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By Julianne Malveaux | SACOBSERVER.COM WIRE SERVICES
(NNPA) - A few days after Michael Jackson
died, US Magazine profiled his physician, Dr. Conrad Murray.
Since I’m not a regular reader of US, I didn’t
get “the word” until a friend shared that they
described Dr. Murray as a graduate of “little known”
Meharry School of Medicine.
The US description says more about them than it does about
Meharry. Scratch a Black physician, or any Black person over
age 40, and they know that Meharry is a key producer of African-American
physicians, that it is led by a stellar doctor, administrator
and academician, Dr. Wayne Riley, and that it is the backbone
of African American medical life. I was shocked and appalled
that Meharry could be so easily dismissed, as “little
known.”
Then, again, as an HBCU President, I’m not so shocked
and appalled. While HBCUs are a vital part of our nation’s
academic life, there are many who would like to “kick
us to the curb” and constrain us to the sidelines.
Many of those are some of us. There is a debate going on
right now about which of the 105 will survive another decade.
The debate is sparked by the colleges – Barber Scotia
in North Carolina, Morris Brown College in Georgia, and a
few others – that have bitten the dust in the last few
years.
The fact that Paul Quinn College, in Dallas, was denied
reaffirmation doesn’t help matters any. On the Paul
Quinn subject, though, President Michael Sorrell has does
great work in the two years he has been at the college, turning
around a situation that was spiraling downward.
He has appealed the Southern Association of Colleges and
Schools decision, and with the support of the UNCF family,
he has a chance of prevailing. Here’s the real deal
– HBCUs are likely to have small endowments and major
challenges. And yet the UNCF colleges represent just 1.4 percent
of the 4-year degree granting institutions in our nation,
and we produce 5.8 percent of the African Americans with bachelor
of arts degrees.
Even among African Americans, there is a debate about whether
HBCUs are needed. In the wake of the Paul Quinn reaffirmation
decision, there was discussion that only a few “elite”
Black colleges should survive. Indeed, a group of African
American economists, on their listserve, listed Spellman,
Morehouse, Hampton, Howard, and Tuskegee as the only necessary
survivors, throwing acid in the faces of all of those other
phenomenal colleges with outstanding graduates that intend
to stay in for the count. Why?
Because we provide essential services to our students, some
of whom can go anywhere but choose HBCUs, and some who will
only find refuge in places prepared to ameliorate the damage
done by deficient inner city K-12 programs that don’t
teach our students. At Bennett, and at many HBCUs, our summer
preparatory programs go a long way in preparing incoming first
year students to flex their academic muscles.
Still, when White scholars write about HBCUs, it is clear
that they don’t get it. A Heritage Foundation study
suggested investing in Black colleges might produce poor returns
because of low graduation rates. What the Heritage Foundation
did not measure is the improved access to employment and earnings
some students get because they attended just one or two years
at an HBCU.
Further, there seems to be implicit bias in the conclusions
reached by Heritage. Far more encouraging is a recent study
by African American economists Bill Spriggs, Greg Price and
Omari Swinton.
They find that HBCU graduates have both monetary and nonmonetary
rewards from their attendance at HBCUs, including an increased
confidence that helps them navigate the labor market. This
finding alone makes a strong argument for respecting HBCUs.
President Obama has said that he wants to increase the number
of college graduates in our nation so that we might compete
more effectively in the global market. The Lumina Foundation
has said that by 2025, three-fifths of all Americans should
have either associates or college degrees. These goals can’t
be reached without the full participation of our nation’s
historically black colleges and universities. Our contributions
ought to be respected, not ridiculed.
Julianne Malveaux is President of Bennett College for
Women in Greensboro, N.C.
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