Runnin’ Down A Dream* — How a College Education Continues to Elude Many Historically Marginalized Communities
At the 1964 Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. stood solemnly at the podium as he stood on the world’s stage. Standing there, he appeared to be in a moment of deep introspection. After making brief acknowledgments of the dignitaries in the room, he looked down, took a breath and began:
“I accept the Nobel Prize for Peace at a moment when 22 million Negroes of the United States of America are engaged in a creative battle to end the long night of racial injustice. I accept this award on behalf of a civil rights movement which is moving with determination and a majestic scorn for risk and danger to establish a reign of freedom and a rule of justice…I am mindful that debilitating and grinding poverty afflicts my people and chains them to the lowest rung of the economic ladder.”
Dr. King “refused” to accept this fate of “debilitating and grinding poverty” saying,
“I have the audacity to believe that peoples everywhere can have three meals a day for their bodies, education and culture for their minds, and dignity, equality and freedom for their spirits.”
To Dr. King, education was a central component of breaking the chains of poverty— especially those who have been historically marginalized by custom, practice, and/or law. Yet, the doors of educational opportunity — creating the path of upward socioeconomic mobility — remained intentionally locked for many communities of color. As a result, far too many communities of color did not share in the fruit of the nation’s prosperity.
Even in my home state of New York — known for its history of progressive policies — many historically marginalized communities faced barriers to attending college. One of the reasons for the creation of the State University of New York System in the late 1940s was to break down those barriers that included quotas of how many ethnic, racial, or religious minorities could attend college. And although, many of these barriers were removed, we’re still dealing with the aftermath of these discriminatory policies.
I recently wrote about the college enrollment conundrum and looked at the how higher education as a whole is experiencing a drop in new students enrolling as well as keeping students enrolled — the double whammy enrollment and persistence problem. Core to this challenge is that there are considerable educational equity gaps in colleges and universities. Though progress has been made to close these gaps, more work needs to be done.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2021, 61% of recent white high school graduates enrolled in college compared to 61.2% percent of recent Black high school graduates, and 58.6% of recent Hispanic high school graduates. A slightly higher percentage of Black high school graduates enrolled in college than white students, which is a positive step forward. But, as the chart below illustrates, there is considerable variation in the year to year numbers. Some years more Black high school graduates enroll in college than white students and vice versa. Same for Hispanic students. (To see the annual percentages hover over the chart.)
But on the whole Black and Hispanic students continue to lag behind. Very often, a greater percentage of white high school graduates enroll in college over Black and Hispanic students, but it’s difficult to see with the considerable swings from year to year. Therefore, to take some of the annual swings out of the data, let’s look at the data using an average in five-year increments from 1997 to 2021 (so the average from 1997–2001, the average from 2002–2006 and so on).
Analyzing it this way illustrates that overall a greater percentage of white high school graduates enroll college than Black and Hispanic high school grads. However, the gap is narrowing a bit. As the chart below illustrates, there have been significant gains among Hispanic students enrolling in college. In fact, a greater percentage of Hispanic high school graduates are enrolling in college than their Black counterparts. Over the past several years all three groups are trending downward — something is that is part of the overall trend in higher education.
But, enrollment is only the first piece of the puzzle. The second is retention and persistence — i.e. making sure students don’t drop out. Again, there are equity gaps in persistence and retention. A recent National Student Clearinghouse Research Center report found that of first year college students in 2020 that came back in 2021, far fewer Black and Hispanic students came back than white students.
In other words, not as many Black and Hispanic high school graduates are enrolling in college as white students, and for those that do, a greater percentage drop out. If the overall enrollment conundrum is a double whammy then the equity gap is a quadruple whammy.
But there are programs that can help close the divide, like the New York State Higher Education Opportunity Program (HEOP), the State University of New York’s Educational Opportunity Program (EOP), the City University of New York’s Accelerated Study in Associate Programs (ASAP) or innovative programs, like Pathways in Technology (P-TECH). These programs pay major dividends on closing the equity gaps with additional financial and academic support. For example, EOP students have higher graduation rates for bachelor’s degrees (74.2%) than the overall State University of New York student body (68%).
Then there are important programs that target professions, like medicine, where equity gaps are called a “persistent failure”— and which have recently widened — to the detriment of the overall healthcare field. [For a great overview of the equity gaps in medicine, read a worthwhile piece in the New England Journal of Medicine entitled, “Diversity of the National Medical Student Body — Four Decades of Inequities.”]
Therefore, expanding opportunity programs to the professions, such as medicine is key to closing these persistent equity gaps. I — along with the support of many important champions, like the United University Professors— was proud to create the first ever statewide Pre-Med Opportunity Program in New York to give more underserved students a chance to attend medical school. I’m heartened that New York State continues to expand the program.
Often, these are first-generation college students can’t even imagine the idea of being in college graduate or earning a credential or degree. Forget pathways, like medical school. That’s a far-off thing in the distance for others.
But why? It’s our collective failure.
Often, these are first-generation college students can’t even imagine the idea of being in college graduate or earning a credential or degree. Forget pathways, like medical school. That’s a far-off thing in the distance for others. But why? It’s our collective failure.
Individuals from these communities weren’t given the necessary support. We fail to provide adequate primary and secondary schools. Paul Simon’s famous line from Kodachrome rings too true for far too many students.** That is why investment in HEOP, EOP, ASAP, P-TECH, and other similar programs is essential to providing socioeconomic mobility for all. Doing so will go a long way in helping meet Dr. King’s unfulfilled dream.
NOTES
*Apologies to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
**“When I think back on all the crap I learned in high school; It’s a wonder I can think at all; And though my lack of education hasn’t hurt me none; I can read the writing on the wall.”
