Source: CalMatters A new poll finds 2 out of every 5 Black women in California are just one paycheck away from financial instability. The first-of-its-kind survey of 1,258 Black women across the state revealed 37% work two or more jobs – and 62% of them said the second job is “essential” and they would “not be able to make ends meet” without it. The Evitarus research firm polled the women last spring for the California Black Women's Collective Empowerment Institute, a research nonprofit in Carson, near Long Beach. The findings could be important for political strategists. Of the Black women surveyed, more than 80% voted in the November 2020 elections. In ... Read More
Social Justice
Diverse Issues in Higher Education: Workgroup Releases Recommendations for Black Student Equity
Source: Diverse: Issues in Higher Education Since the 2015 launch of Graduation Initiative 2025, a state-backed project to improve graduation rates, the California State University system (CSU) has made significant progress, with students from all groups earning degrees at higher rates. But disparities persist. The graduation rate gap between Black and white students is 22.2 percentage points, .3 of a percent higher than it was fifteen years ago. Black student enrollment and persistence have declined in recent years as well. Now, CSU, the nation's largest university system, with 23 campuses and nearly 460,000 students, is making a push to close these gaps with a ... Read More
L.A. Sentinel: Emancipating Higher Education
Source: Op-Ed by CSUDH President Thomas A. Parham for L.A. Sentinel/L.A. Watts Times Avoiding the scandalous incongruence between what the emancipation proclamation preached and what was actualized. Juneteenth celebrations were in full force this week in communities throughout the country. Interestingly, January 2023 marked the 160th anniversary since the Emancipation Proclamation was signed by President Lincoln, which people believed freed slaves throughout the nation.”¯”¯And yet, for all of its celebratory flare, the presidential order only partially achieved what it was lauded for. The moral and symbolic power of the executive order and public policy, as profound as it ... Read More
In the Margins Podcast: Fundamental Lessons for Black Faculty and Student Success
Source: In the Margins (Diverse: Issues in Higher Education) Dr. Thomas A. Parham, president of CSUDH, shares what he believes are the fundamental ingredients for success for Black faculty and students in the 114th episode of In the Margins. In this episode, Diverse host David Pluviose welcomes Parham, who speaks to his own journey to university president and the implicit bias he has encountered in higher education. Be sure not to miss this conversation on what Parham calls the stones of stagnation and rocks of resignation that keep higher education from being the diverse, inclusive, and socially minded institutions they say they want to be, and hear how he plans to close the gap ... Read More
Higher Ed Dive: President Speaks
Source: Higher Ed Dive President Speaks: Higher education shouldn't perpetuate privilege. It should lift up those who would benefit the most. Colleges have a moral imperative to help students up the economic ladder, not just promote their rankings, argues the president of CSU Dominguez Hills. On many college and university campuses across the nation, the release of new collegiate rankings is a celebrated occasion. Prestigious universities often tout their low admission rates, selectivity ratios, and the high average GPAs and standardized test scores of their incoming classes as a measure of their institution's strength. Those rankings reflect an outcome that higher ... Read More