Negro Digest - Freedom Archives

come to accept the judgment . Consequently,
they fail to drive themselves
as industriously as they
would in integrated institutions ;
and, too frequently, they protest
against the teachers who demand
college-level work from them . Second,
because they lack first-hand
knowledge of integrated colleges,
they assume that each weakness
which they observe must be unique
to predominantly Negro colleges
and must be further evidence of
the inferiority of such institutions .
Like Negro teachers, they want
to be part of an institution which
will afford the opportunity to develop
their talents and the prestige
merited by their achievements .
Let us, therefore, dream of the
ideal institution-one which will
give growth to Negro teachers and
students alike . It is, I repeat, one
which can be developed within the
current framework of higher education-if
it is to be developed
at all .
.:~~> _ -_
ENDOWMENT
A university must have money .
Good teachers and good administrators-whether
white or blackgo
where salaries will buy all the
necessities and, hopefully, some of
the luxuries . Money is needed for
classroom buildings, dormitories,
staff, equipment, and supplies .
Predominantly Negro colleges
NEGRO UIGEST March 1968
have lacked money . They have depended
upon state legislators,
churches, generous patrons, alumni,
and students . Except in California,
legislators spend money for
education as grudgingly as a temperance
worker gives alcoholics
money for liquor . Generally, one
state-supported university is favored
. The rest beg. The least successful
beggars have been the
predominantly Negro colleges,
which have lacked alumni who,
seated in Southern legislatures,
might trade votes for dollars . More
limited in funds, churches frequently
have doled their allotments
with the prayer that sacrifice and
dedication might substitute for
cash . Donors-both individuals
and foundations-have been generous
at times . But, planning a
black university, one cannot afford
to forget that the majority of philanthropic
supporters of Negroes'
higher education are white . Negro
alumni have contributed ; but, deficient
in both number and wealth,
they generally have been unable to
provide more than a few scholarships
and some spending change .
Tuition has been an important
source of revenue, but it is a troublesome
source . Raise tuition too
high ; fewer students attend . Increase
the number of students ; additional
money is needed for
teachers, equipment, supplies, and
facilities . Furthermore, the quality
of the student too frequently is
lowered when additional quantity
is sought .
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