It is hard to remember that a bit more than a decade ago, there was some talk of a “post-racial” United States after the election of Barack Obama. The idea seems incredibly naïve now. From the rise of birtherism and racial violence (Charleston) and elsewhere to the “very fine people” marching in Charlottesville and the racial massacre at Walmart, things have gotten worse. Racists have been given permission to express themselves and act, and nativist, racist hatred has practically become public policy.
As important, racial gaps in practically everything—income and wealth, housing, job opportunities—have stayed the same or grown along with inequality generally. And these reflect a long legacy of slavery and Jim Crow that evolved into the systemic and structural racism that exists today.
Higher education is no exception. There are increasing gaps between the well-resourced, largely white, selective private and “flagship” public institutions and the institutions that serve minoritized populations, especially in community colleges. Some numerical gains in access and “diversity” have not done much to close attainment and achievement gaps. This special edition of Change addresses these and other issues as part of “An Unpaid Debt: The Case for Equity in Higher Education.”
In the essay introducing the volume, Estela Mara Bensimon notes that we all know about the gaps, but we never really say why they persist despite our good intentions. Reluctantly, she calls this out as “racism.” Using Ibram X. Keni’s definition of racism as “any measure that produces or sustains racial inequity between racial groups,” she argues that examples of racist policy such as placement and remediation policies, merit aid, and achievement gaps are widespread in higher education. Racism that permits or accepts differences among groups should be seen for what it is and squarely addressed as a debt to minoritized groups.
She notes, “policies are the needed and most effective way to address this debt,” “working on the ground, in partnership with institutional leaders, faculty, and system-level policy-makers, as well as with private foundations to promote antiracist policies and programs to produce results that are equitable between groups.” She concludes, “If we continue to skirt around race and racism by calling it other things, we are sacrificing racial equity to avoid rejection. The aim of this special issue of Change is to normalize the R-word.”
What follows are seventeen articles that powerfully explore the various dimensions—historical, cultural, legal, institutional, and pedagogical—of equity in higher education and how to address the debt. I want to especially thank my coeditors, Estela Mara Bensimon (University of Southern California), Lorelle Espinosa (American Council on Education), and Tia Brown McNair (Association of American Colleges and Universities) for their invaluable advice and assistance in organizing this issue.