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

Section: Opinion

An Obama Presidency and the Color of Fear

Barack Obama’s meteoric rise has caused joy for some, dismay for others and racial repellency for some Whites. Among those who are both overjoyed and nauseated at the same time are White supremacists and other hate groups. “I haven’t seen this much anger in a long, long time,” Russellville, Arkansas’ Billy Roper, a 36-year-old who […]

July 6, 2008

Not Just One Dark Body: Scaling the Intercultural Mountain in the HBCU Classroom

It is no secret that classrooms at historically Black colleges and universities are becoming increasingly culturally diverse, both with regard to faculty and students. More and more, international students and faculty contribute in a singularly significant way to this heterogeneous mélange. Whether they hail from the African continent, the Caribbean, South or Latin America, or […]

July 2, 2008

Accreditation of Black Colleges: Future Success?

On Thursday, June 26, 2008, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS) removed Florida A & M University (FAMU) from its list of institutions on accreditation probation. The historically Black institution seems primed for success, with President James Ammons including all of the campus constituents in his plan for the future of the institution. Since Black colleges […]

June 30, 2008

The Miseducation of a Negro Male Assistant Professor

When I thought about pursuing my terminal degree I really dedicated little thought to all the components of a J-O-B in academia. I pondered the research I would have to do, but the teaching and service components were truly afterthoughts. I assumed these elements would naturally come with the territory – you know they would […]

June 28, 2008

An HBCU Learns the Benefits of Appreciating its Alumni

According to Diverse’s May 1 feature “A Fundraising Blueprint” and most recently Tuesday’s Chronicle of Higher Education daily update, Howard University raised $275 million in a five-year fundraising campaign. Howard’s success surpassed the institution’s expectations and solidified its role as a leader in Black college fundraising. Interestingly, Howard University trustees originally set the goal for […]

June 23, 2008

I Know From Whence I Speak: Black Studies and the HBCU

The 20th anniversary of the doctorate in African-American studies in the American academy is, undoubtedly, cause for jubilant celebration. W. E. B. Du Bois must surely be smiling down from his perch amongst the African ancestors. Yet, as we hail this monumental milestone, at the same time, we can no longer overlook the tragic and […]

June 22, 2008

A Post-Racial America?

In a June 13, 2008 Op Ed in The Wall Street Journal, Ward Connerly proclaimed that “Obama is no ‘Post Racial’ Candidate. Connerly’s conclusion is based on the fact that Obama acknowledges the continuing significance of race in an ostensibly ‘post racial’ America. More importantly Obama does not support Connerly’s attempts to outlaw Affirmative Action. […]

June 18, 2008

Ph.d.’s in African American Studies at HBCUs: A Response to Where are They?

This week Diverse: Issues in Higher Education ran a story entitled “Black Colleges Still Lacking Ph.D. African American Studies Program.” The article rightly told the story of the development and expansion of doctoral programs in African American studies at historically White institutions and chastised Black colleges for having no programs — none at all. According to […]

June 18, 2008

No First Amendment Right to Call for Obama’s Assassination

The 2008 Presidential election is testing how America deals with the enduring question of racism. With Barack Obama as the presumptive Democratic nominee, America is beginning to confront its racial pedigree. The results speak for themselves. One such test occurred recently when performance artist, Yazmany Arboleda, put race, penis envy and sexism on Front Street. […]

June 18, 2008

New Books Related To Black Colleges

Recently, there have been several new books published related to historically Black colleges and universities. I suggest that you check them out. They include: Joy Ann Williamson’s Radicalizing the Ebony Tower: Black Colleges and the Black Freedom Struggle in Mississippi (New York: Teachers Colleges Press, 2008). Joy is a dynamic professor at the University of […]

June 15, 2008

Black Colleges Continue to Provide An Excellent Education

Historically black colleges and universities have been educating students, the majority of them being African American, for centuries now. I am a graduate of Johnson C. Smith University located in Charlotte, N.C. There are hundreds of graduates of HBCUs who have achieved prominence at every level. The employment landscape is full of men and women […]

June 15, 2008

“Best and Brightest” Seek a Nurturing Environment at HBCUs

This past week Diverse: Issues in Higher Education ran a story about a 14-year old kid who scored a 30 on the ACT. Despite being courted by Stanford, Harvard, Yale and Princeton, Polite Stewart Jr., decided to attend a Black college – Southern University at Baton Rouge. Interestingly, when asked why he chose to […]

June 15, 2008

Barack Obama – On the Shoulders of the Nation’s Black Colleges?

As I sat proudly with my 9-year old daughter last night and watched Barack Obama become the first Black nominee of a major political party, I couldn’t help but think about the role of our nation’s Black colleges in shaping and building the Black middle class. Even though Obama did not attend a Black college, […]

June 3, 2008

An Open Letter to the High School Class of 2008–And Their Parents

It is that time of year when high school graduations are front and center. These festive events are filled with congratulations, high fives and tears of joy. It is my opinion that in many ways the high school graduation is a rite of passage. It signals that a young person has crossed into adulthood. The […]

June 2, 2008

The Intersection of Presidential Politics, Race, Culture, and Higher Learning

Much has been made of education levels and voting patterns in the Presidential nominating contests of the Democratic Party for the 2008 general election, particularly since Barack Obama emerged as the presumptive nominee. Well almost. Week after week, exit polls indicate that highly educated White Americans—Democrats, Independents and even some Republicans—are more likely to cast a vote […]

May 26, 2008

Black Scholarship or White Imperalism?

There has been considerable debate among my colleagues about Black scholars and the production of Black scholarship. On the one hand, some White academics complain that Black scholars spend too much time on “ghetto scholarship.” This usually refers to Critical Race Theory, Africana Studies, and the impact of racism on our lives, both historically and […]

May 22, 2008

Lessons Learned from a White Valedictorian at Morehouse College

On May 12, 2008, as I was walking down the street in Atlanta, Georgia, I happened to glance at the newspaper stand. I was shocked to see the headline “White Valedictorian Makes Morehouse History” on the front page of the Atlanta Journal Constitution. I have to admit that my initial reaction was “geesh, can’t African Americans […]

May 20, 2008

Voting is our privilege and our responsibility

Thank goodness we live in a country where we can freely vote. It is something that we should not take for granted as we only have to look at other countries to see the chaos that has occurred because of voting or the lack of it. Whether you are a Democrat, a Republican or an […]

May 18, 2008