Black Only Programs Discriminatory?

WaPo has a rather interesting guest editorial by a NAACP leader decrying the discrimination of the black male only programs in higher education. While I do think these programs represent misplaced priorities, to decry them as discriminatory seems more political posturing than real.

I'm sorry to report that 52 years after Brown v. Board of Education, separate but equal is all the rage in certain parts of the education world -- especially on college campuses where special programs are offered that target minority students for "special" and separate attention, counseling, mentoring, tutoring, residences and instruction.


The latest of these race fads are the Black Male Initiatives (BMIs), government-funded and university-sponsored, and underway on campuses in states including Georgia, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania and New York. The initiatives focus on recruiting, schooling and "saving" black men.

The problem really lies in a sub-culture where black males who are serious about school are told they are "too white" and a "cool pose" image of a wheeling-dealing (often in drugs) single promiscuous black man who doesn't have a clue how to behave in an all too white workplace.
Further isolating black men in high profile programs long after the problem manifests may be too much too late. However, there is nothing wrong with offering specialized help for adult special students, who constitute a significant population in urban community colleges, where the black men can "disappear" into a fully integrated program.
Significant resources need to be directed to the black community to support young parents and their children. Just how that might manifest is still, unfortunately an open question.