Professional Agricultural Workers Journal

Article Title

Community-University Partnerships for Change in the Black Belt South

Authors

Rosalind HarrisFollow

Abstract

This article explores issues related to community-university partnerships by examining

the unfolding of the Black Belt Initiative, a 21^st century mobilization within the Black Belt South to establish a Black Belt Regional Commission. The Black Belt Initiative provides an instructive and compelling case study. For instance, the very nature of the Black Belt Initiative’s beginnings through the provision of a grant by Senator Zell Miller of Georgia to the University of Georgia with the proviso that “poverty – not race be the guiding principle…” heightened the tension between historically black and white universities reflecting longstanding contestations around how problems within the Black Belt should be framed and addressed. Consequently, these contestations resulted in very different ideas for the governance structures that would guide the definition of policies and practices for a Black Belt Regional Commission.

Recommended Citation

Harris, Rosalind (2013) "Community-University Partnerships for Change in the Black Belt South," Professional Agricultural Workers Journal: Vol. 1: No. 1, 4.
Available at: https://tuspubs.tuskegee.edu/pawj/vol1/iss1/4