Morrow 2
This journal analysis explores the Black experience in the United States and United
Kingdom for both students and faculty members in higher education. I wanted to explore
different points of view so I reviewed three articles that each focused on an aspect of the Black
experience in higher education. My aim is to link the lack of representation and mentorship in
the Black community as it relates to secondary education.
The first article I reviewed looked at actual versus perceived diversities and cultural
competencies within higher education while relating faculty to students. One participant defined
cultural competency as something that “allows people of diverse backgrounds to achieve all they
can be within the culture that they work or play in” (Luster-Edwards & Martin, 2018].
Ultimately, the study found that students and faculty are more likely to experience a sense of
belonging and growth when leaders take action against racism and microaggressions and
diversity is established as an organizational value which would prompt the University to “do a
more effective job of recruiting and [retaining] people of color.” (Luster-Edwards & Martin,
2018) Legally, most places of employment are required to have policies, expectations, and
standards in place regarding racism. And while that does tend to happen, there are documented
instances of racism displayed towards Black and other minorities all throughout higher
education. A study completed in the United Kingdom by the University and College Union
discovered that approximately “70 percent of its Black and minority ethnic members had been
subject to bullying and harassment by colleagues” (Rollock, 2021). Despite such a large amount
of racism, Black women still highly desire education and advanced degrees beyond the
bachelor’s level. In other words, the fact that policies are not being followed isn’t stopping this
demographic from reaching their full potential; but it has proven to make that path more difficult.
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The second article I reviewed set out to locate reasons why Black males chose to pursue
an undergraduate degree while in high school. Several of the participants in the study noted the
positive influence of not only their families, but their educators in K12 had on their decision to
attend college. Some said their support never allowed for another path to be explored and they
were always expected to go to college, while others said they knew they would have been
supported no matter the path they chose. Those students decided college was in their best interest
because they had a support group of college-educated individuals (Hines et. al, 2021). I found
this interesting, and slightly problematic, because the entire premise of Luster-Edward and
martin’s 2018 study was to show the discrepancy between student and faculty racial
demographics (2018). Their study proved cultural competency and diversity are factors for
students and faculty of color, but statistically speaking, they are not for universities across the
country.
The third article I reviewed aims to locate the breakdown between the perceived
objective of increasing diversity and inclusion on campuses and what research tells us is
happening in terms of diversity. Institutions can claim they value diversity and inclusion all they
want, but when the numbers don’t match up, there is clearly something wrong. The Department
of Education reported that in 2016, of four-year public institutions, only 5.1 percent of full-time
faculty members were Black. If diversity were truly a value and actively explored, these
members would not be what they are. Institutions of higher education seem to forget that “the
presence of mentorship of Black males, especially in predominantly white colleges and
universities enable Black students to overcome negative messages and stereotypes about their
academic competence and qualifications.” (Sparkman, 2021) if Universities were more
Morrow 4
intentional when looking at their diversity efforts, representation and mentorship would
drastically change, and the stats would show improvement.
All three articles show that from high school through completion of their undergraduate
degree, Black students aren’t afforded the same educational experience as their white classmates.
There is sufficient research to show that policies that are put in place simply aren’t important to
university administrators across the country. This is seen in the transition from high school
where students’ support groups influence them to make the decision to attend college. It can be
assumed they are looking up to those who support them and that they would intend to continue
that into college. Unfortunately, with such poor minority representation, the students don’t have
the mentorship they’ve learned to operate under anymore. Higher education as a whole should
pay more attention to equal representation in their faculty for students if they wish to adequately
educate students from all demographics.
When I think about what these articles have taught me and what the Bible might have to
say about this issue, the verse that comes to mind is Hebrews 12:14 which states, “make every
effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness, no one will see the Lord.”
(New International Bible, 2011). This verse is pretty self-explanatory. God wants us to treat
everyone as our equal and live together peacefully; He gets to judge us, we don’t get to judge
each other. He gets to elevate us as He sees fit, that’s not up to us. Our instruction is clear. In a
perfect world, there is no need for diversity and inclusion efforts because the standard
expectation is that we are all treating each other as equals.
After reviewing these articles, I conclude there need to be concerted efforts to even out
representation among faculty members to generally reflect the demographic of students on
college campuses. Five percent is unacceptable, and it could easily be seen as an intentional act
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in an attempt to lower the education or lessen the educational experience of Black undergraduate
students. All students should be able to find safe space and mentorship with professors on
campus. The research that’s been completed tells us we have all the information we need to
make this change, it’s just a matter of doing it.
Morrow 6
References
Hines, E. M., Mayes, R. D., Hines, M. R., Henderson, J. A., Golden, M. N., Singleton, P., Cintron, D.
W., Wathen, B.-J., Wright, C. G., Vega, D., & Slack, T. (2021). “You Are Going to School”:
Exploring the Precollege Experiences of First-Year Black Males in Higher Education.
Professional School Counseling., 25(1). https://doi.org/10.1177/2156759X211040044
Luster-Edward, S., & Martin, B. N. (2018). Minorities in Higher Education in the United States: Their
status and disparities in student and faculty representation in a Midwest Research I University.
Higher Education Studies, 9(1), 68. https://doi.org/10.5539/hes.v9n1p68
New International Bible. (2011). Zondervan. (Original work published 1973).
Rollock, N. (2021). “I Would Have Become Wallpaper Had Racism Had Its Way”: Black Female
Professors, Racial Battle Fatigue, and Strategies for Surviving Higher Education. Peabody
Journal of Education, 96(2), 206–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/0161956X.2021.1905361
Sparkman, T. E. (2021). Black Male Executives in Higher Education: The experience of ascending the
academic leadership ladder. Advances in Developing Human Resources, 23(4), 277–299.
https://doi.org/10.1177/15234223211037752
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