Supporting Black Student Excellence

On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) decided in a 6-3 vote that race-based affirmative action in college admissions is illegal. The Court ruled that such affirmative action in admissions violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution by discriminating against Asian Americans. ?

It did not take long for this ruling to have an impact on Harvard and other Historically White Colleges and Universities (HWCUs). In the fall of 2024, only one year after the SCOTUS decision, the admission of Black students at Harvard declined from 18 percent to 14 percent. Asian admissions at Harvard stayed steady at 37 percent. ?At the University of North Carolina, also a defendant in the case, Black admissions and transfers declined from 10.5 percent in 2023 to 7.8 percent in 2024. At MIT, one of the nation’s premier institutions, Asian enrollment this fall increased from 41 percent to 47 percent, while Black enrollment declined this year to 5 percent from 13 percent last year.?

It is too early to determine whether this trend is taking place at HWCUs across the country, but the message of the Supreme Court has been sent and received. At Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania, a Black student athlete was attacked by members of his own swim team, scarring him for life (both literally and figuratively from the racial slur that was scratched into his skin). The message of the Supreme Court is that Black students are not welcome in HWCUs.?

As a graduate of two HWCUs, UCLA and Yale University in the 1970s and 1980s, I must admit that despite a few run-ins with the LAPD, I felt welcomed on campus. ?I do not know if that would be the case today.?

HWCUs are not to blame for this changed admissions environment, and neither are Asian students. That blame rests squarely on the shoulders of the Supreme Court, and by extension, Donald Trump, who with the support of Mitch McConnell stole two Supreme Court seats now occupied by Neil Gorsuch and Amy Coney Barrett. ?

There is no point in crying over spilt milk. In every aspect of American life, the rules were designed to suppress Black excellence. This was true in sports, education, business, housing, wealth accumulation, the arts, entertainment, and even love. When the playing fields became level, Blacks excelled. I am convinced and optimistic that this is what will happen eventually in higher education. ?

There are only two responses to this situation. The first is to vote for candidates who will support the appointment of Supreme Court Justices and lower court judges who will stop these blatant attacks on Black progress. The second is to ramp up our support for Black students to attend any school of their choosing.?

One such organization that supports local Black students who have been accepted into four-year colleges is the Promising Scholars Fund, Inc., which sponsors the Edward A. Bouchet Scholarship Award. Edward A. Bouchet grew up in New Haven, Connecticut after the Civil War. His father was a “manservant” to a Yale student. ?Bouchet was an outstanding student and graduated first in his class at the prestigious Hopkins School, a private college preparatory day school in New Haven. Despite having earned the distinction of valedictorian, Hopkins denied Bouchet the right to speak at graduation because of his race. ?

After graduating from Hopkins, Bouchet matriculated to Yale University. He was valedictorian of his class at Yale and, again, was denied the right to speak at graduation. Bouchet went on to earn his Ph.D. in physics from Yale in 1876, becoming just the sixth American of any race or any discipline to earn a Ph.D. ?

Bouchet had limited opportunities to teach in academic institutions of higher education. ?Consequently, he spent the final years of his professional career teaching in a Philadelphia high school.?

The Promising Scholars Fund started the Edward Bouchet Scholarship Award in 1987 and has supported 147 Black Connecticut students. The Fund has provided over $500,000 in scholarships since its inception, largely supported by the members of the New Haven chapter of the oldest Black fraternity in the country, Sigma Pi Phi. The scholars the fund has supported include professionals who today are physicians, teachers, lawyers, entrepreneurs, and elected officials. The return on this investment is incalculable.?

Last year the fraternity initiated the Anna Louise James Scholarship. Ms. James (1886-1977) was the first Black woman pharmacist licensed in Connecticut. ?Her father escaped slavery at the age of 16 and lived in Hartford. Ms. James owned a pharmacy in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, which became an anchor for that entire community. ?The proceeds of the James Scholarship have benefitted high-achieving young Black women who are attending four-year colleges. ?

While we cannot change the makeup of the current Supreme Court, we can support Black students today so they can pursue their dreams at either HWCUs or Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). These deserving students would welcome your support, no matter how little. ?They need to know that not only the Black community, but broader all-inclusive, multiracial communities support them.?

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I do not solicit my readers for causes that I support, but I want to make an exception here. If each of the 6,000 readers of my column were to send $10.00 to the Promising Scholars Fund, we could support 5 more deserving students from low-income communities. The Community Foundation of Greater New Haven manages the Fund and Scholarship America selects the recipients. Here is a link to the site where you can make a contribution and learn more about the fund. Promising Scholars… | The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven ( cfgnh.org ) . Please consider making a donation.

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