Last Thursday, I attended the “Unfinished Business: National Dialogue on Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the 21st Century” meeting at Morgan State University. Most of the conversation centered on the inequity that continues to exist in public higher education, especially in the Southern and border states.
During the presidents’ roundtable, the speakers detailed the history of legal segregation and its impact on the inequities in higher education. They also discussed the merits of HBCUs, noting that these institutions have operated on fewer dollars since their creation. In fact, one of the panelists declared, “We can’t just ask for equal funding now, we must get the dollars we lost in the past to achieve equity.”
I found myself nodding my head with the panelists — yes, I agreed with them – but I was also nodding because I have heard these conversations before at other conferences and gatherings of HBCU leaders and supporters. In fact, I have heard myself making these comments.
