Black Colleges: New Perspectives on Policy and Practice (review)

The status of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) is among the most pressing issue-related challenges of educational equity, diversity, and access in American higher education. How HBCUs are positioned financially, politically, and intellectually continues to evoke criticism and support. Traditionally, research has not heavily influenced conversations about the status of HBCUs, which confuses the necessary facts and contextual understanding needed to interpret the condition of this institutional sector.

Black Colleges: New Perspectives on Policy and Practice offers an edited volume of scholarship aimed at providing an accurate contemporary analysis of HBCUs. Editors M. Christopher Brown and Kassie Freeman claim that, while "HBCUs continue to be devalued and misjudged" (p. xi), they collectively represent a cornerstone of African American degree attainment. The purpose of the book, according to the editors, is three-fold: (a) to provide historical and current analysis of HBCUs, (b) to position HBCUs within the higher education landscape and the contextual dynamics of race, power, and politics, and (c) to provide recommendations for practice and policy development.

The book consists of 11 chapters and three appendices. The first part of the text covers the policy context of HBCUs, and Part 2 deals with more practical topics such as the socialization of Black faculty and the needs of high-achieving Black college students. Individually the chapters share consistent formatting but varying topical depth and significance. Chapter 1, "The Changing Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Vistas on Dual Missions, Desegregation, and Diversity," offers a rich and timely discussion of HBCUs. Most importantly, while establishing the historical context of HBCUs, Brown, Bertrand, and Donahoo's discussion is contemporary and fresh, contemplating current philosophical challenges HBCUs collectively face. Mission maintenance in a changing higher education context, campus climate, and student diversity are among these issues.

Chapter 4, "Other Things Being Equal: Federal Financial Aid and the Politics of Equal Opportunity for Historically Black Colleges and Universities," by Paul Green, assesses federal financial aid and its effect on equal opportunity. He situates the topic "within the context of principles of color blindness and race-neutral policies and their effect on subverting and undermining equal education opportunity" (p. 67). He maps descriptions and analyses of federal financial aid programs and policy to illuminate the consequences for African American students and historically Black institutions.

Although the body of this chapter is informative, Green ends with the familiar assertion of the need to enhance Pell Grants and reduce student reliance on loans. He does, however, recommend achieving this end by making the Pell Grant the center of financial aid packages, separating the Pell Grant from other federal aid such Hope scholarships, eliminating loan origination fees for poorer students, and restoring interest rate deductibility to the tax code.

Other chapters include sketches assessing the need for inter-institutional policies, strategic planning, and the presence of White faculty at HBCUs. The last chapter, "Black Colleges and Universities in America and South Africa: Common Histories and Future Destinies?" by Mabokela and Thomas highlights the striking but often overlooked political, social, and educational similarities between HBCUs in America and South Africa.

Appendix A is a complete state-by-state list of HBCUs along with contact information and website addresses. Appendix B is a state-by-state list of predominantly Black colleges and universities, and Appendix C is a 236-item bibliography of readings on Black colleges that would have been better organized both by topic and by author.

The editors do not claim that the book discusses every critical issue affecting HBCUs. As a result, the text inadequately treats several issues essential to the success of HBCUs, for example, presidential leadership, the role of faculty in academic governance, and legal mandates to "desegregate."

Given what has already been written, the utility of this book is best evaluated by the extent to which it provides substantial understanding about the current state of HBCUs and the extent to which it advances theories...