African-Americans have never been equal in America. We can march, protest, boycott, yell, riot and do anything else, but nothing will change if African-Americans don’t stop looking at each other as prey.
Many African-Americans wake up in the morning and hope today isn’t the day they are going to be murdered — we need to focus on building each other up rather than tearing each other down.
While the black community struggles to resolve the violence ripping families apart, many members in the community partake in a petty debate, distracting people from the real issues.
The Predominately White Institution vs. Historically Black College and University debate has been an everlasting, and not to mention ignorant, waste of time, gaining most of its debaters and spectators from Twitter.
According to USA Today, prior to the Brown v. Board of Education case, 90 percent of African-Americans were enrolled in an HBCU. Since 2011, that percentage has dropped to 12. That decline is what spiked the, what seems to be, weekly debate.
This month on Twitter, @imthatdude32 said it best, “I really don’t get the HBCU v. PWI thing. Some schools are better than others. All HBCU’s aren’t bad but some are not better than certain PWI’s.” He has the right idea.
Some HBCU’s are academically superior to PWIs and vice versa. There are many where you will receive the exact same education. Of course the experience may differ, just as you would have completely different experiences at LSU and Howard University than you would at Tulane University and Xavier University.
HBCU students believe their university wouldn’t have financial troubles if the people the institution was built for would support it. They also argue you cannot form the same connections at a PWI that you can at an HBCU.
Last month, Twitter user @iamyaokhari tweeted, “*Taylor and Iggy steal our music.* US (African Americans): This is a problem. *White schools steal our black students*. US: Who cares? Just get a degree.”
Sadly, this is how many African-Americans who attend HBCUs feel. But it goes both ways.
The main argument from African-American PWI students taking part in this petty debate is that their university is superior or more “righteous” than an HBCU. This argument can very well be a societal problem — in America, the white man is seen as superior, so if you attend the same university as him then you’re equal right? No, not even close. You’re still black, you’re still judged, and you’re still not equal. The only difference is now you have a degree, just like the person that attended the HBCU. It is time to open our eyes.
This argument is the equivalent to the lightskin vs. darkskin debate. At the end of the day we are all black. Whether you attend an HBCU, PWI or no school at all, the color of our skin will remain the same. We need to focus on getting a degree and making connections with the right people.
African-Americans need to look at the bigger matter at hand, and I could promise you it’s not a silly debate over which institution is “better.”
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science sophomore from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ClarkePerkins.