Rise in Black College Student Numbers

For the first time ever in the South, blacks are as well represented on college campuses as they are in the region’s population as a whole — something not yet true of the country overall.

In the 16 states measured, the number of blacks enrolled in colleges has risen by more than half over the last decade. They now comprise 21 percent of college students and 19 percent of the overall population.

The number represents progress but it also has to be seen in context. A major contributing factor is the South’s rapidly growing Hispanic population, which has reduced the proportion of the population that is black, and thereby made the milestone easier to reach mathematically.

And educators also stressed that the number should not obscure the persistent achievement gaps affecting blacks both in the South and nationally. In particular, black enrollment rates for college-age students, while improving, still lag well behind those of whites, as do the graduation rates of black college students.

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