Black Institutions, Segregationalist?

The argument that black institutions have continued the existence of segregation remains pervasive. This perspective has always befuddled me. Unfortunately, it is a difficult viewpoint to debate because it requires an eager listener who is willing to allow the webs of history to influence and change their attitude.

However, the least I can do is try.

First, let's begin with the education system. There are white people who reject Historically Black Universities (HBU) because they preach some perceived extinct form of separation. They argue that there are no historically white universities. If there were historically white universities, they would be deemed racist, so why aren't HBUs considered the same?

Of course, there are many historically white universities. HBUs were created as a reaction to so-called "normal" universities. Perhaps the University of Mississippi has not been officially called a historically white university, but that is exactly what it is. There are far more historically white universities than there are HBUs. HBUs also do exclude white students. For many decades, historically white universities clearly did exclude blacks from enrollment.

The reason HBUs are designated as such, and historically white universities are not given that label deals with the power relationship between whites and blacks throughout the history of the United States. So-called "race" issues always involve blacks. The white race becomes invisible. Problems that plague whites are never considered "race" issues unless they include blacks. In contrast, issues that face blacks that may have nothing to do with whites are always considered "race" issues.

Why does this matter? The point is that when an institution is black, we label it as Black. However, since the white race is invisible, so is the title of White. We all consider Howard a Black school, but who considers NYU a White one?

I've also heard that BET, the black television network, continues segregation. It is more of a protection against a different kind of invisibility. Not debating the quality of any channel, without specifically black television networks, black culture would either be ignored or exploited.
The rest of television is geared towards whites. Of course there are exceptions, but exceptions do not make the rule.

Simply because an institution has "black" in its title, or claims to be aimed towards blacks does not mean that it is preserves segregation. It is important to look at what the institution exists in reaction to. Generally you will find a white institution that does not overtly claim to be one, but it doesn't take much investigation to find the percentage of blacks that are in white universities, or who the Comedy Central show Blue Collar Television is aimed at.