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Black alumnae of predominantly white colleges: Their effect upon the development of entitlement in Black students
Abstract
Black alumnae are a major resource for informed opinion about the experiences of Black students on predominantly white college campuses. Their wisdom, energy, knowledge and support have remained largely untapped. The literature regarding this resource is scanty and seldom deals with the perspective of Black alumnae, especially those who have been successful in negotiating the system. Knowledge of the past informs the direction of the future. Knowledge of and understanding about the past is available in the minds and from the experiences of Black graduates. They need to be recruited to share, in retrospect, their wisdom and insight about their college experiences and the effect it had on them as Black students. In addition, they needed to inspire, encourage and be a source of support to Black students of the present and in the future. Following a decade or more in which predominantly white colleges and universities actively recruited Black students as well as Black faculty and staff, the situation has been reversed dramatically. Black students who attend these colleges and universities in the eighties and nineties find themselves facing diminished numbers of both student and faculty; more stringent entrance requirements in the form of increased reliance on standardized test scores; financial aid more often in the form of loans than grants; and a distinct change in attitude about the support they can expect to find throughout the campus. Undergirding this change in attitude on the part of institutions of higher education is the increasingly conservative, sometimes even hostile, political and social situation in the country at large. The steady erosion of the idea that education is an entitlement and the insurance for all citizens against an uneducated citizenry who will, at the turn of the century, become our leaders, is the message of the eighties. The dissertation will seek to demonstrate the benefits to the college to be derived from the participation of Black alumnae of a predominantly white college or university. Historically these colleges have faced a major dilemma in their attempts to involve Black alumnae in the ongoing affairs of the college through the alumnae association. The methods used to encourage participation of the general body of the alumnae have failed to get significant participation or positive results from Black alumnae. An Entitlement Symposium held on the weekend of April 7, 8 and 9 at Simmons College can serve as a model of a way to involve these alumnae. The dissertation will present a journalistic report of the planning and the events. It will include the results of the discourse in the form of plans for future direction, activities and recommendations.
Subject Area
School counseling|Higher education|Ethnic studies|Black studies
Recommended Citation
Rawlins, Elizabeth B, "Black alumnae of predominantly white colleges: Their effect upon the development of entitlement in Black students" (1991). Doctoral Dissertations Available from Proquest. AAI9207450.
https://scholarworks.umass.edu/dissertations/AAI9207450