Since their establishment 182 years ago, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have provided African American students with the best avenue, and, for some, the only path to a college degree.  Despite this, arguments for and against the existence of HBCUs have been debated since the 1954 Brown v. Board of Education decision and the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Today, in defiance of political tactics in various states to close and merge HBCUs and despite the confluence of lower average admission requirements (including GPA and standardized test scores); less funding for institutional scholarships; limited technological resources and smaller operating budgets, HBCUs continue to persevere and provide higher educational opportunities for African Americans and students of all races.[1]

Higher education universally provides wide-ranging benefits to students, including higher average lifetime wages, better career opportunities, increased job security and satisfaction, and better health.  It has a considerable economic impact on the U.S. economy. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the higher education sector employs more than 4 million people and added more than $600 billion to the U.S. GDP during the 2017-18 school year. Though HBCUs only account for 3% of public and not-for-profit private institutions receiving federal student aid, these institutions enrolled 10% of all African American college students, accounted for 17% of bachelor’s degrees earned by African Americans in STEM fields, and annually generate $14.8 billion in economic impact.[2] 

Given the importance of HBCUs to African American communities—and our nation, I believe all appropriate efforts should be made to ensure the reopening of HBCU campuses for the fall 2020 semester, taking into serious consideration CDC safety measures and government mandates to ensure the health and safety of students, faculty, and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The first U.S. case of the novel coronavirus was reported on January 20, 2020. On March 6, the University of Washington became the first major university to cancel in-person classes and exams.[3]  In the following days and weeks, universities across the country began closing their campuses and, where possible, sending students home as the number of COVID-19 cases ballooned.

The pandemic created a crisis for all colleges and universities, but especially for HBCUs. 

Already financially strapped colleges and universities, particularly those with smaller endowments, experienced mounting revenue losses for a number of reasons: providing pro-rated refunds to students for room and board, dining, and other on-campus services; lost tuition dollars from declines in planned summer school enrollment; plunging athletic revenues from cancelled sporting events; and reductions in clinical income from university-affiliated hospitals. At the same time, these institutions incurred substantial, unforeseen expenses related to technology for online learning; providing laptops and mobile hotspots to students who lack reliable internet service at home; cleaning operations for dormitories, classroom buildings, and offices in preparation for a potential return of students in the fall; and providing emergency relief funds to students in need.  Many colleges and universities were forced to institute hiring and salary freezes, furlough faculty and staff, and suspend non-essential travel to contend with increased costs and revenue losses.

On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the CARES Act into law, providing nearly $2 trillion in relief funds in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with $30.75 billion allocated for grants to provide emergency support to local school systems and higher education institutions.  Of that, higher education institutions received $14.3 billion, 10% of which would be divided between HBCUs and grants for small institutions. But the financial costs of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly at HBCUS, already exceeded the CARES Act’s outlay.

The financial impact of COVID-19 is exacerbated at HBCUs due to lower average enrollments, lower average core revenues, and a higher percentage of Pell eligible students. During the fall 2018 semester, the average full-time enrollment at HBCUs was 2,584 versus 4,591 at predominantly white institutions (PWIs). In addition to higher total and average head counts, PWIs also had significantly higher average core revenues, $346 million compared to $112 million for HBCUs. At HBCUs, tuition and fees, local appropriations, and private gifts as a percentage of core revenues were all lower than at PWIs, while government grants and contracts as a percentage of core revenues were higher.

Considering the limited capacity of IT departments at smaller, lesser-resourced HBCUs and the major investment necessary to maintain online learning management systems, many HBCUs struggled with the move to the virtual classroom. An average of 75.4% of full-time first-time undergraduates at HBCUs were awarded Pell grants compared to 43.2% at PWIs. With 80% of Pell grant recipients coming from families with incomes of less than $40,000, according to a 2019 National Student Aid profile, there were concerns about students’ ability to afford computers and internet access at home.  Some HBCU presidents found ways to creatively bridge the digital divide, including Dr. Roslyn Artis of South Carolina’s Benedict College. Dr. Artis worked with the state’s legislature to provide free internet access to Benedict’s students.

Despite these past and present challenges, there is a push among some HBCUs to reopen their now shuttered campuses come fall.

Dr. Makola Abdullah, president of Virginia State University, believes the decision to reopen hinges first and foremost on safety: “I want to reopen fully face-to-face to give students the full experience, but the most important thing is taking into account the health and safety of our students, faculty, and staff; and the decision will be based on that.”

Believing his student body would not thrive in distributed environments, Dr. E. LaBrent Chrite, president of Bethune-Cookman University, is eager to “find a way to safely open in the fall and welcome students and community members back to campus.” 

The university is already preparing for a possible fall reopening, considering measures including single-occupancy housing, using lecture capture technology for courses, and retrofitting the campus for social distancing. Dr. Chrite believes:

The pandemic actually did more to expose and exacerbate deep, long-existing structural flaws in today’s higher education marketplace.   The financial crisis – now manifesting before our eyes in technicolor – is a symptom of a set of factors and conditions that have defined higher education for well over a decade now.   Sweeping demographic shifts, technological proliferation, price-point and value proposition divergences, new competitor threats, for example, have created a “tinder-box” in higher education.  COVID-19 was just the match that ignited the conflagration.  The pandemic has removed any luxury that some may have maintained that the orthodoxies and structures that have defined higher education for so long are sustainable.  They are clearly not.

In contemplating the future of our nation without the existence of HBCUs on its educational landscape, Dr. Chrite warns that, “the demise of HBCUs would have an asymmetrically devastating impact on long-term economic growth and competitiveness of this country and on the communities and families we serve.  It is my hope that this “black-swan” event will serve as a catalyst for a national conversation to repurpose and reimagine higher education in this country.”

The desire to open schools in the fall must be met with a commensurate urgency to keep campuses safe for everyone. I believe that in order to do that, a more significant investment from the U.S. government will be necessary to create a vaccine and provide tracking, testing, and treatment. Additional investments at the federal level must also be made to ensure that our nation’s HBCUs, which educate the most vulnerable populations—made even more so by the ravages of the pandemic—are able to continue to produce our next generations of leaders for many years to come.

[1] Broady, K. E., Todd, C. L., & Booth-Bell, D. (2017). Dreaming and Doing at Georgia HBCUs: Continued Relevancy in ‘Post-Racial’ America. The Review of Black Political Economy, 44(1-2), 37-54.

[2] “HBCUs Make America Strong: The Positive Economic Impact of Historically Black Colleges and Universities” UNCF, Accessed at: https://cdn.uncf.org/wp-content/uploads/HBCU_Consumer_Brochure_FINAL_APP...

[3] Smalley, A. (4/27/2020) “Higher Education Responses to Coronavirus (COVID-19) NCSL Podcast. Accessed at: https://www.ncsl.org/research/education/higher-education-responses-to-co...

Chattanooga, Tennessee’s fourth largest city, struggles with the same challenges other urban communities and public schools face across the nation—serious achievement gaps and inequities in education for minority and low-income students. In 2008, the Urban League of Greater Chattanooga responded to these challenges by securing a multi-year state grant to launch the Science Technology Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Academy, a dynamic after-school and summer academic enrichment program for minority and low-income students attending some of the lowest performing inner-city schools in our community. Our vision was to reduce achievement gaps in science, math, and reading for at-risk students and inspire them to consider pursuing a STEM college and career pathway.

Impacting more than 1,100 students over the last decade, the STEM Academy has continued to evolve to meet the needs and interests of our students and the community. When we first started the program, we focused on providing interactive, research-based robotics enrichment using the LEGO Robotics and Vex Robotics curricula. Working in partnership with the Volkswagen of Chattanooga assembly plant, we began offering an annual robotics competition to provide students an opportunity to put their learning into action and compete with their peers. In 2015, we continued to expand the STEM Academy by integrating hands-on coding experiences using Scratch Ed, which provides curriculum modules aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards to teach programming language, coding, and design. Because of our success with the STEM Academy, last year, we were one of three National Urban League affiliates chosen to participate in a pilot initiative to implement the Makers Project in our STEM Academy schools. Students used the Makers program materials and curriculum from Intel to explore the practical uses of technology and the environmental effects and implications of those technological advances.

By immersing students in hands-on learning that brings STEM to life, we have seen tremendous results. The program has documented a 50% post-program increase in students' interest in STEM-related careers and has improved academic achievement and preparation to pursue advanced math and science coursework in high school. In 2017, the robotics team at Tyner Academy, one of our STEM Academy partner schools, placed fifth out of 300 teams at a regional robotics competition held at Georgia Tech.

At each stage of our journey, we have remained steadfast in our commitment to level the playing field for at-risk minority youth in Chattanooga. As we look ahead to the future, we have ambitious plans to expand the impact of our STEM Academy and the Makers Project in order to reach more students in our community and to help uncover hidden STEM talents and interests that too often go undiscovered for at-risk youth.

Who Runs The World? Urban Girls!

Do Black girls rock? Yes, they do! Do Black girls in the Upstate face systemic barriers that keep their talent from shining through? Yes, they do. As a result, The Urban League of the Upstate has dedicated itself to assisting these young women who are at high risk for school failure.

The Urban League of the Upstate has made its mark as a leading provider of out-of-school programs for youth at risk of school failure. Our agency has positioned itself as a resource for young women who are eager to do the hard work necessary to break cycles of poverty and low educational attainment. With this in mind, the Urban League of the Upstate created the Urban Girls Rock Summer Leadership Camp. This new initiative is part of our agency's signature Project Ready program, which helps to prepare youth for post-secondary success with educational support, SAT/ACT prep, college tours, and college and financial aid application assistance.

The barriers these young women face go far beyond academics. Young African-American women need leadership development and an enhanced sense of their value and critical importance in our community. They also need the tools to deal with the daily challenges all young women face. In an effort to tackle this problem holistically, the Urban League of the Upstate has aligned duel efforts—one focused on providing an intensive experience for young people during the summer and the other designed to provide similar opportunities outside of schools within the academic year.

Our efforts have not gone unnoticed or unappreciated on social media. The future rock stars of our Urban Girls Rock Camp have helped to increase our social media presence and have also used digital platforms to share their camp experience, including YouTube videos and digital photography.

Urban Girls Rock Camp raises the expectations of young women so they can envision the next three steps in their lives: high school graduation, college enrollment, and college completion. We believe that empowering these young women to envision and plan for their future makes the manifestation of that future more likely. Our curriculum offers practical tools and strategies to reach their goals and offers them personal interactions and mentoring opportunities with women who rock in their own fields as judges, lawyers, doctors, professors, or entrepreneurs.

To quote comedienne and actor, Amanda Seales, "Time and time again/ We find the ways and means/ Between packing lunches, planning launches, and patting weaves/ To get information/ And stay in formation!" Urban girls rock! And we are committed to ensuring that they have the necessary resources and support systems to uncover their talents and share them with the world.

In the 21st century, it is common for households to have a computer, sometimes multiple computers. It is also likely that young boys and girls will formally learn how to use a computer during their elementary school years. This early exposure develops their computer skills and affords them an ease with technology that can later be put to practical use as adults.

While it is likely for households to have computers, it is also likely that many senior citizens have not developed basic computer skills either through practice or training.  A 2017 Pew Research Center study found that only 44% of seniors ages 80 and up report using the internet, and just 28% say they have broadband service in the home. The same study also estimates that close to 50% of seniors under the age of 75 say they use social networking sites, as compared to 20% of seniors ages 75 and older. In this day and age of evolving technology, having basic computer skills, such as navigating the internet and using social media and email, will help senior citizens preserve relationships and stay connected to family and friends.

The Shenango Valley Urban League recognized this need and developed a mobile computer lab with resources from a Spectrum Digital Education Grant.  The moving lab teaches basic computer skills to senior citizens and creates opportunities for families from tech-deprived homes to access broadband and physical technology. We travel throughout the county with this all-inclusive opportunity. We provide laptops, hotspots, printers and scanners to those in need, and promote the use of broadband and technology in both urban and rural communities. Families take full advantage of the computer lab and use its resources for vital tasks, including conducting job searches, applying for jobs online, and polishing up their resumes. Our younger users use the computer lab to complete homework assignments and work on research papers and projects.

By partnering with senior citizen facilities, churches and schools, the mobile computer lab brings the community together on a vital common interest: technology. As technology continues to evolve and become integral to more of our day-to-day activities, we cannot leave any family members or age groups behind. Having basic computer knowledge increases the comfort level of seniors, helping them get accustomed to incorporating broadband and technology into their lives. It also offers them a way to stay connected with their family and community members and empowers them to maneuver and navigate our world wide web.   

Citation

Anderson, M & Perrin, A (2017). Technology Use Among Seniors, http://www.pewinternet.org/2017/05/17/technology-use-among-seniors/

Once upon a time, higher education loans were valued as “good debt.” Today, these loans, once considered stepping stones on the path to the American Dream, are stripping wealth from individuals and communities and saddling many with a long-term financial obligation—and little prospect of repayment.

Now more than ever, higher education is recognized as a universally de facto requirement for middle-class entry. However, the amount of borrowing necessary to acquire a post-secondary education constrains a borrower’s ability to one day buy a home, start a business, save for retirement, or explore other wealth-building options. In other words, this highly sought after academic credential often fails to translate into wealth or the tangible benefits associated with middle and higher-income status. This is the proverbial “rock and hard place” that our current government-sanctioned and taxpayer-funded system has created for so many Americans, especially students of color. African-Americans, Latinos, and Asian-Americans now represent more than 50% of K-12 students, constituting a significant portion of our nation’s next generation of post-secondary students, future home owners, and business owners.

As part of its commitment to achieve racial justice and alleviate poverty, Congress passed the Higher Education Act of 1965 (HEA). This critical legislation was a significant feature of President Lyndon Johnson’s “Great Society” agenda. The HEA intended to open doors of opportunity and create unprecedented access to higher education, especially for students of color. However, in 2018, while the door may be open, the cover charge is so prohibitively high that it can neither be called nor considered meaningful access.  The cost of college has skyrocketed over a relatively short period of time, whereas incomes remain largely stagnant. While college costs rise, states have been disinvesting in higher education; and federal grant aid has stayed flat—decreasing the federal aid students receive as a share of the cost of attendance. As a result, students and families now bear the brunt of these mounting costs, as reflected by the current tab of $1.4 trillion dollars in outstanding student loans held by 44 million Americans.

The costs have been much higher for people of color, who are more likely to take out loans and at higher amounts. They also take longer to repay loans than their white counterparts. Students of color pursue post-secondary education in a social and economic system built on racist ideologies and infused with hidden, seemingly unconscious bias that creates and perpetuates the racial wealth, income, and achievement gaps.[i] Oftentimes, students of color navigate the student loan industrial complex with less familial financial support or knowledge about the complexities of the system. And more so than their white counterparts, students of color are likelier to be more than just students. They are also caregivers, or parents, or full-time job holders. And, with over 65% of all jobs requiring some form of post-secondary education by 2020, higher education is neither a luxury nor a choice; it is a necessity.[ii]

Currently, student borrowers have two primary options to cover college costs not covered by grant aid, scholarships, or savings: federal loans through the Direct Loan program or private loans offered through various lenders. Parents of dependent undergrads may also borrow to help a student finance college.[iii]

Access to federal loans is generally limited to the educational institution’s designated cost of attendance minus the Expected Family Contribution (EFC), with statutory lifetime and yearly limits.  After program completion or termination, federal loan holders have access to various repayment options, including a standard 10-year plan and programs that set monthly repayment amounts based on the borrower’s income. These programs also provide for taxable loan forgiveness after 20 or 25 years or even tax-free loan forgiveness after 10 years for certain professions. Despite these options, defaults continue to occur at an alarming rate, especially for borrowers of color. Almost half (49%) of Black borrowers and 36% of Latino borrowers who began college in 2003-2004 defaulted within 12 years of entry, compared to 21% of white students. Black bachelor’s degree holders default at five times the rate of white graduates (21% and 4%, respectively). In fact, Black college graduates are more likely to default than white dropouts (18%).

As of September 2017, approximately 4.6 million borrowers were in default and more than 10% of the outstanding student loan debt ($140 billion) was in default. Almost 90% of the defaulters were Pell Grant recipients and the median amount owed was less than $10,000. One theory is that many students who qualify for income-based repayment do not enter the programs or fail to recertify, possibly due to lack of awareness, confusion about the options, or servicer error.  Another theory is that income-based repayment options, as currently structured, are insufficient due to their complexity and the risk of an unaffordable tax liability at the end of the repayment period. The consequences of default are enormous—student loans are almost impossible to discharge in bankruptcy, and if you default on a federal student loan, the federal government can garnish your wages, offset tax refunds and even offset debt against future social security payments.[iv]

In response to this alarming default rate and the growing amount of debt, advocates have focused on several ways to reform the system. Suggested reforms include simplifying income-based repayment options and making enrollment easier; improving incentives for  loan servicers to help borrowers avoid delinquency and get into positive repayment status; allowing for refinancing of private loans; lowering interest rates on federal loans overall; and expanding loan forgiveness options. Advocates also focus on reigning in the predatory for-profit college sector.  These institutions prey on students of color and lack accountability for their excessive costs, poor program quality and even poorer student outcomes.  Moreover, regulations and statutes that would hold these schools accountable have recently been rolled back.

These are all important and viable reforms. However, we recognize that they must be coupled with efforts to reduce the cost of college and increase affordable access by fully restoring states’ investment in higher education, providing more grant aid at the federal level, and increasing support for institutions that have best served students of color at an affordable price, namely historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) and other Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs).

The conversation must consider the civil rights implications of this crisis and its impact on wealth and income for people of color. Today, the Black home ownership rate is the same as it was in 1968 at the passage of the Fair Housing Act. Divergent rates of homeownership are a significant factor in the racial wealth gap between whites and people of color.  If this disparity is addressed, we would see the wealth gap shrink 31% for African Americans and 28% for Latinos.

Moreover, if Blacks were paid on par with their white counterparts, one can imagine that they would be better able to manage their debt and ensure that future generations will need fewer loans to pursue post-secondary education. Many students of color also often receive a substandard K-12 education that fails to adequately prepare them for higher education. If we made real efforts to improve our elementary and secondary schools, many of which are now more separate and unequal than ever, students of color could enter college better prepared, spend less time matriculated, and spend less money to complete their degrees.

The racial dimensions of this issue cannot be ignored. Student debt is most assuredly a civil rights issue, perhaps one of the most defining issues of our time. And while the student debt burden has been and will be borne predominantly by people of color, the effects of our moral and political failure to address the student loan crisis will reverberate throughout our society and economy. The current student debt system, rather than lifting people out of poverty and providing access to the middle class, is further entrenching the racial wealth gap and perpetuating the cycle of poverty that results from systemic lack of access to resources, capital, and affordable credit. Our short-sighted approach is leaving jobs vacant, money wasted, and human potential squandered—threatening our national security and economic well-being.

This is an element of the crisis that few are talking about. It has all the milestones that led to the mortgage crisis of 2008, including facially-neutral policies with a demonstrated disparate impact on people of color. The housing crash—a crisis hidden in plain sight—shattered Black and brown communities in its infancy and grew to fracture the entire national economy in its maturation.

The student loan debt crisis is not a question in search of an answer. It is a problem that we, as a nation, have the capacity to address. So far, we have failed to act. The “Great Society” goals must again be true so that all Americans have the opportunity to use education as a meaningful gateway to prosperity.  Then, and only then, will we have an America as good as its ideals.

[i] The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders (“Kerner Commission”) discussed two “separate and unequal” societies (one black, one white). Fifty years later, we are still struggling with this reality despite the availability of reforms. Fred Harris and Alan Curtis, “The Unmet Promise of Equality,” The New York Times (Feb. 28, 2018) https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/02/28/opinion/the-unmet-promise-of-equality.html.

[ii] Moreover, over 95% of jobs created since the Great Recession have gone to those with at least a bachelor’s degree. See Anthony Carnevale, et al., "America's Divided Recovery: College Haves and Have-Nots" (2016) https://cew.georgetown.edu/cew-reports/americas-divided-recovery/. 

[iii] Parent PLUS loans, unlike student loans, require a credit check and do not have income-based repayment options. They also have higher interest rates compared to other federal loans.  Students of color disproportionately rely on these loans, so much so that when the Obama Administration changed the credit requirements for approval in 2012, the overall dollar volume dropped 11% nationwide but dropped 36% at HBCUs. This translated to a loss of $150 million for these institutions which are heavily tuition-reliant due to small endowments and disproportionately serving low-income students.   See Nick Anderson, “Tighter federal lending standards yield turmoil for historically black colleges,” Washington Post (June 22, 2013) https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/tighter-federal-lending-standards-yield-turmoil-for-historically-black-colleges/2013/06/22/6ade4acc-d9a5-11e2-a9f2-42ee3912ae0e_story.html?utm_term=.2dfa0237262f.  Parents also can use home equity loans to finance their child’s education, if they have a home or enough equity built to cover it. Since the housing crash, this has been a less viable form of financing, especially for parents of color.

[iv] This is a serious concern as the number of borrowers over age 60 continues to grow. The number increased at least 20% in every state from 2012 – 2017 and in the vast majority of states the outstanding debt held increased by 50% or more. See Gary Strauss, Student Loan Debt Rising Among Older Borrowers, AARP (Aug. 18, 2017) https://www.aarp.org/money/credit-loans-debt/info-2017/older-adults-student-loan-debt-rising-fd.html.

"Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today." — Malcolm X

In its most basic sense, civil rights can be defined as the rights of citizens to political and social freedom, and equality. Civil rights afford individuals the opportunity to live freely, unchained from the limits set by discrimination.  Never before has the issue of access to technology played such a critical role in the attainment of civil rights and one's potential to realize the American dream.  In fact, it has become intrinsically connected to the yield of opportunity a student can expect from his or her investment in education.

Jazelle Hunt, news columnist for the National Newspaper Publishers Association, recently said that "If Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. were alive and dreaming today, his 'I Have a Dream' speech might be broadened to include technology equality with racial parity." This broader view argues that access to an education that incorporates science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) is imperative to the future success of today's aspiring student. 

Ms. Hunt also believes that "the rise in tech gives rise to new fields and accelerates existing ones. The lack of representation within STEM professions is resulting in a shortage of qualified Americans to fill new roles." This is a reality that disproportionately impacts minorities. A recent analysis revealed that more than half of minority households lack internet access and/or a computer. The result is an emerging future where people of color will be left on the sidelines of innovative and advancing professions.  

The Springfield Urban League Inc. (SUL) has developed an innovative educational oasis for minority students who live in digital deserts. SUL's robotics program takes place in a low-income residential housing complex and a local high school. The program offers students education and training in computers, robotics engineering, and other forms of technology along with mentoring from professionals in related fields. Each student, beginning in 5th and 6th grades, is eligible to receive as many as 12.5 hours of weekly instruction, training, mentoring and hands-on experience with digital and physical technology. The program allows students who would not otherwise form a lifelong familiarity with STEM, or have access to professional mentors, to develop the requisite skill set for life success, thereby bridging the technological divide that disparately impacts minority students.  

In Andy Carvin's column, "Mind the Gap: The Digital Divide as the Civil Rights Issue of the New Millennium," he points out that access to content, literacy, pedagogy, and community can close the digital divide.  Rooting students in STEM arms them with the tools that have become prerequisites in our digital world.  It is through this 21st century approach that the American dream, in all its manisfestations, can be reached by all.  

When I began my career in 1984 as the education director for the Aurora Area Urban League (now known as the Quad County Urban League), I was charged with launching Tomorrow's Scientists, Technicians and Managers (TSTM). The program, designed for minority youth, would expose them to science and technology and offer math and science tutoring support to prepare them for careers as scientists, engineers, mathematicians and business leaders.   

Our 20th century focus on what is now our 21st century concern put us ahead of our time. But present-day statistics paint a dismal picture.  A tech industry deficient in diversity hurts the earning potential of people of color and robs the sector of fresh voices and talent to drive innovation.

According to a report in Wired Magazine, employment in STEM jobs is growing faster than any other industry sector and is set to increase by 17% between now and 2024. Led by tech giants such as Facebook, Amazon, and Apple, companies will need to fill more than 650,000 new jobs by the end of 2018. Two-thirds of these new hires will be STEM talent. While employment in this field is concentrated among white and Asian men, we know the emerging workforce is far more diverse.

Middle and high school students of color are disproportionally excluded or dropped from STEM classes during formative moments of their academic trajectory. Opportunities to access and remain engaged in science and technology often come against barriers, such as fees, prerequisite knowledge, competitive application processes, a lack of interest in science, and poor literacy skills.  The TSTM program increases access to science and technology opportunities while addressing practices and social realities that exclude many of these students.

The Quad County Urban League's goal has been to create a framework that eliminates barriers by supporting students' full social and intellectual development and offering students who are struggling academically a path that leads to equitable participation in STEM.   We also provide them opportunities to see themselves as future STEM professionals by having them shadow men and women who are already successful in these careers. 

Although there is no one model of success to combat the dearth of diversity in STEM occupations, collaborative efforts—such as Intel's pledge of $4.5 million in grant support to HBCU students—have proven successful. There is much work to be done by advocacy organizations, businesses, and local governments to employ innovative diversity initiatives that work and will help ensure greater diversity and better outcomes in a field that is increasingly shaping our world.

Quantum leaps in technology are creating a world even the most talented science fiction writers could not have envisioned. Driverless cars that can be summoned by smartphones more powerful than the old IBM mainframe computers and digital personal assistants like Siri and Alexa that respond to your every command are no longer figments of the imagination. These modern wonders are the result of the application of human intellectual capital.

The democratization of information and aggregation of resources accessible through the internet has created a more level playing field for poor urban communities once separated by an "equipment-based" digital divide. The challenge urban cities like Newark, East Saint Louis, and East Palo Alto face today is a digital “use” divide.

In 2016, the United States Office of Educational Technology released the National Education Technology Plan, which established a national vision for learning enabled by technology. It built on the work of leading education researchers, district, school, and higher education leaders; classroom teachers, entrepreneurs and nonprofit organizations. However, the challenge facing many initiatives that emanate at the federal level is effective implementation at the local level.

Understanding the need for our nation to build a competitive 21st century workforce capable of performing complex "knowledge work," the Urban League of Essex County established Newark Kids Code. The computer coding program trains the next generation of software engineers and technology specialists. It uses coding as a tool to teach our children to be problem solvers and critical thinkers. Coding is the new literacy of the 21st century, and by the year 2050, most of our children will be required to know how to code.  Achieving this goal will be a significant challenge because at least 70% of public school teachers nationwide do not know how to code.

The Urban League of Essex County has also entered into a strategic partnership with the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). In collaboration with NJIT's departments of Informatics, Computing Sciences, and Honors College, we developed a research-based coding curriculum administered to middle school students by NJIT's top computer science students. The program currently operates at a neighborhood school. The goal is to expand this program throughout the city in partnership with Newark Public Schools.

The jobs of today face almost certain extinction; therefore, access to employment opportunities in the tech sector is the civil rights and economic justice issue of our time. Guided by the sage words of former National Urban League President Whitney M. Young, Jr., we believe "it is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared." The program initiatives of the Urban League of Essex County create meaningful paths to prepare our community for the opportunities of today—and tomorrow.

This is the story of a 17-year-old young man named Deonte and the life-altering potential of early mediation and mentorship to transform lives.

Deonte is a sophomore at the School of the Future. The high school was a model of innovation and modern design when it was constructed 12 years ago in a developing West Philadelphia neighborhood.  Since opening its doors, this “paperless” school has struggled to boost its graduation rate while meeting the immediate needs of its students, many of whom are socioeconomically disadvantaged.  The four-year graduation rate—a key measure of success—is 73 percent. 

Despite these obstacles, Deonte has an advantage over many of his peers.  Over the last three years, he has participated in GEAR UP, the Urban League of Philadelphia’s college and career exploration program. The program matches 12 neighborhood-based high schools, typically among the lowest performing, with local companies as a tangible way to connect students to careers, mentors, and in the case of Deonte — the tech industry.  These benefits extend to nearly 4,000 9th and 10th grade students across the city and connects them with leading regional employers engaged in creating pathways to job opportunities.

The School of the Future is paired with Comcast, a media and telecommunications conglomerate. During a recent workshop presented by Comcast representatives on team dynamics,  personality types, and how they fit together in the workplace, Deonte was encouraged and empowered to self-identify his personality traits. He described himself as “bold, encouraging and brave.”

Amid our ongoing, national conversation around the importance of representation, and its positive impact on groups that struggle to see themselves and their contributions in mainstream contexts, Deonte and his fellow sophomores, perhaps for the first time, were able to recognize themselves in those Comcast representatives, whose own lives and struggles were not so different from the experiences of these students. The encounter sent a message that was not lost on Deonte: the tech industry is open and accessible. He felt confident that he could work at a tech company one day, or as he declared, “be the CEO of Comcast.”

This summer, Deonte hopes to win a paid internship at Comcast. It would allow him to shadow employees and gain hands-on work experience. Deonte is also looking ahead to college, perhaps even attending a four-year university. He credits GEAR UP with helping him shape a vision for his career by exposing him to a new future of opportunities and  possibilities for success.

During the 20th century, Rochester, New York, relied on big manufacturers like Eastman Kodak and Xerox to drive its economy. Individuals without a post-secondary degree could find well-paying jobs that provided lifelong careers. Those days are long gone. Manufacturing jobs have declined, and the region is investing in STEM-related industries. This transition is fueling demand for workers with science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) skills. Workers with STEM skills also have higher earning potentials compared to other industries. However, people of color are underrepresented within STEM fields, putting them at a disadvantage as the economy continues its transformation.

Research shows that minority individuals are far less prepared to enter STEM industries and obtain STEM-related positions compared to their peers. The 2016 ACT National STEM Report found that only 8% of ACT-tested African-American high school graduates met the ACT College Readiness and STEM benchmarks. While there is high demand for skilled professionals in the STEM fields, African Americans have low degree completion rates. The National Center for Education Statistics reported that African Americans earned only 7.5% of all STEM bachelor's degrees in 2013.

Furthermore, the Rochester City School District, a district with a high percentage of minority students, struggles to prepare students for STEM careers. The district's 2016-2017 report card noted that only 1% of eighth grade students tested proficient in math and 13% tested proficient in science. Furthermore, only 3.7% of students take an Advanced Placement course, which is three times lower than the national average. This lack of achievement is exacerbated by the fact that Rochester is the fifth poorest city among the nation's top 75 metropolitan areas, in which 50.5% of children live in poverty.

Recognizing that STEM careers can lead to economic self-sufficiency, the Urban League of Rochester offers programs to increase students' interest in and preparedness for STEM-related careers. Our Project Ready program, established in 2006 with the support of the National Urban League, prepares students for futures in STEM by providing a range of college and career readiness activities, including college tours, behind-the-business tours, hands-on workshops, and service learning projects. This year, we leveraged the success of our Project Ready STEM program to obtain funding from Charter Communications’ Spectrum Digital Education initiative. This initiative supports Connect Rochester, Project Ready's newest service-learning project.

Connect Rochester is a student-driven service learning project where participants are trained to teach the basics of digital literacy to disadvantaged families and seniors in Rochester. With this grant, minority youth will enhance their digital literacy skills while equipping others with the skills required to participate successfully in our global economy.

The Urban League of Rochester will continue to build on the successes of Project Ready to level the playing field for underrepresented youth. We challenge more businesses to join us in this endeavor so that we can extend our reach and prepare more of our youth for the workforce demands of the digital age.