In an op-ed published in Newsmax, “Education Opportunities for Blacks Post-Affirmative Action,” Philanthropy Roundtable Adjunct Senior Fellow Patrice Onwuka explains how philanthropy’s historic role in the education of Black and disadvantaged students can be replicated in today’s post-affirmative action world.
Onwuka uses the example of the landmark partnership between philanthropist Julius Rosenwald and Black educator Booker T. Washington and how they used philanthropy to the benefit of over 600,000 Black students in the South.
Below are excerpts from the article entitled “Drop Affirmative Action, Focus on Students’ Unique Qualities”:
“To truly get beyond the affirmative action preference of race, we must value all students for their intelligence, strengths, character, diverse viewpoints, personal experiences and other unique qualities.”
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“In the Jim Crow South, public resources were unequally distributed between segregated Black and white schools, leaving educational opportunities for Blacks woefully inadequate. In 1870, eight of 10 Blacks were illiterate.
“By 1930, that proportion had plummeted to fewer than two out of 10, in good part due to a sweeping privately funded education program. Julius Rosenwald, the son of Jewish immigrants and part owner of Sears, Roebuck & Co., partnered with storied Black educator Booker T. Washington to help finance the construction of over 5,000 schools for Black children, which would eventually benefit more than 600,000 students.”
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“Philanthropy is still well suited to provide targeted funding to expand educational attainment and workforce development.”
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“For example, the Jack Kent Cooke Foundation spends millions of dollars supporting programs nationwide that help high-achieving students without means gain admission and thrive in highly selective schools.
“The Connelly Foundation teamed up with business leaders to support a private Catholic college preparatory school for disadvantaged students of all faiths. These are just a few examples of how philanthropy is answering the call.”
To read the complete article, please visit Newsmax.
