Impact and Legacy
Dr. Francine Childs was an educator for emancipation. Her formative years in the American South sharpened in her the understanding of the liberatory power of education—it was emancipatory power.
She completed her entire education—primary, secondary, undergraduate, and graduate programs in institutions dedicated to making education accessible to Black people and to nurturing their sense of service. She brought a paradigm to Athens and to Ohio University, and it was transformative.
When Dr. Childs came to Ohio University in 1974, she brought an interdisciplinary perspective. Her undergraduate degree was in biology. Her grandmother, Clara Frazier, known affectionately as “Mama Clara,” was the daughter of Professor R. T. James. Mama Clara was a member of the “Heroines of Jericho” and was “instrumental in helping to get the first two-room red brick Booker T. Washington School” built in 1930. Her personal praxis was shaped by a family tradition of educational service and developed in Black educational structures in the southern United States during the early post-War War II decades. Her praxis was further informed by ideas and tactics in important streams of American thought, including the Black Studies movement.
A View For The Future
In the 2012 interview with Winsome Chunnu-Bryda and Travis Boyce, Dr. Childs reflected on her vision for the future of Black Studies, offering the following insights: - Afro-American studies programs have made significant contributions to the educational community in the past and will continue to enrich the academic, and wider social life of Afro-Americans as well as other Americans, and the world.
- It is the role of progressive forces among the university. Black faculty members and students join forces in keeping a vital dimension of the university community functioning.
- Black studies departments must be comprehensive in scope. They must be academically sound. These departments must continue to wage the struggle against racism and oppression.
- They must engage in far-reaching research. They must assess students’ needs, re-evaluate their programs, revise and upgrade the curriculum and serve as a vehicle for social change.
- With the current focus on science and technology and new strategies for survival, people will have to acquire new skills to make transitions from obsolete to new positions, to seek advanced degrees, to continue learning after a stoppage period to enter the world of work. But more than anything, people will begin to seek knowledge for knowledge’s sake, or to acquire skills in an area of interest after retirement.
- Black studies programs must develop community-oriented workshops and seminars in educational development, gerontology, and environmental and consumer protection. Lifelong learning and community service must become the ultimate mission of Black studies programs, as of all true education.
On Continuity
Despite its vicissitudes, the Black Studies project remains present at Ohio University and the Black presence endures."Dr. Francine Childs is Professor Emerita in the Department of African American Studies at OHIO where she has served in various capacities, including but not limited to curriculum chair (1974-1996), director of summer programs (1975-1978) and department chairperson (1984-1989). This award is named in her honor to recognize and celebrate her significant contributions to the university, her leadership in academia and her role as a change catalyst in the lives of OHIO students." (Dr. Francine Childs Diversity Leadership Award)
"This award represents the most prestigious diversity honor bestowed upon an OHIO student. The award is open to all students, and recipients will be individuals who promote the principles of social justice, leadership, cultural diversity and service to the campus and/or region."
"This award represents the most prestigious diversity honor bestowed upon an OHIO student. The award is open to all students, and recipients will be individuals who promote the principles of social justice, leadership, cultural diversity and service to the campus and/or region."
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This page references:
- Francine Childs presents the Francine Childs Diversity Leadership Award to Diarra Ndiaye at the 34th Annual Leadership Awards Gala, 2017
- Francine Childs thanks attendees at Community & Campus Day event held in her honor, 2002
- Black Alumni Reunion, 2022
- Francine Childs Appreciation Dinner program, June 4, 1977