Week 10

Friday March 28^th

Democracy Realized? Legacies of the Civil Rights Movement Conference

Topic: Higher Education: Institutions of Democracy or Bastions of Privilige?

Panelists: Terrence Mitchell, Founder & Executive Director of CREED College Readiness Program

    Lucius Outlaw, Vanderbilt University

    Stephanie Martin, Economics Professor at Allegheny

    Kazi Joshua, Director of The Center for Intercultural Advancement & Student Success

When I decided to go to this panel, I was curious about how much of the discussion would be focused on economic privilege and how much would be focused on majority privilege in higher education. The chosen panel members seemed prepared to discuss either, and the questions the moderators posed were open enough to allow the conversation to turn either way.

The first question: What is the role of education in civil rights?

                The panel agreed that there is potential for education’s role to be both positive and negative. An interesting point that stood out to me was the disconnect that has been created in the study of civil rights. I believe it was Mr. Mitchell who mentioned that schools have a tendency to place everything in their own neat little box, for example, the study of civil rights tends to be boxed into “black studies.” As we’ve made progress in civil rights, the immense importance in continuing that progress has been watered down so that it has become less focused on. So while the potential to play a positive role in civil rights is there, at the moment that role isn’t really being played out.

The second question: Education is referred to as the great equalizer. How does that apply today?

                Someone said that the question was whether education should be equality of opportunity or equality of result, and how do we achieve that? For example, to achieve equal opportunity, are minority quotas (such as those from affirmative action) okay? Personally, I agreed with the panelist response that affirmative action was and is necessary to achieve a quantitative change in the right direction, but that it is not a permanent solution. It is insufficient by itself to bring about qualitative change. Qualitative change comes from taking steps to stop homophobia, racism, sexism and other prejudices that have negative effects on the educational experience for students from all walks of life.

                Some topics in the panel weren’t necessarily fleshed out in full – I was hoping for more discussion on the economics of higher education. Professor Martin did discuss this briefly, mentioning that one in four students attend higher education institutions, and around four million of those end up at small liberal arts schools. There are plenty of people that are successful without higher education, so to have the opportunity is a privilege. Since this is the case, education really does have the power to either make progress towards equality by transforming the minds of students or to continue playing along with old prejudices, stereotypes and views. The college experience can, and often is, a transformative one with the power to allow young adults to see the perspectives of people from all walks of life. In this sense, it has the ability to be the great equalizer.

The conversations during this panel were interesting, but often seemed to deviate from the questions. Overall, it was very thought provoking and a reminder that while higher education is a great privilege, it’s far from perfect. There is still plenty that could be improved upon as we attempt to progress towards equality.