Black Colleges Are a Good Bet for Some

With school now back in session, many students will soon begin making an arduous and life-shaping decision: choosing a college.

I’m concerned, though, that one option that would suit a lot of students best is too often overlooked by Southern California students: historically black colleges.

Most were opened in the 19th Century by freed slaves to educate other freed slaves. Now there are more than 110 black colleges, mostly in the South and East.

Perhaps the best reason to consider a black college is that 30% of blacks attending predominantly white colleges will receive four-year degrees--but 70% in black colleges will.

There are many reasons for this difference, but one important one is that black colleges give black students an opportunity they don’t often have in the outer world: They can finally be part of the majority , rather than the minority.

It is difficult being “the only black in a class of 30 or 40,” explained Deyna Hearn, a counselor and adviser to the Black Collegians at Santa Monica College. But “in a historically black college, that’s something that you just don’t have to worry about.”

Blacks also hold the majority of leadership and decision-making roles at the colleges, which allows more opportunities to practice and strengthen those skills.

And, with budget cuts forcing fewer professors to teach bigger classes at colleges nationwide, the generally smaller class sizes at black colleges are yet another enticement for students who value personal attention.

A hot topic among educators now is how to make curricula more multicultural. Black colleges, however, have been doing this from Day 1. The curriculum in history, literature, music, art and other subjects usually includes the contributions of all ethnic groups.

Hearn also cites the unusually caring support of staff at black colleges as a tool for their graduates’ success.

“It’s a family away from family,” she said. “You know you’re going to be taken care of, you know you’re going to be treated equally as a human being.”

Black campuses also provide more black role models, which are crucial for young people who are searching for goals and proof that they can succeed.

Students also seem to enjoy and find strength from a “sense of legacy” that they receive from attending colleges that so many black heroes attended, Hearn said. The list includes Martin Luther King Jr., Alice Walker, Spike Lee, Oprah Winfrey and U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Louis Sullivan.

Finally, black colleges offer young blacks a respite from racial discrimination.

The supportive environment, emphasis on academics and opportunities to become leaders prepare students at black colleges to make it anywhere, including predominantly white graduate schools and working settings.

Adena Loston, a dean at Santa Monica College, said that her education at historically black Alcorn State University in Mississippi made her subsequent education and career possible.

It also helped her to face later discrimination.

While attending Bowling Green University’s graduate school, for example, she was the only black in a class--and the professor offered her a ticket back to Mississippi.

“She felt like I didn’t belong,” Loston explained. “If I had not gone to Alcorn and had not made the dean’s list every semester there, (that professor) would have really shot me out of the water in terms of my self-esteem, ego and knowing what my capabilities are.”

Of course, no college is without drawbacks, and there are some problems common to predominantly black schools.

Labs, libraries and other facilities are often not as new or sophisticated as those at comparable white schools.

Loston sees another possible drawback “in terms of other individuals’ perceptions of what a black institution is capable of delivering--the end product.”

In truth, the admission and graduation requirements of black colleges are similar to and sometimes tougher than comparable white colleges.

But bear in mind that, as Hearn warns, “black colleges aren’t for all black students.”

As when choosing a college of any kind, be sure to examine college catalogues, visit campuses, and--most of all--talk to your school counselor.

Mary Laine Yarber teaches English at Santa Monica High School.