“Sly Civility,” A Reagan-appointed radical educator’s heroic effort to save the system from itself

Scheer Intelligence

Those seeking systemic change often aim to radically overhaul the existing structure and directly challenge the rot they see within. Although history has shown this to be successful at times, it is usually extinguished by the powers that be and perhaps more pragmatic approaches could have brought about the sought change. This is the story told by Dr. Donna J. Nicol, an author and academic, about Dr. Claudia Hampton and her journey to preserve affirmative action. Nicol joins Scheer Intelligence host Robert Scheer to discuss her new book, “Black Woman on Board: Claudia Hampton, the California State University, and the Fight to Save Affirmative Action.”

Nicol sets the scene for her protagonist, introducing the time period in which Black radicalism is at a particular high following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. According to Nicol, Hampton chooses an approach that relies on the tedious path of making inroads with those in power. “[Hampton’s] working in the system not as a Black radical, but as someone who chooses a different way of operating, of a different way of leading, which I refer to in the book as ‘sly civility,’” Nicol tells Scheer.

Self-awareness led her down this path, Nicol said. “She understands that her race and her gender are things that can be held against her.”

The radicalism is still relevant, however, and Nicol describes how a person like Hampton is able to render that spirit into meaningful legislation. “We need that agitation on the outside, but we need somebody on the inside to translate this into policy, to translate this into resources for the community,” Nicol said.

Without Hampton, affirmative action wouldn’t have looked the way it ended up. Nicol tells Scheer about Hampton’s time on the California State University board of trustees from 1974 to 1994, including how “during her 20 years on the board, you see the highest increase of students of color, of faculty of color, and those numbers have not been replicated since then.”