The Funding of Scientific Racism: WICKLIFFE DRAPER AND THE PIONEER FUND [Hardcover]

William H. Tucker (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 9, 2002

The Pioneer Fund, established in 1937 by Wickliffe Preston Draper, is one of the most controversial nonprofit organizations in the United States. Long suspected of misusing social science to fuel the politics of oppression, the fund has specialized in supporting research that seeks to prove the genetic and intellectual inferiority of blacks while denying its ties to any political agenda. This powerful and provocative volume provides abundant evidence that the Pioneer Fund has indeed been the primary source for scientific racism. Revealing a lengthy history of concerted and clandestine activities and interests, "The Funding of Scientific Racism" examines for the first time archival correspondence that incriminates the fund's major players, including Draper, recently deceased president Harry F. Weyher, and others.Divulging evidence of the Pioneer Fund's political motivations, William H. Tucker links Draper to a Klansman's crusade to repatriate blacks in the 1930s. Subsequent directors and grantees are implicated in their support of campaigns organized in the 1960s to reverse the Brown decision, prevent passage of the Civil Rights Act, and implement a system of racially segregated private schools. Tucker shows that these and other projects have been officially sponsored by the Pioneer Fund or surreptitiously supervised by its directors. This evidence demonstrates that any results of genuine, scientific value produced with the fund's support have been a salutary, if incidental, consequence of its actual purpose: to provide ammunition for what has essentially been a lobbying campaign to prevent the full participation of blacks in society and the polity.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"In lucid, dispassionate, and well-footnoted detail, Tucker describes the people and projects brought together by the Fund... Tucker offers encylopedic coverage of scientific racism in the United States... A valuable illumination of under-reported history and culture, this book shows how bigotry and self-interest can be legitimized and institutionalized by a small, well-financed group." -- ForewardADVANCE PRAISE "The Funding of Scientific Racism is compelling and readable. Tucker demolishes the threadbare defenses the Pioneer Fund and its supporters have concocted over the last two decades." -- Barry Mehler, founder and executive director of the Institute for the Study of Academic Racism

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: University of Illinois Press (July 9, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0252027620
• ISBN-13: 978-0252027628
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,272,782 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Man Behind Mississippi's Racism, May 13, 2007

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This review is from: The Funding of Scientific Racism: WICKLIFFE DRAPER AND THE PIONEER FUND (Hardcover)

William Tucker, a careful academic, uncovered quite a story when he wrote this book. The New York Times should hire him and pay him well ... Wickliffe Draper was the man behind the money when Mississippi's Sovereignty Commission and others attempted to block passage of the 1964 Civil Rights Act. Draper also helped fund private, racist schools throughout the state. And what is so tragic, even though he is long gone, the "foundation" lives on. This is a fascinating and not a difficult read. Anyone interested in U.S. history will enjoy Tucker's contribution.