Above, we criticized the Athletic Department for what we see as wrong. Now we offer qualified praise for something right.
We are heartened that one department seems to be forcefully recruiting black men and women — the Athletic Department. The lions’ share of athletic scholarships go to black males, a segment of the American population among the least likely to go to college.
At the same time, though, it disturbs us that 35 percent of all black males on this campus are here because of athletics.
What we see is something we have touched on in previous editorials this year: Institutional racism. There is a lack of non-athletic opportunities for black youth in America, and especially on this campus. This is sad, but not surprising. These days, national black role models are not scientists (such as Dr. George Washington Carver) or war heroes (such as the Tuskegee Airmen) but are almost uniformly athletes — men and women who are famous not for their advances to humanity, but instead because they can throw a ball in a basket or rush 100 yards with a pigskin.
How can any black American become a Charles Drew, inventor of the process that makes blood banks possible, or a Dr. Mae Jemison, the first black woman in space, when their scholarship forces them to spend most of their college career on the court or gridiron and not in the classroom?
While we’re heartened these men and women are getting the chance to better their lives, we can’t help but recognize a symptom of latent racism in society that says to black Americans: “You’re only worth something by performing as an athlete.”
We’re left to ask: Why doesn’t American culture glorify any other black role models?