Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Editor's Comment: A Million Reasons There're More Black Men in College Than in Prison; Eight Hundred Thousand Reasons There's More Work to Be Done

2011; Howard University; Volume: 80; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

2167-6437

Ivory A. Toldson, Janks Morton,

Counseling Practices and Supervision

ten years ago, the Justice Policy Institute released the report Cellblocks or Classrooms (Ziedenberg & Schiraldi, 2002), which highlighted a disturbing pattern of states reducing funding for colleges and increasing spending on corrections. The report admonished federal and state governments for abdicating their role of providing equitable social resources and access to higher education, while building a colossal prison system, largely on the backs of nonviolent drug offenders. While the report should have been a wakeup call to policymakers, one line resonated and echoed more than any other: Nearly a third more African American men are incarcerated than in higher education. Today, the line is typically not sourced or qualified, and frequently stated, are more Black men in jail than in college. Today, two realities exist. First, there are approximately 395,443 more Black men in college than in prison. Approximately 1,236,443 Black men are enrolled in institutions of higher education (Knapp, Kelly-Reid, & Ginder, 2010), and 841,000 are serving time in jails and prisons (West, 2010). Second, Black men continue to be overrepresented in the criminal justice system, and more work needs to be done to address deep and persistent inequities in arrests, convictions, and sentencing. BLACK MEN IN COLLEGE In the United States, Black men are enrolled in various types of institutions of higher education, including public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit, four-year, and two-year programs. In addition, Black males are represented in undergraduate, graduate, and professional degree programs. In single institutions, more Black men are enrolled at the University of PhoenixOnline Campus and Strayer University than any other college or university. These two colleges account for 27,238 Black male undergrade and 7,725 Black male graduate students. Central Texas College (2-year college) has the largest number of Black male students among public colleges with 7,397 Black male students. With 7,129 Black male students, Miami Dade College has more Black males enrolled than any public 4-year university. Numbers 2 through 9 respectively include University of MarylandUniversity College, Florida A & M University, North Carolina A & T State University, Troy University (AL), Texas Southern University, CUNY New York City College of Technology, Florida State College at Jacksonville, and Prairie View A & M University (TX). Together, these ten universities enroll 40,000 Black males. Five of the ten, top public 4-year colleges for enrolling Black men are historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Numbers 11 through 13, Jackson State University (MS), Southern University and A & M College (LA), and Morgan State University (MD), are also HBCUs. The top ten private not-for-profits, 4-year universities for enrolling Black men are Excelsior College (NY), Columbia College (MO), Morehouse College (GA), Liberty University (VA), Howard University (DC), Saint Leo University (FL), Park University (MO), Webster University (MO), Nova Southeastern University (FL), and Hampton University (VA). These universities together, account for 25,775 Black male students. Among Ivy League universities, Harvard University enrolls the largest number of Black males with 893; almost half of these (444) are graduate students. In summary, nearly 140,000 Black males are enrolled in for-profit, private colleges and universities and about 572,000 Black males are enrolled in 2-year colleges. At public 4-year colleges, there are about 355,000 Black males, and at private not-for-profits, 4-year universities, there are about 170,000 Black males (Knapp, et al. , 2010). BLACK MEN IN PRISON Trends over the last ten years have shown little evidence that the United States has experienced a radical reversal of criminal justice policies. There are 49,400 more Black men in jail and prisons today than there were ten years ago; however the rate of incarceration has not changed. …