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Section: Opinion

HBCUs’ Relevance in Diversifying the STEM Workforce

Global scientific competitiveness of the United States depends on the nation’s ability to sustain and grow the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. An important approach to this goal is ensuring that groups historically underrepresented (HU) in STEM fields play larger roles.

March 6, 2018

| ©2017 Photo by Cheriss May, www.cherissmay.com

Shape of Things to Come? Diversity Shines at 90th Academy Awards

I covered the Academy Awards on the red carpet in person in 1986. It was the year of the Spielberg-directed version of Alice Walker’s “The Color Purple,” a film with 11 nominations, Oprah and so many Black stars that it was practically “The Black Panther” of its day. Fast forward to 2018 and the 90th Oscars, and the evolution is finally taking hold across the board.

March 5, 2018

090517_Emil_Guillermo

When Being ‘Woke’ Is Not Enough

In such polarized times, it is not surprising that on college campuses all over the nation, students are protesting, demonstrating and taking every opportunity to voice their concerns to administrators about campus climate, national issues and how their institutions respond to them. I find it exciting.

March 5, 2018

African-American

Honoring Black History Month, in Prison

Black History Month is often referred to by my fellow Blackademics as “the high season.” Schools and organizations across the country seek us out for obligatory assemblies and programs. Though the shortest month, February is the most popular time of the year for scholars of color to situate our scholarship within longstanding questions of freedom and justice.

March 4, 2018

KhalilahLBrownDean

African-American

Our Daily Work: Celebrate Black History Throughout Year

Remembering Dr. Martin Luther King, Black history and civil rights shouldn’t be just a middle of January, month of February or April 4 thing. We should remind ourselves that what really matters is the daily work of King, his contemporaries and today’s champions of equality. And we should recognize, commemorate and celebrate Black history daily.

March 4, 2018

FeaturedEricFSpina

Understanding and Quickly Recovering from Stress

Stress, especially constant stress, is the most underrated source of disease conditions, especially chronic disease. It is underrated because it is so difficult to measure and demonstrate. It is difficult to measure and demonstrate because it occurs so differently per individual and per situation.

March 1, 2018

HBCUs: For Colored Kids When Predominantly White Institutions Aren’t Enough

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, founded in 1837, is recognized as the nation’s oldest historically Black institution of higher education, or HBCU. Harvard University, founded in 1636, is the U.S.’s oldest institution of higher education.

March 1, 2018

Cultural Biases Persist in National Licensure Exam for Teachers

Weighing a pig won’t make it fatter, and racist exams will not increase the number of teachers of color and American Indian teachers in the nation’s classrooms.

February 27, 2018

Where Is the Village When We Need It?

I grew up in the East Winston section of Winston-Salem, N.C. Our neighborhood was close-knit, as we knew our neighbors. In fact, we knew who the neighbors were that stayed three and four streets over from where we lived. As kids, we all knew one another and spent a lot of time in each other’s homes.

February 27, 2018

072716_James_Ewers

Sister to Sister: Strengthening Connections of Black College Women

It is bad enough that some Black college students who attend predominantly White institutions are made to feel inferior or “less than” during their higher education tenure, as identified by Idealist philosopher Georg Hegel in his analysis of the theory of “othering.”

February 26, 2018

PhyllisClarkfeatured

In Defense of Youth Organizing

The late Coretta Scott King once said, “Freedom is never really won. You earn it and win it with every generation.” With every generation, movements for political change have been buttressed by the energy, talent, resolve, creativity and dedication of young people.

February 25, 2018

KhalilahLBrownDean

Frat’s ‘Pig Roast’ a Wake-Up Call to Universities

Cornell fraternity Zeta Beta Tau made headlines recently when it was placed on probation for hosting a competition where members earned points for sleeping with the woman who weighed the most. The fraternity’s “pig roast,” while appalling, is not a new phenomenon.

February 25, 2018

JeannineAGailey

The N-Word and Language as Property

Debates about whether Whites in academia — professors or students — are entitled to sling and fling the N-word with abandon, be it in a song, a “lesson” or some sort of speculative “thought experiment” (as seems to be the case with the most recent incident) are not a bug, but a feature of a society structured by racial dominance, oppression and exploitation.

February 22, 2018

African-American

Black History Beyond One Month

Another year, another February, and we are deep into another Black History Month. Various institutions and individuals from all walks of life are celebrating the numerous milestones and accomplishments of people of African descent.

February 22, 2018

120712_Elwood_Watson

African-American

3 Unsung Afro-Puerto Rican Heroes

In honor of Black History Month, I felt compelled to highlight Black Puerto Ricans. Anti-blackness not only exists within White communities, but is pervasive and prevalent in Puerto Rican and other Latinx cultures.

February 21, 2018

092817_Andrew_Martinez

African-American

Mixed-Race Students Need Support

Several years ago, when I was a graduate student and staff member at the University of Washington, I attended a Black Lives Matter rally and march on campus. When it was time for the march to begin, the organizers asked the crowd to split into two groups.

February 20, 2018

A Call for Elite Schools to Redefine ‘Merit’

I simply refuse to believe that talent is clustered within those who have the most. I am convinced that talent is universal, yet our highly selective colleges and universities mostly value the former.

February 19, 2018

Art As Political Resistance

For many people, America feels heavy. Whether mounting political challenges or the general decline in civility, the daily and nearly hourly updates from the political world make it difficult to find a moment of solitude.

February 18, 2018