Idealism and Liberal Education

The Promise of Equality

The Promise of Equality Why is it important for colleges to educate a diverse student body? The issue is an important one because whom colleges educate is of paramount importance to our nation's future. In Brown v. Board ofEducation (1954), the Supreme Court held that racial segregation in the public schools is unconstitutional. The Court's unequivocal affirmation of the equal rights of all citizens was, as Richard Kluger writes in Simple Justice, "nothing short of a reconsecration of American ideals." We have made decided progress since Brown v. Board ofEducation in providing equal opportunities for the participation of minorities in our society. But the challenge of fully redeeming America's promise of equality -the promise set forth in the Declaration of Independence, in the post-Civil War amendments to the United States Constitution, and in the inspiring words of Abraham Lincoln-still lies before us, and with it the challenge of fully appreciating the necessary role of education in fulfilling that promise. That challenge becomes more pressing-as a matter of social justice and economic necessity-as the proportion of minorities in our population grows. By the year 2000, no fewer than one-third of all Americans will be members of racial or ethnic minorities. In as many as five states and in more than fifty major cities, members of so-called minority groups will, in fact, constitute a majority. The 1990 census found that our country's population stood at just under 250 million people. The white population grew by 6 percent during the 1980s and now constitutes 80.3 percent of the population as a whole. But the most striking findings ofthat census are those describing how four ofthe nation's minority groups all grew significantly faster than the population of whites. More than 12 percent of the country's population is now African-American, an increase of 13.2 percent over a decade before. Persons of Hispanic origin, who can be of any race, are estimated to make up 9 percent of the population, an increase of 53 percent. Asian-Americans constitute almost 3 percent ofthe population, an increase of 107.8 percent 61 62 Idealism and Liberal Education over ten years. And Native Americans comprise nearly I percent of the population, an increase of 37.9 percent during the past decade. In short, the racial composition of our nation changed more rapidly between 1980 and 1990 than at any other time in this century. The striking demographic changes of the 1980s will have significant consequences for the nation's public school systems and colleges. By the year 2000, one-third of all school-age children will be minorities. These developments will also have significant consequences for the nation's workforce. By the year 2000, members of minority groups will comprise approximately 20 percent of the national workforce; in many cities and states that percentage will be substantially higher. At the same time, unemployment rates for African-Americans and Hispanics are and will predictably continue to be more than double those for whites. These two facts-that minority groups are growing at a much faster rate than the general population and that unemployment rates for minorities are considerably higher than for any other groups-make it clear that American society must be more effective in the future than it has been in the past in providing educational opportunity for minority citizens. Unless this country learns to take fullest advantage of the talents of all its citizens, we will fail to meet our own aspirations, and we will pay a high price in the continuing political and economic competition with other nations, particularly those of Southeast Asia and of the European Union. The alternative to an America in which all its members share in the opportunities and security that an education brings is, as Disraeli wrote in his novel Sybil, two nations "as ignorant of each other's habits, thoughts and feelings as if they were inhabitants of different planets." Since at least the time of Brown v. Board ofEducation, it has been clear that educational opportunity is the single most important element in achieving economic advancement and fulfilling one's personal promise. As the Supreme Court stated in Brown, education "is the very foundation ofgood citizenship. Today it is a principal instrument in awakening the child to cultural values, in preparing him for later professional training, and in helping him to adjust normally to his environment. In these days, it is doubtful that any child...