Black Immigrants and Black Natives Attending Selective Colleges and Universities in the United States

Abstract

This analysis uses data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Freshmen (NLSF) to study black immigrants and natives attending selective colleges and universities in the United States. In the NLSF, 747 black students were of native origin, and 281 were of immigrant origin, yielding an overall immigrant percentage of 27 percent. The overrepresentation of immigrants was higher in private than in public institutions and within more selective rather than less selective schools. We found few differences in the social origins of black students from immigrant and native backgrounds. The fact that most indicators of socioeconomic status, social preparation, psychological readiness, and academic preparation are identical for immigrants and natives suggests that immigrant origins per se are not favored in the admissions process but that children from immigrant families exhibit traits and characteristics valued by admissions committees. Prior to the civil rights era, Americans of African origin were largely excluded from selective colleges and universities in the United States through a combination of de facto and de jure mechanisms. Once discrimination in education was definitively banned by the Civil Rights Act of 1964, however, things began to change. During the late 1960s, elite schools throughout the country began to undertake various "affirmative actions" to increase black enrollment. As outlined in the celebrated speech made by President Lyndon B. Johnson at Howard University, the initial justification for this policy was restitution for past wrongs:

Symbolic Boundaries and School Structure in New York and London Schools

“…Because African Americans have the longest history in the US among racialized groups today, and until recently blacks were the largest minority group in the US, these dynamics have shaped US discourses around race and ethnicity overall, including with respect to immigrants and their children. Ethnic groups have benefited from the hard-earned victories of the Civil Rights Movement, such as affirmative action and anti-discrimination policies (Alba & Nee, 2003;Kasinitz, Mollenkopf, Waters, & Holdaway, 2008;Massey, Mooney, Charles, & Torres, 2007;Skrentny, 2006).…”

Board # 87 : Native-Born and Foreign-Born Black Students in STEM: Addressing STEM Identity and Belonging Barriers and their Effects on STEM Retention and Persistence at the Two Year College

“…STEM research on underrepresented minorities, particularly African-Americans, merges native-born and foreignborn blacks as a single demographic or excludes foreign-born data altogether together without examining the cultural differences among the two groups. 15 The over-representation of homogenized African-Americans in higher education complicates and stifles evidence of academic disparities, post-secondary policies, and STEM best practices. This paper examines the differences between native-born and foreign-born blacks pursing an undergraduate STEM degree.…”

“…[15][16][17] Foreign-born blacks make up twenty-seven percent of the black student population at selective colleges and forty-one percent of the Black student population at Ivy League institutions. 15,17 Within the past five years, there has been a growing body of research on the comparison of college access and experiences between foreign-born and native-born blacks.…”

“…[15][16][17] Foreign-born blacks make up twenty-seven percent of the black student population at selective colleges and forty-one percent of the Black student population at Ivy League institutions. 15,17 Within the past five years, there has been a growing body of research on the comparison of college access and experiences between foreign-born and native-born blacks. 18,19 Much of the literature (educational experiences and outcomes in the United States) has been conducted by anthropologists or sociologists and very few studies have been conducted by STEM practitioners.…”

“…31 The Homogenization of Blacks in STEM Foreign-born blacks are enrolling in post-secondary institutions at higher rates than native-born Blacks and foreign-born Blacks are the fastest growing group within the overall Black population pursuing a STEM degree. 15,17 However, many institutions and STEM departments merge foreign-born Blacks and native-born blacks into a single demographic due to a shared race without collecting data on the ethnicity or nativity of the students. Although both groups contribute to racial and ethnic diversity enrollment, retention, and graduation numbers, it is only the racial identity of both foreign-born and native-born blacks that is the marker of diversity.…”