ABSTRACT
The Black Power Generation struggled with remaining in “The System” (while “waitin for the Revolution to come”). Many were ambivalent about working with “essentially white organizations,” such as (in my case) the Conference on College Composition and Communication, aka “4 C’s.” Stalwarts of The Struggle (my Elders) put forth convincing arguments that persuaded me to accept appointment to and work with the 4 C’s Committee on the Language Statement. Our Committee produced the policy and publication, Students’ Right to Their Own Language (SRTOL), which was approved by the membership in 1974 and has been the official language policy of the organization since then. The SRTOL has had an impact on other disciplines and fields throughout the Academy. This chapter concludes with the story of my arrest in Cincinnati for confronting racism in a local restaurant. The police mistakenly identified me as Angela Davis, resulting in my spending three days in Cincinnati police lock-up. I missed the entire 4 C’s Convention.
