The need to save Black colleges, not always apparent, but always necessary


bernard

THEE Realist
On August 14, 2021, Alvin Chambliss led a march and rally to “Save Black Colleges.” There was a bit of disappointment because the crowd was relatively small. There was fear that the size of the crowd would be seen as a reflection of the interest in the issue.

Leading up to the event, one individual asked was there anything in the news which suggested that there was a serious effort afoot to get rid of any Black colleges, especially in Mississippi. While the answer to that question may be “no,” there are actions beyond the obvious that are the real problem.

Reading the minutes and the agenda of the Board of Trustees of State Institutions of Higher Learning (the College Board), as this writer does every month, one can come to understand the nature of the threat. He/she can understand the cry for saving Black colleges.

Month after month, there are ten to fifteen times as many items relative to bonds, contracts, building projects, and other such matters that relate to the University of Mississippi, Mississippi State University, and the University of Southern Mississippi as to the three historically Black universities. If things continue at that pace, it is easy to see how the Black universities can become dwarfed into relative insignificance. Yes, this is gradually happening in plain sight every month.

 
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