![]() Others said they were worried about America in the near term, seeing little going well in the country and feeling downbeat about President Biden. Looking to the future, some hoped that enrollment at H.B.C.U.s would increase with the end of affirmative action. ![]() Several said they thrived at H.B.C.U.s, feeling encouraged academically and pushing themselves to succeed while having support from teachers and peers who were almost like family. Karis, a 34-year-old from Illinois, said his alma mater, the University of Chicago, made it a priority to recruit students from underrepresented minority groups but said he thought admissions criteria were “balanced” for applicants regardless of race.įor many members of the focus group, navigating white spaces and Black spaces in America has long been a fact of life, from school to the workplace to their neighborhoods. “People think the civil rights movement fixed everything,” she said, adding that just when there’s some progress, “we go two or three steps backward.”Īs for affirmative action, several members of the group said they thought critics of the policies put too much emphasis on it as a boost for minority students, noting that the policies have most benefited white women in America. Jocelyn, a 32-year-old from Pennsylvania who went to an H.B.C.U., said America felt like a “split country,” citing efforts by some states and school districts “to actually remove Black history from curricula.” Kathryn, a 34-year-old from Tennessee who went to a P.W.I., gave America a D. ![]() ![]() Did members of our group, who graduated not long ago from a mix of historically Black colleges and universities and predominantly white institutions, think that America was making enough progress on race that it could do away with racial preferences in admissions? The court was weighing, on one level, whether affirmative action was no longer necessary to foster diversity on campus, as Justice Sandra Day O’Connor predicted would be the case by 2028. ![]() What grade would you give America when it comes to making progress on race and racism today? For our latest Times Opinion focus group, held in mid-June, we were curious to get those grades from young Black Americans just before the Supreme Court issued its ruling on affirmative action in college admissions. ![]()
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