con-

text is representative of the actual (university-community) relationship. The re-maining two contexts are derived from specific aspects of this relationship,

namely, the constructs of social and physical space.

Aspects of Bourdieus social reproduction theories have been used to exam-

ine the perpetuation of educational and social inequality (Brint and Karabel,

1989; MacLeod, 1995). Paraphrasing Bourdieu, MacLeod (1995) states that by

embodying class interests and ideologies, schools reward the cultural capital of

the dominant classes and systematically devalue that of the lower classes (p.

13). In this analysis, the schools in question are universities located in close

proximity to black urban communities. The primary critique of this relationship

is that by their very sociohistorical nature (habitus), universities contribute to

the perpetuation of nearby urban conditions. In other words, urban universities

can, but often do not, use their resources to improve the conditions of their

local communities. When this happens, in light of Bourdieu, these same univer-

sities are part of the problem rather than solutions to urban problems. Univer-

sities are part of this process because they reproduce social inequality, but by

dealing in the currency of academic credentials, the educational system legiti-

mates the entire process (MacLeod, 1995, p. 14). Viewing Bourdieus theories

in this manner provides a useful framework for explaining why and how urban

universities should assume partial responsibility for alleviating the problems

and conditions of their local black communities. Bourdieus theories are viable

in this context; however, it would require a much more comprehensive analysis

than is possible here to fully examine his ideas. Such an analysis would include

aspects of organizational theory to help explain the factors that impact the

structure and operation of universities. It should also be noted that the construct

of cultural capital in complex organizations such as urban residential commu-nities and multifaceted universities has some inherent weaknesses. The major

weakness is that there are various different types of cultural capital within these

organizations. Concomitant with this reality is the existence of numerous

models of university and residential structures. In spite of these theoretical

shortcomings, social reproduction theory does provide a useful framework for


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initial analysis of the low levels of mutually beneficial interactions between

universities and black urban communities.

It is important to give some basic explanation of the terms used in this

analysis. According to Bourdieu and Wacquant (1992) habitus is the strategy-

generating principle enabling agents to cope with unforeseen and ever-changing

situations . . . a system of lasting and transportable dispositions which, integrat-

ing past experiences, functions at every moment as a matrix of perceptions,

appreciations and actions and makes possible the achievement of infinitely di-

versified tasks (p. 18). When viewed as such, one sees the university resilience

that results from the habitus of higher education. In addition, the U. S. system

of higher education institutions embodies the four characteristics which make

up the Bordeiuian concept of habitus: They are a product of history, they have asystem of dispositions, they are socially constructed, and they represent an open

system. The fact that various segments of the American social and political

landscape have changed while the basic structure of American universities has

remained largely unchanged also supports Bourdieus notion of habitus.

The sociological notion of symbolic violence is the violence which is exer-

cised upon a social agent with his or her complicity (Bourdieu and Wacquant,

1992, p. 18). In other words, symbolic violence is domination that occurs as a

result of imposed definitions of reality that are both presented and received as

fact. The notion of symbolic violence is therefore useful as a theoretical tool for

describing the absence of significant challenges to or criticism of basic ele-

ments of the American higher education system. The following section ad-

dresses this conceptualization of Bourdieus theories and seeks to operationalize

these concepts as they relate to urban universityblack community relations.

Major Premise: Bourdieus Reproduction Theory

The players in the phenomenon under consideration here are universities and

urban communities. Accordingly the cultural context is the relationship between

these two entities. The major theoretical assertion that I suggest is as follows:

The habitus of higher education inflicts symbolic violence on individual universities

(by defining the traditional university missions and values), and universities in turn

inflict symbolic violence on society by either contributing to urban social reproduc-

tion (restricted access to and limited distribution of dominant cultural capital) or

refusing to help alleviate urban problems (placing little value on public service and

civic responsibilities of universities).

Bourdieu would support this notion by way of his assessment of the power

relations between groups and classes of people. In this case these would be

academic elites and urban poor. Bourdieu (1990) makes the following assertion

in Reproduction in Education, Society, and Culture:


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Pedagogic Action is objectively, symbolic violence first insofar as the power relations

between the groups or classes making up a social formation are the basis of the

arbitrary power which is the precondition for the establishment of a relation of ped-

agogic communication, i.e., for the imposition and inculcation of a cultural arbitrary

by an arbitrary mode of imposition and inculcation (education). (p. 6)

This theoretical assertion is useful in explaining how academic institutions in

general and universities in particular enable the perpetuation of urban minority

conditions rather than alleviating them. Such an assertion alone presents only

the negative view of the array of factors involved. However, there are scores of

instances in which the most valued educational institutions have failed to im-

prove the plight of the disadvantaged. A number of literary and scholarly writ-ings have explored and highlighted this phenomenon. Brief discussion of two

acclaimed books serves to vividly illustrate the point. The first is a sociological

study, and the second is a biography. Each book has significant implications for

education and social policy. The first is a book published in 1972 by Murray

Milner entitled The Illusion of Equality, which is a well-developed analysis of

the failure of increased educational opportunity to affect social class structure.

In that particular study Murray argues that class inequalities are the real culprits

of social reproduction. If this is true, then regardless of increased racial equality

urban blacks will continue to suffer from inequality because they are more

likely to be of lower classes than whites. This seems at least partially true when

one looks at the fact that black urban neighborhoods continue to be low-income

while the majority of students attending prestigious universities, both black and

white, are often from middle-class families.

Another book, which offers a different perspective, is Best Intentions: The

Education and Killing of Edmund Perry (1987) by Robert S. Anson. The book

details the life of a young man named Edmund Perry. This young man was a

student at Phillips Exeter Academy, studied in Spain for a year, and just hap-

pened to be a poor urban black male. The story ends with this brilliant young

student lying dead on the street with a bullet from a police officers gun in his

abdomen. The central theme of the story is that individuals experience great

social difficulty and cognitive dissonance when attempting to take advantage of

the traditional means of upward social mobility (namely, elite educational insti-

tutions) when they are part of different racial, cultural or class groupings. Thus,

it remains difficult for urban minorities and university decision makers to feel

that outreach efforts will make a difference in the conditions of the inner city.Some will argue that in spite of efforts to provide outreach and accessibility to

urban residents there will still be situations similar to the Edmund Perry story.

When the traditional habitus of higher education is coupled with realities like

those pointed out by Murray and Anson the likelihood of breaking the cycle

seems extremely unlikely.


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58 THE URBAN REVIEW

The symbolic violence that we witness in these sociological instances is a

combination of factors that create the habitus of higher education. Bourdieu

(1977) has pointed out that

the educational system reproduces all the more perfectly the structure of the distribu-

tion of cultural capital among classes in that the culture which it transmits is closer to

the dominant culture and that the mode of inculcation to which it has recourse is less

removed from the mode of inculcation practiced by the family. (p. 493)

This suggests that Murrays illusion of equality, Edmund Perrys failure to

survive, and the unwillingness of universities to adjust their practices to serve

urban society are manifestations of power issues that stem either directly orindirectly from cultural factors.

Critical Analysis of Minor Theoretical Premises

As previously stated power rests in the hands of those who are part of the

dominant culture and the education system ultimately serves to perpetuate the

dominant culture which has created it. Power always has empirical or institu-

tional manifestations, and the scenarios presented by Milner and Anson are two

concrete examples. The paradoxical nature of the close geographic proximity

yet culturally distant coexistence of the academy and the black ghetto prompts

the need for examining the dynamics of urban social and physical space. Hence,

two minor theoretical premises are offered here to illustrate aspects of the rele-

vant power dynamics which come into play. Both of these premises were devel-

oped utilizing power theory assertions made by the social theorists Basil Bern-

stein and Stephen Haymes. Each of the assertions was discovered within

scholarly books that discuss theoretical concepts relevant to the present study.

The premise on social space is derived from Bernsteins recent work on pedag-

ogy, symbolic control, and identity (Bernstein, 1996). The premise used to ex-

amine urban physical space is an outgrowth of Haymess explanation of the

meaning of urban public space as outlined in his theoretical pedagogy for black

urban struggle (Haymes, 1995).

For many years Basil Bernstein has been at the forefront of sociological

analysis of cultural reproduction and the transmission of knowledge. Perhaps

his most important contribution is his theory of language codification and its

relationship to social class (Bernstein, 1975, 1977). Language barriers and diffi-culties which stem from cultural diversity must certainly be considered among

the factors which might be at play when upper-class university elites come into

contact with lower-class urban residents. Again, this particular aspect of the

relationship is too complex to be exhausted in this study. However, Bernsteins

analysis of socially constructed boundaries helps to explain why universities are


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able to create and sustain appreciable social distance even in the face of close

physical proximity.

At this juncture Haymess assertions regarding power become useful. In

Race, Culture and the City, Haymes (1995) provides considerable explanations

of how dominant cultural groups are able to define how urban physical space is

utilized and how it is viewed. He makes significant use of social, cultural, and

historical aspects of critical theory to forge an explanation of the negative and

exotic perceptions of black urban communities. His multidisciplinary approach

to theorizing about the intersections of race, class, and power is arguably one of

the more successful attempts at operationalizing and articulating these factors,

which heretofore have been excessively esoteric.

Bernstein and Haymes have both theoretically explored the factors whichcontribute to the initiation and perpetuation of various oppressive conditions.

The fact that their work is highly theoretical may be seen by some as a weak-

ness for addressing the conditions of urban communities with university re-

sources. However, since this particular subject has not been given serious theo-

retical or empirical consideration in the literature, the need for such conceptual

modeling is quite appropriate. The goal has been to expand upon theoretical

assertions by scholars concerned with explaining social inequality and to apply

these theories to a particular cultural phenomenon. Therefore, the social and

cultural isolation of black urban residents from the educational, cultural, and

social capital of local universities is given a theoretical framework that can be

used to create empirical studies and practical programs for improving the rela-

tionship. The following two sections serve to illustrate the feasibility of using

Bernsteins and Haymess power theory assertions as theoretical frameworks.

Minor Premise 1: Bernsteins Power Assertion

The first minor theoretical premise to be examined takes into consideration

the issues that are related to social space as a cultural context from which to

examine university-community relations. The major assertion is that power cre-

ates social boundaries that are based on culture group relations between catego-

ries. In other words there are artificial barriers or invisible walls which im-

pact the degree of interaction between different categories of groups. These

barriers can be attributed to power relations of the different groups. Bernstein

(1996) offers the following explanation of this asserertion:

Power relations . . . create boundaries, legitimize boundaries, reproduce boundaries,

between different categories of groups, gender, class, race, different categories of

discourse, different categories of agents. Thus, power always operates to produce

dislocations, to produce punctuations in social space. (p. 19)


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60 THE URBAN REVIEW

What this means is simply that power in cultural relationships can construct

boundaries between categories of social groups. In this case, the powers that be

(university administrators, admissions officers, campus police, alumni, faculty

etc.) at universities are often the reason that there is little or no outreach into

urban communities. Conversely leaders in black urban communities themselves

may be responsible for discouraging the involvement of community members

with local universities because of past conflicts. In a field interview a retired

black educator and community leader made the following comment about the

university where he was formerly employed. His opinions characterize the uni-

versity as one with little regard for blacks, especially the poor or those often

described as the urban underclass:

This university was not set up to serve poor people; it had no intentions of serving

poor people. And since we were segregated, Blacks had nothing to do with the uni-

versity but to work there. The university has not lost that mentality, and it will be

there for a while. This is something that is a tradition. And it is something that has

been instilled in the people who are there and those who come to school there. 2

While segregation is no longer a legal reality, the cultural differences that con-

tinue to exist between this particular university community and black urban

residents are still a factor. Members of university communities (i.e., affluent,

academically inclined faculty and students) have cultural experiences (i.e., aca-

demic degrees, institutional prestige, and research) that contrast sharply with

residents of urban communities (i.e., lower-income blue-collar workers, street

gangs, and the homeless) and those elements that are often identified with in-

ner-city life and culture (crime, poverty, drug culture). These alternative forms

of cultural capital (or lack thereof) are created as a result of blocked access to

the dominant cultural capital. In a poignant essay entitled The Crisis in Black

America West (1993) gave some analysis of how the shutting out of blacks

from access to traditional or socially acceptable means of acquiring capital has

forced many blacks into creating new ways of obtaining the dominant cultural

capital. In the process black youngsters ultimately end up idolizing material

forms of cultural capital to the detriment of their own culture and communities.

In that essay West says:

Advertising is the major force behind American culture. It is a culture of consump-

tion that promotes an addiction to stimulation so that those stimulated [will] consume.

Consumerism and compulsive spending is [sic] at the center of the culture. It creates

one of the most vicious constructs known to humankind. It is called market morality

or market mentality. And it has thoroughly penetrated the black community to such a

degree that the buying and selling of commodities are such that human life means

little. It is nothing but a market mentality and a market morality, and it mirrors the


17/22


larger market morality and mentality of this society. . . . And what it has produced is

the decomposition of black civil society. (pp. 212213)

In essence, negative and self-destructive behavior occurs as a result of the

alienation of urban populations from the larger society and the social and cul-

tural capital that accompanies it. In other words, the metaphoric structuring of

social space that results in various stratifications, distributions, and locations

has a severely negative impact on poor urban residents. In essence, black urban

communities are socially isolated and void of the cultural and social capital

necessary for access to the mainstream (Bourdieu, 1986; Wacquant and Wilson,

1993).

Minor Premise 2: Haymes Power Assertion

Finally we come to the discussion of actual physical urban space as cultural

context. Social construction of the city determines the meanings of urban public

space which in turn defines the cultural terrain of marginalized groups. Stephen

Haymes (1995) in his ground-breaking interdisciplinary study of black urban

culture states:

The social geography of urban space is characterized by public spaces in the city that

are positioned unequally in relation to one another with respect to power. . . . In

particular, if power is linked to the production of urban meaning, then those public

spaces located at the center of city life dominate its meaning, and in so doing define

the cultural and political terrain in which marginalized public spaces resist, form

alternative identities and make culture in the city. (p. 113)

In that statement Haymes succinctly presents the argument that elite cultural

groups dominate the meaning of urban public space. As a result, racial or class

groups that have been isolated use the physical and social spaces imposed on

them as a means of creating cultural strategies for coping and surviving. There-

fore, new forms of cultural capital are created which often only have legit-

imacy, value or acceptance within the particular group. An example of this

might be the creation of hip-hop music that for years was only seen as valuable

within the urban communitythat is, until entrepreneurs from the record in-

dustry began to see the economic value in marketing and distributing this urban

cultural expression. The same could be said of the early days of jazz music. The

dormant nature of these cultural creations only lasts for as long as their actuallocation remains in the physically isolated urban areas. David Harvey says that

what determines a business investment of capital in building an urban infra-

structure is whether or not the spatial arrangement of its built environment is

appropriate for the location of particular kinds of activity (quoted in Haymes,

1995, p. 75). Just as a corporation must retrieve monetary benefits from invest-


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62 THE URBAN REVIEW

ing in the city, so must universities benefit from their outreach endeavors in

order to justify such efforts.

Public Call for Increased Civility and Civic Responsibility

Just exactly where and how does all of this relate to the national resurgence

of commitment to civility? First and foremost, there seems to be a degree of

debate on the part of those within the halls of academe to examine the issue of

civility and public service. DeMott (1996) says that there is an attempt to

connectsomehow, anyhowthe upsurge of political nastiness with dwindling

enrollment in service groups (p. 12). He goes further to say that much of the

leader-class discussion (presumably this includes those in academe) these daysfocuses on the question Why has civility declined? He says that those who

ask this question always analyze others, never themselves. If this is true, then it

is a bit easier to understand how there can be such a public call for a return to

civility while many universities continue to be negligent in their outreach or

civility to urban communities. There appears to be a degree of hypocrisy in this

scenario. DeMott (1996) captured the essence of this hypocrisy when he said:

Sanitizing and miniaturizing the worst of the past and present, this themethe lan-

guage of civility and incivility as a wholesweeps away human meaning from slav-

ery, the civil rights struggle, one episode after another of murderous cruelty and

greed. It has similar effect on differences of opportunity and education: drains them

of meaning, persuades the privileged that insulting the weak keeps up standards,

encourages those who surmount disadvantage to forget that they didnt rise un-aided, hence owe others help, not insult. (p. 18)

He presents a convincing argument that old myths of classlessness are

strongly related to new myths regarding civility. In other words, the talk of

civility promotion is a mask for the absence of real commitment by members of

the leader class. This is precisely how and why universities and other institu-

tions that promote high democratic ideals are able to avoid the direct blows of

criticism. The new degree of incivility can be characterized as a flat-out rejec-

tion of leader-class claims to respect. These tricky and complex social dis-

courses are the contemporary embodiment of what Foucault meant when he

said:

The intellectual is not the bearer of universal values. Rather, its the person occupy-ing a specific positionbut whose specificity is linked, in a society like ours to the

general functioning of an apparatus of truth. (quoted in Gordon, 1980, p. 132)

As DeMott (1996) reminds us, They who define the issues win the debate (p.

16). As a result, those who are currently in the academy, which is a position


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linked to the apparatus of truth, are able to skirt the issue of commitment to

the overall welfare of all citizens. This all becomes a rather sad commentary on

the nature of the political issues with which scholars are engaging themselves

today. The crisis is that there are not very many revolutionary scholars in uni-

versities today who are willing to forge the types of paradigms that will change

the face of urban America. Although there are a number of black scholars who

write and speak up for those who lack a voice in the larger political and social

discourse, it appears that there are no extraordinary response systems that

have the power to seriously challenge the authority of traditional academic cul-

ture.

CONCLUSION

The complex issues that continue to shape African-American urban commu-

nities are not likely to disappear anytime soon. Nor are the masses of univer-

sities likely to change their missions to make addressing the pressing needs of

urban communities a top priority. But as noted by Cisneros (1996), among the

tasks of universities at the close of this century will be that of helping to

reshape the city to become once again the driving force in the economic, social

and cultural life of this Nation (p. 20). Accordingly there will have to be some

adjustment of the culture of higher education if this is to become a reality. It

remains to be seen whether or not this will occur. One can only watch and hope

that the public service function of higher education can gain some leverage and

momentum. If it does, then perhaps the racial, class, and cultural animosities

that are a part of Americas cities will subside. If it does not, then the American

system of higher education will have failed to live up to the high ideals set for

it by one of the nations earliest proponents of university education, when he

spoke of education and the future of humankind:

Education . . . grafts a new man on the native stock, and improves what in his nature

was vicious and perverse into qualities of virtue and social worth. And it cannot be

but that each generation succeeding to the knowledge acquired by all those who

preceded it, adding to it their own acquisitions and discoveries, and handing the mass

down for successive constant accumulation, must advance the knowledge and well-

being of mankind.3

As the new millennium begins, perhaps the next generation of academic leaders

will take bold steps to ensure that the nations universities aspire to fulfill this

ideal for all of Americas citizens. Hopefully, not the least among those citizens

will be the nations black urban residents.


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64 THE URBAN REVIEW

Acknowledgments. The author would like to thank Jennings L. Wagoner, Jr., for com-menting on an earlier draft of this article and Eric Bredo for suggestions regarding themanuscript submission process.

NOTES

1. This quote is from a field interview with an African-American administrator employed at a

predominantly white university located near her childhood neighborhood.

2. The respondent was a retired administrator who headed desegregation efforts in a southern city

near a major university prior to assuming a position as an assistant dean at the institution.

3. This quote is from an unpublished collection of quotations by Thomas Jefferson on public

education compiled by University of Virginia professor of education Jennings L. Wagoner, Jr.

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