Arguments for Desegregation in Higher Education

This chapter provides a review of studies on Black educational opportunities, in order to show the interconnecting links in the legacy of desegregation. Majority of these studies are descriptive in nature, showing the status of African Americans in higher education. Some include theoretical discussions of terminology, such as equal educational opportunity, equal access, equity, and affirmative action. Others use demographic descriptors of socioeconomic conditions influencing enrollment, and explore empirical dimensions in the relationships between enrollment and socioeconomic phenomena. However, none of the early desegregation studies focuses on political influences on the environment that promotes (or hinders) the enrollment of African Americans in higher education