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Welcome to The EDU Ledger! We’ve moved from Diverse: Issues In Higher Education.

Section: Opinion

Let’s Talk about Race … in the Classroom

I am fortunate to work in a school of education that cares enough to examine itself in terms of its treatment of students of color. That said, I recently sat through a school-wide faculty meeting in which the results of a survey of our students of color were discussed. For anyone who knows the research in […]

January 21, 2009

Miss America’s Racial Milestones

While I was watching television the other day, I saw a commercial promoting the Miss America pageant which is scheduled to air January 24th on the TLC Network. The advertisement took me back to the late 1990s when a colleague of mine introduced me to some research that she was compiling on the annual event. Being […]

January 13, 2009

Much to do about Morris Brown College?

Over the past few weeks – since the Atlanta Journal and Constitution announced that Morris Brown College couldn’t pay its water bill – several of my friends in the Black college community have called to talk about the historic institution. The first question thrown out for contemplation is “Do we really need all 103 HBCUs?” […]

January 5, 2009

Faculty and Students of Color Face Various Dilemmas

Recently I was interviewed by a student reporter for our campus newspaper about a racially tinged incident that took place earlier in the semester. This past October five members of a prominent fraternity on campus dressed in blackface at a Halloween party as what they saw as an effort to portray rappers. The story does […]

December 14, 2008

The myth of a “post-racial” America: a global perspective

The conversations about race and its significance in America are ongoing. The election of Barack Obama as President of the United States has intensified the conversation. Some claim that his election is proof that race no longer matters (although a majority of whites voted for McCain), others claim that his election is proof that we […]

December 8, 2008

During an Economic Downturn, Why Suggest Closing the Public Black Colleges?

Last week, Republican Seth Harp, a senator in the Georgia state legislature suggested that in order to save money, several of the state’s public Black universities should be merged with nearby predominantly White universities. In Harp’s opinion, historically Black Savannah State University and historically White Armstrong Atlantic State University, both in Savannah, should be merged. […]

December 6, 2008

It’s Ph.D. Application Time: Here are a Few Tips

It’s that time of the academic year — the time when students begin to ask for advice, and more importantly, letters of recommendations to pursue their Ph.D. research. As I care greatly about the future of the professoriate (and I think being a professor is the last great job — one gets paid to think!), I […]

November 24, 2008

History in Their Own Words

On account of jury duty all last week, I was not able to be on campus at Lincoln the day after the election. I was looking forward to hearing about my students’ experiences of standing in line for hours upon hours, finally voting for the first time, celebrating wildly by climbing all over the Frederick […]

November 24, 2008

Congratulations Brother President! Congratulations Mr.President!

Think about the following: · 1789 – The U. S Constitution declares that Black Americans were only three-fifths of a human being. · 1857 – Dred Scott decision was handed down by the Supreme Court · 1896 – The separate but equal doctrine of Plessy v. Ferguson was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. · […]

November 18, 2008

America Is Saying ‘Yes We Can’ Because of President-elect Barack Obama

Six years ago many of us could not really say with any authority that we had heard of Barack Obama. Our first real glimpse of him came as he delivered a keynote address at the Democratic National Convention held four years ago. After hearing him speak that evening at the convention, I knew that he […]

November 6, 2008

When It Comes to HBCU Alumni and Giving, Making Them “Feel Bad” Doesn’t Work

In a recent article in Diverse Issues In Higher Education, Bill Cosby was reported to have chastised HBCU leaders for their failures to attract alumni contributions. Specifically, he stated, that HBCU administrators should make their alumni “feel bad” about not giving back. I have a lot of respect for Cosby’s dedication to HBCUs and I […]

November 3, 2008

I Am Barack Obama

A funny thing happened the other day. I attended a Barack Obama rally, one of thousands of Virginians who braved the cold and stood in line outside the Richmond Coliseum, most of whom were no doubt as aware as I of the historic significance of the moment. While waiting to gain entry—when I wasn’t […]

October 30, 2008

The Sad Reality of O.J. Simpson

October 3rd is a day that has deeply associated itself with O.J. Simpson. It is a day he will probably never forget. On this day in 1995, he was acquitted of the double murder of his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her waiter, body builder friend, Ronald Goldman. More than a decade later, on the exact […]

October 27, 2008

Hawaii and American Colonial Amnesia

How many college students are taught how the United States “acquired” Hawaii? Which departments are charged with teaching the ABCs of US imperialism? Now, perhaps more than ever, we need a concerted effort to bring more awareness to the plight of the Hawaiian people. On October 1, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court agreed to hear […]

October 26, 2008

Successful Ventures Between Minority-serving Institutions and Majority Institutions

Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) are recognized in many circles for their ability to nurture and empower students of color. Because of their faculty’s strong dedication to teaching and mentoring, they are particularly good at sending students to graduate school. However, at times, our nation’s MSIs do not have the fiscal resources to offer comparable research or programmatic opportunities […]

October 25, 2008

Has The SAT Test Undergone A Backlash?

There is a good chance that if you were a high school junior or senior applying to a four-year college or university you’ve seen a question like the following. “Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair: BOW:VIOLIN (A) music:piano (B) brass:trumpet (C) drumstick:drum […]

October 13, 2008

The Fisk Jubilee Singers — A Student’s Experience

In this week’s blog entry, I want to share the words of one of my wonderful graduate students. His name is Jameel Scott and he is in the masters program in higher education here at the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education. Jameel is a graduate of Morehouse College. He plans on pursuing a […]

October 13, 2008

“Racism Without Racists” Is Twisted Logic

There is an astonishing theoretical perspective taking hold in the American academy, and working its way down into the mainstream. And if it remains unchallenged, it seems that it is well on its way to becoming an accepted tenet. It is the bizarre idea that, while racism is alive and well in America — to […]

October 8, 2008