Valarie Jarrett, White House Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison.

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Valerie Jarrett, White House Senior Advisor and Assistant to the President for Intergovernmental Relations and Public Liaison (was co-chairwoman of the Obama transition team): B.A. (Psychology), Stanford University; J.D., University of Michigan Law School.

The buzz around Valerie Jarrett: News coverage of Jarrett’s appointment has focused on what the New York Times refers to as her “fierce” and almost “familial loyalty” to the Obama family. Coverage of her qualifications usually lists her undergraduate and graduate degrees as indicators that she brings the same level of preparedness to her work on the  White House staff as the Chief Executive who hired her. The Times also takes time to mention that her daughter is a student at Harvard Law School. This helps to portray Jarrett as one who creates and supports a culture of high achievement both for herself and for those in her care. Relatedly, some media coverage has focused on the academic and professional achievements of her forbears. Among the family members described in an October 2008 feature story on Vogue.com is, “Her maternal great-grandfather Robert Robinson Taylor […] the first black person to graduate from M.I.T.” For a time, there was some low-level buzz that the Obama administration was obscuring her Iranian heritage. Jarrett was born in Iran to reknown Black educator Barbara Bowman and Dr. James Bowman, a noted African American physician. At the time, her father was involved in humanitarian work in that country. Young Valerie grew up speaking Persian and French, as well as English. Check out: “The New Team – Valerie Jarrett,” in the New York Times; “Barack’s Rock,” at Vogue.com; “Inside Obama’s Ear: What’s She Telling Him,” in The Chicago Tribune; Meet the Press transcript for November 9, 2008, MSNBC.com; “Who Is Valerie Jarrett,” on the Pamela on Politics blog at BET.com.

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(Source: Georgia Archives)

Posted by Ajuan Mance

The Journal of Blacks in Higher Education has published its annual roster of statistics for Black student acceptance rates at the nation’s highest ranked colleges and universities. For many critics of affirmative action, these numbers will prove controversial, since in most cases the Black student admit rate is higher than the all college admit rate. Many will interpret this as a clear indication that it is easier for Black students to get into college than it is for the average white student.

In the case of Cornell University, for example, the all-college admit rate is 20.7%. For every hundred applicants to this institution, just over 79 were denied admission. When it comes to Black applicants to Cornell, the prospects were more favorable, but only slightly. With a Black student admit rate of 21.2%, just under 79 out of every 100 Black applicants were denied admission.

The difference between the all-college admit rate and the Black student admit rate is more dramatic in the case of the University of Chicago. In 2008, the overall freshman acceptance rate was 27.9%, but the Black student acceptance rate was 48.7%.

While it is highly possible that some of these numbers are attributable to self-selection (with many weaker and mid-range Black candidates eliminating themselves before the formal application process begins ), the simple fact is like the children of alumni, the scion of wealthy donors, and talented college athletes, Black students are often the beneficiaries of special consideration during the admission process. Affirmative action is alive and well at most highly-ranked colleges and universities and, despite recent efforts to end the practice, the practice shows little signs of abating.

So, if a higher admission rate for Black students is indicative of race-based affirmative action, then how are we to understand those colleges and universities at which Black students are admitted at a lower-than-average rate? Are these institutions also taking race into account, but in a way that hurts rather than benefits students of African descent? Is the lower Black admit rate a factor of the lower average income of Black students’ families? It is certainly conceivable that acollege that does not practice need-blind admissions would admit significant less students from working-class and poor families.

Or are these institutions favoring a particular profile that is more common in non-Black populations? Are they interested in students who combine academics with a type of extra-curricular well-roundedness that is more difficult to achieve for students from impoverished communities and/or under-funded school systems? After all, no matter how good your grades and test scores are, if your school doesn’t offer sports, music programs, or a drama club, then your non-academic options are likely to be very limited.

Whatever the reason, these institutions somehow find Black students more difficult to admit than their non-Black peers. I include this brief list of those selective colleges and universities who admit Black students at a lower rate than other students not only to draw attention and scrutiny to admission practices at these institutions, but also as a point of information for Black prospective students and their families. Such families may wish to consider visiting these campuses and inquiring about the process of admission and the degree to which race may hurt or hinder a student’s prospects for admission. And, for students who are planning to apply to one or more of these institutions, be sure to include at least one or two “safety schools” because, if you are planning to apply to any of the following institutions, the odds are against you.

High Ranking Colleges and Universities with Lower Admit Rates for Black Students (from JBHE)

Emory University — Overall Admit Rate: 26.6% — Black Student Admit Rate: 17.3%

Wake Forest University — Overall Admit Rate: 38.4% — Black Student Admit Rate: 25.8%

University of Southern California — Overall Admit Rate: 21.9% — Black Student Admit Rate: 16.6%

Washington University — Overall Admit Rate: 21.7% — Black Student Admit Rate: 16.9%

UCLA — Overall Admit Rate: 22.9% — Black Student Admit Rate: 16.1%

University of California-Berkeley — Overall Admit Rate: 22.3% — Black Student Admit Rate: 14.8%

Davidson College — Overall Admit Rate: 25.7% — Black Student Admit Rate: 25.5%

Bryn Mawr College — Overall Admit Rate: 48.8% — Black Student Admit Rate: 32.1%

Smith College — Overall Admit Rate: 47.7% — Black Student Admit Rate: 36.4%

Lafayette College — Overall Admit Rate: 37.2% — Black Student Admit Rate: 30.7%

Barnard College — Overall Admit Rate: 28.5% — Black Student Admit Rate: 25.1%

Macalester College — Overall Admit Rate: 41.1% — Black Student Admit Rate: 32.5%

Washington and Lee University — Overall Admit Rate: 16.5% — Black Student Admit Rate: 16.4%

Bucknell University — Overall Admit Rate: 29.8% — Black Student Admit Rate: 19.5%

Harvey Mudd College — Overall Admit Rate: 31.1% — Black Student Admit Rate: 29.0%

Posted by Ajuan Mance

(Source: The Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture)

Posted by Ajuan Mance

This is the second post in a series on President Barack Obama’s African American appointees. To read the first, on Eric Holder, Jr., click HERE.

U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk.

(Source: WPNI and daylife.com)

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Ron Kirk, United States Trade Representative

B.A. (Political Science and Sociology), Austin College; J.D., University of Texas School of Law.

The buzz on Ron Kirk: Texas pride shows through in the coverage of Ron Kirk’s appointment as US Trade Representative. Many local area reporters celebrate his all-Texas educational credentials. Those sources that go beyond a simple listing of Kirk’s credentials emphasize his achievements at majority white schools, during a period when racial tensions were high in his home state. This former mayor of Dallas was a student leader at his high school during a time when anti-Black sentiment divided many Texas communities. He was also one of only a small number of Black students at Austin College, where he distinguished himself as one of an even smaller number of students to complete an internship with the speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. Check out: “The New Team — Ron Kirk,” in The New York Times;  “Obama Appoints Ex-Dallas Mayor as First Black Trade Rep,” Afro.com; “Austin College Alum Ron Kirk Appointed to Key Obama Cabinet Post,” Austin College News and Events; “US Trade Representative: Who is Ron Kirk?,“AllGov.com.

Posted by Ajuan Mance

Attorney General Eric Holder, Jr.

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Barack Obama has surrounded himself with a combination of former adversaries, seasoned insiders, and brainy interlopers (like the president himself). Indeed, many of his Black appointees fall into the last category, with lots of education and lots of experience in related areas, but somewhat less direct experience on Capitol Hill.

In terms of education, President Obama’s Black appointees are a lot like their counterparts in the House and the Senate. What African Americans in the House and Senate may lack in multi-million dollar personal fortunes they make up for in education and intellectual achievement.

For each of the Obama appointees that I am profiling this week, I have included their educational background as well as a brief sample of the “buzz” that has developed around their academic achievements. That there actually is buzz around their academic credentials is something of a phenomenon in itself; and yet there it is, more evidence that the current administration (still too recently installed to have either failed or fulfilled its political promises) has certainly set in motion a significant cultural shift. For at least this brief moment,  media outlets are turning away from their usual focus on Black academic failure to focus on the Black academic standouts in the White House.

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Eric Holder, Jr., Attorney General

B.A. (History), Columbia University; J.D., Columbia University School of Law.

The buzz on Eric Holder, Jr.: Virtually every news source that has covered Holder’s nomination and confirmation as attorney general has also addressed his education. Most mention that that he is a graduate of both Columbia and Columbia Law School, but some also note that he completed high school at Stuyvesant, one of New York City’s most prestigious magnet schools. The more favorable the article, the more detail it is likely to include on his education, and the positive buzz around Holder suggests that his achivements in high school, college, and law school, as well as his involvement in community projects and volunteering foreshadow his professional successes as well as his interest in and qualification for national service at the highest levels. More negative coverage portrays Holder as an elite (and possibly elitist) insider with questionable connections to big agriculture and other corporate interests.

For more on Eric Holder, check out: “10 Things You Didn’t Know About Eric Holder, ” in U.S. News and World Report; “Likely Obama Pick’s NY Roots,” in Newsday; “So Who Is Eric Holder,” in The Daily Kos; “First Caribbean American Confirmed as U.S. Attorney General,” in Caribbean360.com; “Holder, High Achiever Poised to Scale New Heights,” The New York Times.

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George Washington Carver (center), pictured with some other members of the Tuskegee Institute faculty.

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Posted by Ajuan Mance

Ta-Nehisi Coates (left) and John McWhorter heated up November with an online war of words.

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Whenever a black nerd gets teased for thinking he’s white, all he has to say is four words: “Is Barack Obama white?”

–John McWhorter, “Revenge of the Black Nerd,” November 9, 2008

Did anyone catch the minor dust-up between quasi-conservative contrarian John McWhorter and Atlantic Monthly contributor Ta-Nehisi Coates? Here’s the short version: In the quote at the top of this page, McWhorter proclaims that the election of Barack Obama, an African American overachiever, has provided nerdy Black kids with the ultimate rejoinder to accusations that they are “acting white.” Coates disagrees. He believes that, “this is the sort of retort that will get you slapped-up, beat-down and snapped-on for like a week straight..” In a November 11, 2008 blogpost, Coates offers his own alternative advice to “nascent black nerds”:

One thing I learned as a black nerd in West Baltimore: Get your tips on how to defend yourself from kids who know how to defend themselves, not from other black nerds….unless said nerds have figured out how to defend themselves.

There is something almost comical about the fact that these prominent African American writers are debating each other over the best way for school kids to tell each other off. After all, the question really isn’t which strategy is a more effective way of dealing with narrow-minded taunts; the real question is where this particular taunt, that Black kids who do well in school are somehow less Black than their schoolmates, came from in the first place.

Between the two, McWhorter’s strategy comes closer to challenging the underlying issue that might lead a child to characterize his more academic peers as sorta kinda “white” acting. If a nerdy Black kid is accused of acting/thinking/talking “white” it might be indeed be useful to remind the accuser of the people he or she admires who act/think/talk the same way. Coates suggestion that nerdy Black kids who don’t wish to be teased need simply need to learn how to fight doesn’t really do much to challenge the convoluted logic of kids who think Black kids who read and do well in school are appropriating white behaviors.

Also, though I tend to agree more with Coates on those political issues that don’t involve the schoolyard, his response to McWhorter has one glaring problem that not even McWhorter addressed directly. The flaw in Coates’s thinking is evident in his “dramatization” of the interaction between a Black nerd and a kid who accuses him of talking about about a television show that only a white people would watch:

Nascent Black Nerd: [References some obscure episode of Battlestar Gallatica] (sic)

Daytwon: Son, why you always watching that white shit?

Nascent Black Nerd: Is Barack Obama white??

Daytwon: Baracka-these-nuts nigga!!!

Did you see it? The error in Coates’s thinking? It seems fairly clear to me (and to most readers, I imagine), that Daytown, the antagonist in this dramatization, is supposed to be African American. This suggests, then, that the classmate who is most likely to accuse the Black nerd of acting white is Black himself. Although this is the stereotype, it is not always or even most often the case. I can use my own experience as a case in point. As a Black nerd at an overwhelmingly white high school, and as the only one of the Black students in my grade who was enrolled in the honors track, I was never accused of acting white by any my Black compatriots. I was, however, accused of not really being Black by one white classmate, and more than once. The popular perception that the Black nerd is targeted for ridicule by his or her Black classmates certainly doesn’t hold in my case.

And it doesn’t hold in McWhorter’s case either. In his November 24, 2008 response to Coates’s blogpost, he admits that, “I did not get called ‘white’ for liking school. But I do recall one Asian kid who gave me a hard time for being ‘smart’ once in eighth grade.” Not even Coates, whose imaginary “Daytwon” comes to represent that much maligned Black underachiever that haunts our popular imagination, can recall ever having had his Blackness questioned, despite his love of all thinks geeky. He explains:

D&D and my interest in fantasy was the one thing that really marked me as different. None of my friends told me I was acting white for playing D&D, they just thought it was weird.

In the end, the battle between McWhorter and Coates over the best way to answer back at those imaginary legions of African American bullies amounts to little more than those beloved D&D battles of Coates’s high school days. Roll that 12-sided die my friend, Daytwon’s about to get his comeuppance.

Posted by Ajuan Mance

Howard University first-year Britney Wilson is a Black Scholar to Watch

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Britney Wilson. As a high school senior, this academically gifted polymath beat out 2000 of her peers to win a four-year “Full Ride” scholarship from the Tom Joyner Foundation. The scholarship provides tuition, room, board, and books for up to 10 semesters. Wilson is using the scholarship funds to pay for her tuition and expenses at Howard University, where she is now a first-year student. During her high school years, the Brooklyn native had a full schedule, performing and competing as a slam poet, singing in a local gospel choir, tutoring in French and history, and working as a teen health initiative peer educator with the New York Civil Liberties Union. In an interview with BlackNews.com, Wilson expressed her pride in being a part of the Black college tradition. She explained, “I take pride in representing black intellectuals who choose to attend HBCUs and I intend to show anyone who is doubtful just how much we are capable of accomplishing.” During high school, Britney maintained a 4.0 grade point average, and in the spring of 2008 she graduated 6th in her class. At Howard she plans to double major in English and African American history before moving on to law school. She has lived with cerebral palsy since birth, and sees a law degree as a useful route to reaching her goal of becoming an “advocate for the three demographics [she] represent[s]: African-Americans, females and people with disabilities.” (Source: The New York Daily News).

Posted by Ajuan Mance

Jack Trice, Iowa State’s first Black football player, with teammates, 1923.

(Image courtesy of University Archives, ISU Library)

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George Jewett, University of Michigan’s first African American football player, in an 1891 team photo.

Posted by Ajuan Mance