TALK OF GREENWOOD
Dr. Jerry Goodwin
Dr. Nathan Hare, born in Slick, Okla., was a leading voice in Black Studies and co-founder of The Black Think Tank and the scholarly periodical, The Black Scholar: A Journal of Black Studies and Research in 1969. Photo, Provided.
Former Oklahoman Dr. Nathan Hare passed away at the age of 91 on June 10. He was preceded in death by his notable wife, Dr. Julia Hare, a Tulsa native.
The Hares were prominent voices in the Black Studies discipline. Recognized as founder of the discipline, Nathan was a co-founder of the Black Think Tank with Julia, and he was a co-founder with other distinguished academicians of the leading interdisciplinary journal, The Black Scholar: A Journal of Black Studies and Research.
Hare was born in Slick, Okla., in 1933. Both Julia and he were graduates of Langston University, where they met. After receiving his bachelor’s degree in sociology, he continued his education at the University of Chicago, receiving a master’s degree in 1957 and a doctorate in 1962 in sociology.
He would later receive an additional doctoral degree in psychology from the California School of Professional Psychology in 1975.
Over the course of his career, he taught at Howard University and San Francisco State College (now San Francisco State University). Introducing a nascent concept of academia, Hare organized the first Black Studies program at the college.
His initiatives did not come without controversy and conflict for him professionally. At both higher education institutions, Hare faced resistance. At Howard, Dr. James M. Nabrit Jr., then-university president, proposed to increase white student enrollment at the historically Black university. Because of Hare’s public objections to the president’s policy, he was fired from his faculty position.
He shortly thereafter joined San Francisco State College. Initially, the college offered courses in minority studies. With widespread support among students and faculty, culminating in a strike at the college, Hare was able to form a School of Ethnic and Black Studies. Unfortunately, the university president, Dr. S. I. Hayakawa, did not renew Hare’s contract at the end of the fiscal year.
After his post-secondary education career ended, Hare founded Black Scholar in 1969. The publication became a major source for Black essays and analysis. A decade later, the Hares would form the Black Think Tank, a research institution, in addition to operating a private psychology practice.
Dr. Julia Hare died in 2019. The couple did not have any children, and he had no other survivors.
Additional references
Murphy, B. (2024, June 22). Nathan Hare, scholar who led fight for Black studies, dies at 91. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/obituaries/2024/06/22/nathan-hare-black-studies-dies/
National Council for Black Studies. (2024). Dr. Nathan Hare, “The Father of Black Studies.” https://ncbsonline.org/in-memoriam/dr-nathan-hare-the-father-of-black-studies/
Risen, C. (2023, June 21). Nathan Hare, 91, Forceful Founder of First Black Studies Program, Dies. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/21/obituaries/nathan-hare-dead.html
