Black students make up 13% of America’s college population, and 53% of Black students attend Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs) like Harvard.
But what happens when they learn their dream schools are the legacy of a bloody nightmare?
Both Brown and Harvard University’s original funders ran slave ships and plantations. “Free labor” from enslaved Africans allowed Georgetown to provide free tuition to its early students.
Yale owned a plantation, and slave auctions were held at Princeton!
After George Floyd’s murder, some universities made performative gestures, but did little to change their policies, leadership, or culture.
Harvard promised to pledge $100 million towards diversity initiatives – but their endowment is $42 billion, so they’re giving a measly 0.2% of their money to it!
When Black students attend PWIs, they’re forced to shrink themselves to fit in, and the school gets to promote “superficial diversity,” according to Cornel West.
“Diversity” at a PWI usually means white students get the benefit of diversity, while non-white students are barely tolerated, erased, and/or given fewer opportunities.
If PWIs are going to claim Black Lives Matter, or that they are “diverse,” they owe current Black students free tuition and housing, as well as programs and spaces designed for their development – at the VERY least.
We have to be skeptical of the “prestige” attending a PWI offers, and determine whether it’s actually even worth it!