EDUCATION
REBUILDING TRUST WITH BLACK STUDENTS ON COLLEGE CAMPUSES POST COVID-19 Black students today face the challenge of school, protesting, and becoming leaders of the next generation. Written by Dr. Jerlando F. L. Jackon Dr. Jerlando F. L. Jackson is a globally recognized organizational scientist, leadership strategist, entrepreneur, university professor, award-winning author, and a higher education executive.
The disproportionate effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the public murders of Black citizens at the hands of law enforcement that have transpired over the last 18 months have put the treatment of Blacks in
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America center stage across the globe. Not to suggest that the US was winning awards for its treatment of Blacks prior to that, but rather it seemed the last breath of George Floyd helped some understand for the first time the depth of racial inequality in our country and its impact. This increased awareness has been accompanied by a heightened understanding and increased expectations that the organizational treatment of Blacks must be improved moving forward as a country. The corporate sector has taken some steps to assume a different posture, establishing new relationships with the Black community and recommitting to
those previously held. It is now time for higher education (e.g., colleges and universities) to step up to the batter’s box and enact meaningful change for the Black community. Data from the National Center for Educational Statistics show that prior to the pandemic, the proportion of Black students nationwide who graduated on time from high school had risen to 79 percent in 2017-18 from 66 percent in 2009-10. In contrast, the enrollment of Blacks in higher education peaked in 2010 to 15.1 percent and has slowly declined since. Problematically, the COVID-19 pandemic further accelerated this decline.
