The Agony of Education: Black Students at White Colleges and Universities

Small liberal arts and folk schools attempted desegregation decades before other southern colleges and universities. Historians have long argued that Jews were active and influential in the fight for civil rights in the South in the 1950s and 1960s, but were Jews involved in these early attempts to enroll black students in historically white schools? If they were, were they successful and how did their Jewishness affect the efficacy of their attempts? In order to answer these questions, this article compares and contrasts two such schools, Black Mountain College in North Carolina and Highlander Folk School in Tennessee, which established “integration programs” in the 1940s. This research reveals that when Jews saturated a school, and were visibly involved in desegregation, their attempts to desegregate the institution were ultimately unsuccessful. When Jews supported a school through donations behind the scenes and occasional visits, however, the institution successfully desegregated.

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‘WE DON’T ALL LOOK ALIKE’

Du Bois Review Social Science Research on Race ◽

10.1017/s1742058x14000162 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 11 (2) ◽

pp. 353-385 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

W. Carson Byrd ◽

Rachelle J. Brunn-Bevel ◽

Parker R. Sexton

Keyword(s):

Academic Performance ◽

Black Students ◽

Black Student ◽

Group Performance ◽

The United States ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Academic Preparation ◽

Black Immigrants ◽

Student Groups ◽

Elite Colleges

AbstractThe examination of student group performance is a constant need as American higher education continues to expand and become more racially and ethnically diverse. Recent scholarship on the academic performance of Black students at elite colleges and universities has glossed over possible disparities among these students, particularly among different immigrant groups. The current study clarifies these differences in academic performance by examining four Black student groups at elite colleges and universities in the United States: native Blacks, Black immigrants from Africa, Black immigrants from the Caribbean and Latin America, and Black immigrants from other parts of the globe. The analyses point to many similarities and differences among the four Black student groups in their characteristics and influences on their academic performance in college such as gender, precollege friendships, high school academic preparation, college major, and closeness to Whites and Blacks. Additionally, this study found evidence of possible colorism among Black students at elite colleges.

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Is It a Different World? Providing a Holistic Understanding of the Experiences and Perceptions of Non-Black Students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities

Journal of College Student Retention Research Theory & Practice ◽

10.1177/1521025115622785 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

pp. 360-382 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Andrew T. Arroyo ◽

Robert T. Palmer ◽

Dina C. Maramba

Keyword(s):

Black Students ◽

Historically Black ◽

Black Colleges ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Historically Black Colleges ◽

Holistic Understanding ◽

Black Colleges And Universities

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Black Student-Faculty Mentorship Programs

Developing Workforce Diversity Programs, Curriculum, and Degrees in Higher Education - Advances in Higher Education and Professional Development ◽

10.4018/978-1-5225-0209-8.ch003 ◽

2016 ◽

pp. 43-61

Author(s):

Shavonne Shorter

Keyword(s):

Black Students ◽

Minority Students ◽

Black Student ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Black Faculty ◽

Underrepresented Minority ◽

Job Responsibilities ◽

Underrepresented Minority Students ◽

Mentorship Programs ◽

Faculty Mentorship

This chapter discusses recommendations for how colleges and universities can institute formal mentorship programs between Black students who have the aptitude and/or interest to become professors and Black faculty. Recommendations about concerns that mentors should address have been crafted based on the expressed needs and desires of Black students from the work of Shorter (2014). The chapter will detail the types of activities the program should include such as learning more about expected job responsibilities. The chapter also discusses intended outcomes associated with the program, the ultimate being an increase in the numbers of Black students that become professors. The chapter concludes with recommendations to expand the program's scope to include all underrepresented minority students.

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The Fearless Firsts

Transforming the Elite ◽

10.5149/northcarolina/9781469643496.003.0004 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 114-144

Author(s):

Michelle A. Purdy

Keyword(s):

School Culture ◽

Black Students ◽

School Desegregation ◽

Martin Luther ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Black Workers ◽

White Administrators ◽

Black Neighborhoods ◽

Racial Harassment ◽

Martin Luther King

This chapter documents the first years of school desegregation at Westminster. By 1967, Westminster was a nationally known school whose alumni attended colleges and universities across the nation, but black students like Michael McBay and Dawn Clark endured overt racial harassment. Following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in April 1968, the pivotal and tumultuous decade concluded with increased protest in the nation at the same time that NAIS further advanced its recruitment efforts of black students. At Westminster, Malcolm Ryder, Ron McBay (Michael’s younger brother), Joia Johnson, and others enrolled also experienced racial harassment. The first black students, however, began to find their niches inside and outside the classroom. The school culture included increased volunteer efforts in black neighborhoods, celebrations of black workers in the yearbooks and newspapers, and visits by notable black individuals. Nevertheless, some school traditions reflecting racial subordination continued. The fearless firsts found their way by largely relying on their skills and talents, the support of their families, and the dedication of black workers and select white administrators and teachers.

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(Dis)Integration

Campus Counterspaces ◽

10.7591/cornell/9781501746888.003.0012 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 152-166

Author(s):

Micere Keels

Keyword(s):

Higher Education ◽

Black Students ◽

Well Being ◽

Colleges And Universities ◽

Revolving Door ◽

Educational Success ◽

Student Debt ◽

Personal Cost ◽

College Going ◽

Institutional Action

This concluding chapter takes a step back to examine the bigger picture and suggests ways that colleges and universities could achieve greater integration by attending to difference. Latinx and Black students' college-going identity challenges are often created through institutional action and inaction, and can be resolved through institutional action. Higher education has shown itself to be a revolving door that puts too many Latinx and Black students right back outside their walls, with student debt and without a degree that would lead to the wages needed to service that debt. Although the persistence problem has been foregrounded throughout this work, the chapter shows that the broader goal of campus counterspaces is fostering persistence coupled with psychological, emotional, and cultural well-being. Too many studies show that for historically marginalized students, educational success comes at a high personal cost.

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