Badi G. Foster (Finding Aid)

Badi G. Foster

1942 -

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Food: Grits and bacon

Favorite Time of Year: Fall

Favorite Vacation Spot: Hawaii

Interview Length: 156 minutes

Interview Date(s): January 25, 2003

Interview Location(s): Washington, D.C.

Abstract

Educator and non-profit director, Badi Foster details his early years growing up on Chicago's South side then later Morocco. The child of an interracial marriage and activist parents, Badi was raised in the Baha'i faith. Foster discusses issues his skin color raised while living in Morocco and how that shaped his worldview. Former educator and director of the Phelps Stokes Foundation, Badi Foster describes his life on the cusp of great change. His parents moved the family to Morocco in the mid 1950s and Foster details the differences in his Chicago and African life. He attends college at the University of Denver and notices the disparities between himself and others, especially in exposure to American-style discrimination and racism. Educator and director of the Phelps Stokes Fund, Dr. Badi Foster, details his post graduate education at Princeton University and his subsequent Fulbright Scholarship which allowed him to study the role of politics in Moroccan shantytowns. Foster also discusses the effect of the civil rights movement had upon his political behavior while at Princeton. Educator and director of the Phelps Stokes Fund, Dr. Badi Foster, recounts his doctoral and post doctoral years in education. He describes life as a student then professor on Princeton University's all-male and nearly all white student body during the turbulent 60s. Foster also shares the loss of his son due to anaphylactic shock at the age of 9 and how that impacted intrafamilial realtions. Educator and director of the Phelps Sokes Fund, Dr. Badi Foster, details his involement in the redevlopment of Harvard University's Afro American Studies Department in the 1970s. His career intersected with many noteable black scholars including Henry Louis Gates, Toni Morrison, Cornel West, Sonia Sanchez among others. Foster also discusses his efforts at Tufts University, where he established the University College of Citizenship and Public Service. Educator and president of the Phelps Stokes Fund, Dr. Badi Foster shares some final thoughts on the legacy he hopes to leave, the state of U.S.- Middle East relations, and his life accomplishments.

32 Stories (See Ordered Story Set)