i was given the honor of being on a panel at my beloved alma mater last night. at the end of the panel a young lady asked us, 'with all the buzz going around, saying that hbcus are unnecessary and don't prepare you for the real world, what is your opinion as to the importance of the hbcu--all of you have said the real world isn't like this'.
if you know me, you know this is a non-issue. . .anyone who tries to say anything negative about my alma mater gets shut down. i am so proud to have gone to howard and am glad i found my way there (wish i could go back). nonetheless, i have decided to lay out a little of my argument beyond 'that's the stupidest thing i ever heard' in response to that question:
1. i have not been convinced that integrated schools were the best thing for black people. part of me sincerely believes that if schools really were 'separate but equal' the black community would be in a far better place now. forcing our babies to go to schools where they were seen as inferior to be brainwashed by learning the lies that establish the 'undisputed greatness' of the united states (while glossing over those 'minor blemishes' like slavery and the trail of tears) can't really have been the best thing. it's like it was acknowledging that school wasn't good enough until we were in school with them. . .no matter what. now we have failing public school systems--because you know as soon as we tried to go to school with them they promptly enrolled their kids in private school! generations of adults battered from the battles of integration they were forced to fight as children and who are a little more disconnected from their community and culture as they strive to reach the white is right ideal. if brown v. brown of ed. could have been focused at enforcing separate but equal, who knows what black people could have accomplished by now?? instead we're left licking wounds and trying to compete with them in their 'equal' schools while dealing with the pressures of being considered unwanted and inferior and learning curriculum that makes us feel alienated and minimizes the contributions of our people. as long as they are well funded (this is the key--this is also why i'm elitist when it comes to hbcus), institutions that nurture and educate black people serve a purpose outside of curriculum related education. they create ties to the community, instill a sense of pride and obligation, and champion the race and its accomplishments in a way that is necessary to heal wounds and make us a better people. it is empowering to sit in a classroom full of smart people who look like you with a teacher who sees your sucess as tied to his/her personal success. it is hard for us to get that anywhere else. which brings me to my next point.
2. as 'minorities' it is hard for us to be able *not* to know how to function around white people. whether it is your doctor, your teacher, the lady at the grocery store. . .it is hard for a black person to live in a world where they never have to interact with white people, and let's not forget tv. there are soooo many shows with mainly white focuses that you can see white people in various lights--funny white person, corporate white person, white families, white singles ready to mingle, white kids, violent white people, sad white people, happy white people, rich white people, poor white people. . .the list goes on. everyday living in the united states is nothing if not a study of white people. there are still places where white people can go about their daily lives without seeing a black person except for on tv, the same cannot be said about black people encountering white people. i say all of this to say, that if the concern is that hbcu life isn't 'real life', it need not be a concern. we likely wouldn't have made it to college age if we didn't know how to function around white people to some extent. additionally, a lot of my fellow students at hu were like me and actually grew up around mostly white people and found themselves in situations where they were the only black person in a class. an hbcu education is not crippling, to the contrary, it is empowering. i feel *so* much more comfortable around white people in my own skin after going to howard. howard empowered me in a way i couldn't have imagined. it steeled my spine and anchored me to something bigger than me and my immediate family--it connected me to my community, its achievements and the idea that i *am* different and i should be proud of that. instead of trying to be 'like' the white people i encounter for fear of not 'fitting in or being accepted' i am just me. i am cultured, classy, smart, and have a lot to teach (and learn)--when i notice i am the only black person in a room of white people, i don't get nervous that they are judging me against their standards--i'm not really trying to meet their standards and i don't believe their way is the only way. i know that my being a triple threat can be threatening and i know why and i know that (to paraphrase) "when and where i enter the whole race enters with me" and that makes me powerful beyond measure. and i know, from experience, that there are thousands of people who are like me and think like me--empowered black people allll over, who are focused and saw the light while at an hbcu and refuse to go back to the darkness. it's funny that when we were fighting to be admitted to their schools, one of the court cases approving affirmative action cited the way 'they' benefitted from being around 'us' as if they had to benefit or it wouldn't be ok for us to go there--and our schools aren't good enough because there are not enough of them. i don't need to go to a special school to learn about white people or how to work with them. . .and why doesn't anyone ask if their schools prepare them to be around us??
3. hbcus teach and shape you like nothing else can. a lot of people 'find themselves' in college. . .at an hbcu you find yourself as you fit into the bigger puzzle of your community. you learn that is and always has been bigger than you and that if you stand tall it is because you stand on the backs of those who went before you . . .and you owe something to those who come after you. if that doesn't make you feel both powerful and humble at the same time, nothing will. an hbcu grad can deal with and interact with white people, asian people, latinos, green people, purple people, blue people because she knows who she is and what her presence means in the bigger picture, her feet are firmly planted in the ground and she is ready to grow up.
hbcus are important precisely because they are not like the real world. they serve an important purpose that the real world doesn't have time to fill (or maybe doesn't want to fill--this is the same country where it was illegal for us to learn how to read). when you go to an hbcu it is like entering a cocoon as a caterpillar, being nurtured and molded for 4 years. . .and emerging as a butterfly. i realize i'm waxing poetic, but that's really how i feel. you will never convince me that i was crippled by going to howard or that my future children (who will be going to howard as well!) will either and i resent the implication. i'm not discrediting the value of other people's education, but i know what i got out of mine--but most importantly, i'm not asking if your school is necessary as if because *i* didn't get value out of it, it's not valuable (but if you would like to explain to me why ivy league schools are necessary, you can do that)
-steps off soapbox and unclinches black power fist- tee hee.
if you know me, you know this is a non-issue. . .anyone who tries to say anything negative about my alma mater gets shut down. i am so proud to have gone to howard and am glad i found my way there (wish i could go back). nonetheless, i have decided to lay out a little of my argument beyond 'that's the stupidest thing i ever heard' in response to that question:
1. i have not been convinced that integrated schools were the best thing for black people. part of me sincerely believes that if schools really were 'separate but equal' the black community would be in a far better place now. forcing our babies to go to schools where they were seen as inferior to be brainwashed by learning the lies that establish the 'undisputed greatness' of the united states (while glossing over those 'minor blemishes' like slavery and the trail of tears) can't really have been the best thing. it's like it was acknowledging that school wasn't good enough until we were in school with them. . .no matter what. now we have failing public school systems--because you know as soon as we tried to go to school with them they promptly enrolled their kids in private school! generations of adults battered from the battles of integration they were forced to fight as children and who are a little more disconnected from their community and culture as they strive to reach the white is right ideal. if brown v. brown of ed. could have been focused at enforcing separate but equal, who knows what black people could have accomplished by now?? instead we're left licking wounds and trying to compete with them in their 'equal' schools while dealing with the pressures of being considered unwanted and inferior and learning curriculum that makes us feel alienated and minimizes the contributions of our people. as long as they are well funded (this is the key--this is also why i'm elitist when it comes to hbcus), institutions that nurture and educate black people serve a purpose outside of curriculum related education. they create ties to the community, instill a sense of pride and obligation, and champion the race and its accomplishments in a way that is necessary to heal wounds and make us a better people. it is empowering to sit in a classroom full of smart people who look like you with a teacher who sees your sucess as tied to his/her personal success. it is hard for us to get that anywhere else. which brings me to my next point.
2. as 'minorities' it is hard for us to be able *not* to know how to function around white people. whether it is your doctor, your teacher, the lady at the grocery store. . .it is hard for a black person to live in a world where they never have to interact with white people, and let's not forget tv. there are soooo many shows with mainly white focuses that you can see white people in various lights--funny white person, corporate white person, white families, white singles ready to mingle, white kids, violent white people, sad white people, happy white people, rich white people, poor white people. . .the list goes on. everyday living in the united states is nothing if not a study of white people. there are still places where white people can go about their daily lives without seeing a black person except for on tv, the same cannot be said about black people encountering white people. i say all of this to say, that if the concern is that hbcu life isn't 'real life', it need not be a concern. we likely wouldn't have made it to college age if we didn't know how to function around white people to some extent. additionally, a lot of my fellow students at hu were like me and actually grew up around mostly white people and found themselves in situations where they were the only black person in a class. an hbcu education is not crippling, to the contrary, it is empowering. i feel *so* much more comfortable around white people in my own skin after going to howard. howard empowered me in a way i couldn't have imagined. it steeled my spine and anchored me to something bigger than me and my immediate family--it connected me to my community, its achievements and the idea that i *am* different and i should be proud of that. instead of trying to be 'like' the white people i encounter for fear of not 'fitting in or being accepted' i am just me. i am cultured, classy, smart, and have a lot to teach (and learn)--when i notice i am the only black person in a room of white people, i don't get nervous that they are judging me against their standards--i'm not really trying to meet their standards and i don't believe their way is the only way. i know that my being a triple threat can be threatening and i know why and i know that (to paraphrase) "when and where i enter the whole race enters with me" and that makes me powerful beyond measure. and i know, from experience, that there are thousands of people who are like me and think like me--empowered black people allll over, who are focused and saw the light while at an hbcu and refuse to go back to the darkness. it's funny that when we were fighting to be admitted to their schools, one of the court cases approving affirmative action cited the way 'they' benefitted from being around 'us' as if they had to benefit or it wouldn't be ok for us to go there--and our schools aren't good enough because there are not enough of them. i don't need to go to a special school to learn about white people or how to work with them. . .and why doesn't anyone ask if their schools prepare them to be around us??
3. hbcus teach and shape you like nothing else can. a lot of people 'find themselves' in college. . .at an hbcu you find yourself as you fit into the bigger puzzle of your community. you learn that is and always has been bigger than you and that if you stand tall it is because you stand on the backs of those who went before you . . .and you owe something to those who come after you. if that doesn't make you feel both powerful and humble at the same time, nothing will. an hbcu grad can deal with and interact with white people, asian people, latinos, green people, purple people, blue people because she knows who she is and what her presence means in the bigger picture, her feet are firmly planted in the ground and she is ready to grow up.
hbcus are important precisely because they are not like the real world. they serve an important purpose that the real world doesn't have time to fill (or maybe doesn't want to fill--this is the same country where it was illegal for us to learn how to read). when you go to an hbcu it is like entering a cocoon as a caterpillar, being nurtured and molded for 4 years. . .and emerging as a butterfly. i realize i'm waxing poetic, but that's really how i feel. you will never convince me that i was crippled by going to howard or that my future children (who will be going to howard as well!) will either and i resent the implication. i'm not discrediting the value of other people's education, but i know what i got out of mine--but most importantly, i'm not asking if your school is necessary as if because *i* didn't get value out of it, it's not valuable (but if you would like to explain to me why ivy league schools are necessary, you can do that)
-steps off soapbox and unclinches black power fist- tee hee.
6 comments:
Congratulations are in order. It's a great honor to be invited to speak at your alma mater. Your statements were powerful and passionate though I do find fault with the logic in a couple of points you made. As far as integration of schools, it was a significant barrier to overcome because Thurgood and others knew that integration meant both races would be able to socialize with one another. The long term benefits would outweigh the short term discomfort of busing, violence due to us being on "their turf", and teachers that were aligned against us. When blacks lived, worked, and were educated separately from whites it was easy to demonize, characterize, and vilify us without the average white person having the opportunity to confront this pathological characterization head on. But with integration whites began to see for themselves, however slowly, that blacks weren't as bad they were made to seem. Also, while blacks do know how to function around whites, many are not comfortable socializing with them. I've had extensive experience in both environments. And it isn't as easy as saying "if you live in a majority white society then you're comfortable with them by nature." Reality doesn't bear that out to be the case. Working with them is one thing and having a white friend or friends to call upon, eat lunch with, and generally confide in is another. I have black friends who don't particularly care for white folks. Sure they may work for them and with them but they don't feel that requires any emotional connection to them. Some attend majority white graduate schools and feel even less of an affinity for whites. Why? Because they see how more blacks can be and should be where they are but they are not. And they are unsure those blacks will get there. Whites don't have those thoughts or fears and probably never will.
Thanks for your comment and congratulations:)
I don't think it is fault in the logic, it's just that i didn't develop my thoughts completely--they aren't full arguments in favor of integration/segregation because the hbcu isn't de jure segregation, it was just a pinch in defense of the hbcu.
for example, of course i am not in favor of de jure segregation--i believe that we did need laws that made it necessary to make many whites treat us as equals and give us pathways to become full citizens of this country. my overarching point is that somewhere in the mix, we forgot to take care of home. . .our people were intentionally mentally and emotionally damaged and in the battle to integrate, we never took measures to try to heal and empower. we wanted to be put at the starting line with them, but didn't realize that no matter what it looks like, the playing field is not equal and being put at the starting line with muscles atrophied from shackles and burdens on your back is not the same thing as being at the starting block with no real impediments. (enter affirmative action debate.) my point is that hbcus help some of the healing that was ignored in the fight to integrate--i tend to liken it to trying to be in a new relationship when you haven't healed from your last one. personally, i want to send my kids to a well-funded black elementary school and then i feel i can be less concerned about the other schools they go to(except i still want them to go to howard!), it's about the foundation, the steeling of the spine, learning your history, and making the connection to your community and creating that obligation to help uplift it. but if you don't have that experience in in the beginning, the hbcu fills in a lot of blanks--it points out what was missing and people don't love their hbcus so much because of the partying they did, it's because it was like. . .being healed and transformed. there is still a need, we are still a damaged people. even you were focusing on how 'they' saw us and the need to change that--but no one talked about how we see ourselves and our communities. Do you remember the doll study that was the lynchpin of brown v. board of ed? Did you see it was recently replicated with the same results?
also, i don't see a need to have white friends or even for white people to have black friends--i do have some and at one point all of my friends were white--i think the main thing is learning how to work around them and function around them. maybe friendships will form, maybe they won't. if you are comfortable in your own skin, you can be cordial and functional without necessarily being 'comfortable'--i don't always feel comfortable with them, but it's unimportant because i feel comfortable with me. i'm not sure of the benefit of forcing an 'affinity' i was just talking about the fact that an hbcu makes most people comfortable enough in their own skin to function and be productive around a lot of diferent types of people. i can speak from experience, there is definitely a before and after--and one of the differences is that before i felt like i *had* to be friends with the white people for whatever reason, now i don't feel that need. i want them to respect me and i'm a nice person, so if they are good people, they like me too. i may not call them friends--but i have their respect and admiration. once again, the argument is bigger when you take it out of the context of defending the hbcu, I am just saying the hbcu doesn’t cripple your ability to function in the real world, to the contrary it strengthens it.
you also brought up another point that i like to think about—the effect that attending majority institutions has on some blacks. that ‘why can’t more black people be where i am and will they ever get here’ train of thought—it’s not that hbcu grads don’t think the same thing or feel lonely when they return to majority institutions or workplaces, but the hbcu teaches you 1) why so many of us haven’t made it there 2) that you didn’t make it there on your own—you respect the fight so many others fought so that you could get there and 3) you feel a sense of obligation to get us there and not an embarrassment. we know that our burden is unique from white people’s. when blacks go to majority institutions, they are not inundated with a sense of obligation—many of them may not be exposed to the talented tenth idea, and some of them come out thinking the exact opposite ‘I made it, so can you’. . .it is never that simple (I loved when barack said something to the effect of ‘you want people to pull themselves up by their bootstraps even when they don’t have any boots’)
anyway, clearly I can go on and on about this topic, but I was just addressing some of the reasons i would disagree with anyone who said hbcus are unnecessary. . .which reminds me, you never said what you thought about that ;)
I didn't intend to suggest or imply that you felt in any way positive about de jure segregation. But I have heard a similar sentiment in regard to blacks learning very well in majority black environments before and felt my argument would be served best by referring to segregation the way I did. And yes, I am familiar with the doll study (though some have challenged the methodology of it). Reconstruction comes to mind, and the many black schools that flourished due to the upheaval then renewal of the south. Of course later many gains would be lost and, to some extent, may not return in the deep south for a very long time and will certainly require a change in mindset. However, I agree with your - shall we say - more developed logic (lol) that blacks have much to gain from an environment such as Howard's. What does bring me pause though when I consider your larger question of the necessity of HBCUs is the gap between, say, Howard, Morehouse, and Spelman - the big 3 - and the rest of the bunch. The gap is large and growing. And of course one could argue an even larger gap exists between, say, Ivies and majority public institutions. But the problem is that the big 3 have been largely accepted into majority society and their graduates flourish, while other HBCUs barely can keep their budget in order. Heck, Morehouse may as well have a special entrance at Harvard law and business schools because their graduates are recruited heavily. On the other hand, FAMU, who has a high number of merit scholars in attendance every yr., has faced budget issues for years and their law school (which a dear friend of mine attends) is rumored to be facing a takeover by a majority institution (University of Central FL) in the next few years. In sum, I do believe in the mission of HBCUs and the effectiveness of their efforts. Unfortunately though, many blacks may be better off attending a majority public school if they are seeking a degree that will allow them to market themselves in the most flexible manner. Also, I don't believe in having or seeking whites to befriend because of their "whiteness." Instead, I believe it is far easier to befriend someone, whether white or another ethnicity, if the environment not only allows it but presents opportunities to build those social relationships.
Unfortunately though, many blacks may be better off attending a majority public school if they are seeking a degree that will allow them to market themselves in the most flexible manner.
Wow. . .you can't be serious.
Anywho, Aimee, this post was very hard for me to read. I realize that you are simply trying to delineate the reasons you feel HBCUs are necessary, and I totally respect that. I feel HBCU's serve a very important purpose for a certain demographic population. But, I'm sick and tired of certain people who attended HBCU's devaluing my undergrad experience because I went to a non-HBCU, and quite honestly, I have a chip on my shoulder about this very issue. I'm tired of HBCU-ers pretending that they're part of some elite sect that has ascended to the pinnacle of black consciousness. I'm tired of non-HBCU-ers convincing themselves that their education was inherently better than the HBCU-ers. I guess, I'm just tired of this argument in general. Neither camp is EVER going to convice the other of their beliefs. I wish we could all respect each other for getting our educations and the unique experiences gained - no matter which pathway was taken. This issue is near and dear to your heart, so I understand your need to engage. Yeah, I really didn't have a strong point to make, but this issue always gets me a little heated.
oh snellleree. all of your points are strong--and yeah, i can't engage that 'quote'. i guess the bottom line is that people are entitled to their opinions (and that showed why i have to be so defensive of my alma mater).
i understand you being put off by anyone who is judgmental or condescending, not only about their education, but about anything. i think that hbcu-ers are more inclined to be so as a defense mechanism--no one is asking whether other people's educational institutions are 'necessary', for us on the other hand, the issue comes up every few years--or even more frequently in smaller settings. and for me it's not about 'ascending' it's about being surrounded by something that i was never surrounded by before in life--being englightened without having to look for it. that being said, i know there are plenty of enlightened blacks who never attended an hbcu and i don't think attending an hbcu is the only way to attain, or is some sort of proof of social consciousness (i know hbcu grads who somehow ended up slightly clueless).
like i said in the post, i don't devalue other people's educations just because i didn't go to their institutions, but i don't get that same respect, and it wouldn't be hard for me to read a post on why someone who went to a majority institution loves their institution. and while you may be able to say 'neither camp will be able to convince each other' as if it is purely an academic debate, the fate of hbcus *depends* on us being able to convince people they are necessary, there are talks of doing away with several as we speak.
Yes, congratulations are in order! But I guess I’m surprised that you have been able to achieve such an accomplishment-since your degree from Howard allowed you room for very little flexibility in marketing yourself. Let me start by saying that you already know that you are a Howard girl after my own heart so I agreed completely with points 1 thru 3 on the necessity of the hbcu. I guess if you or I ever needed anymore arguments to support the necessity of the hbcu, we’d need only to look to the comments that followed your post. I must apologize to anyone who is offended by what I am about to say but everyone *is* entitled to their own opinion, right? It amazes me how deeply the poison of white supremacy has penetrated our minds. White people taught us how to hate ourselves. So many of us have come to accept the idea that somehow because we do not attend their schools, live in their neighborhoods, assimilate to their culture, or aspire to their value system we are somehow inferior. White people separated themselves from US, forced us into a world completely separate from theirs in every possibly way, made us feel that our culture, language, history and accomplishments were not irrelevant and that their world and mere existence were in every way superior to our own. This was the way of life that was accepted in this country for hundreds of years as we all know and every time we have tried to claim something for ourselves or assert that there is value in blackness we were told that was a LIE! It was not good enough that we remained separated but everything we had was surely unequal. We have had to fight for every ounce of equality and continue this fight as is evident by the idea that somehow attending an hbcu makes your education inferior to that of whites or blacks who have attended ‘majority’ schools. Are we really saying that somehow there is no value in me learning about my culture, no value in the professors who teach at my hbcu because they look like me, no value in the knowledge I gained because it was about me, benefited me and people who look like me? Yes I can see how people white people would benefit from supporting this argument, because we all know that knowledge is power and power in the hands of the oppressed is a dangerous thing. But what do we as blacks gain from this sort of ‘hbcu bashing?’ how hard have majority schools worked to include minority students? Have they made it so that their ivy league institutions are somehow affordable for minority students who generally come from lower income families? And if they have accepted us to their institutions, how easy has it been to find courses that teach about the history of black and other minority people? It’s as if ours is a history that can only be told by them, and that means they are free to omit as much as they please. Somehow we continue to subscribe to the values of a culture that begrudgingly embraces us into their world. So, as the product of a BLACK private school on the west side of Chicago, which boasts a 100% college acceptance (and not only to hbcus), and Howard University, which is the school I have wanted to attend since I was in 7th grade, I tell you that I do have an elitist attitude about my college experience and specifically about attending an hbcu. I feel it is a privilege to have sat in the same classrooms as Phylicia Rashad, Debbie Allen, Zora Neal Hurston and countless others. But this does not mean that I somehow devalue a non hbcu education it simply means that I value my own. Just because I love myself, my blackness, doesn’t mean I hate anyone else. How have we even come to associate the two? I am SO glad, I went to HOWARD U! Whew!
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