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The Panther September 19.19B0 Page 5 Integration and its cousin, desegregation, are now causing more confusion in some areas than good and in some instances are eradicating black control and opportunity. "Ingegration In Focus” is the title I gave to my thoughts on the subject as it applies to Black College Day, an attempt to save these 107 schools. The well - respected scholar and president - emeritus of Morehouse, Dr. Benjamin Mays, warned that integration must not become a new means of discrimination and the reason for the death of black schools. Vernon Jordan, an integrationist, agreed that the threat of desegregation plans is real. Why - in the first place - was the desegregation question always paired with the question of the continued existence of black institutions? "This sudden ontological emphasis - or the question of existence itself - is found convenien tly paired only to the concept of black institutions, even though they have the longest history of being integrated in their respective states. It would be ironical to use them to deprive black people of their own institutional base,” wrote Dr. Broadus N. Butler, board member of the NAACP, in the organization's Crisis magazine. Protective vehicles Black opinion leaders do not perceive black colleges as temporary phenomena, given the irreversible trends toward the assimilation of blacks in America. Rather, “they are perceived as The One of America’s non - renewable resources is threatened with extinction. A lawsuit by Jack Greenberg’s Legal Defense Fund and the implementation of an arbitrary fixation on white quotas by H.E.W. - and most recently by the Office of Civil Rights of the Department of Education - has gone a long way towards costing America a viable part of its future. The 107 black colleges across the country enroll in excess of 200,000 black students and have 800,- 000 living alumni. More than 80 percent of all black college graduates finished one of these institutions. An analysis of cteta related to the determinants of success in America by Daniel Yankelovich, president of the social research firm of Yankelovich. Skelly and White, showed that the importance of the academic survival of students in colleges cannot be overstated. "The most important of those (factors other than family background) is educational at tainment: the number of years of schooling com pleted. One of the most interesting findings shows how important the last year of college is, relative to other years. What counts is finishing college and getting credentials, rather than what one might learn in the last year, or any year. Increasing enrollment "If you don't translate promising academic ability into college credentials, you gain precious little economic advantage.” I n the South, black colleges award 69 percent of all college degrees earned by blacks even though Tony Brown protective vehicles promoting the civic participation of blacks in a social order based on cultural, political and economic pluralism in America,” wrote Dr. William H. Turner of the University of Kentucky and author of “Traditionally Black Institutions: A Profile and an Institutional Directory.” A premise of Dr. Turner’s new book is that “cultural diversity is a social good, and steps must be taken to ensure the survival and progressive development of the institutions and social life patterns of blacks.” A prominent black journalist, William Raspberry, wrote in a column in The Washington Post entitled “Black Colleges: Running Scared of HEW”: "Califano and key staffers who have his ear apparently are unfamiliar with the historical role of these (traditionally black) colleges... and indifferent to the vital service they perform." Separatism never has been and is not now the major driving force of black colleges. Clearly, these schools werenot the evil the Brown decision sought to eradicate. They were the product, not the cause, of the evil identified in Brown, that is, the exclusion of black students from white institutions. To pursue the desegregation process as if the black colleges have perpetuated segregation is to stand the mandate of Brown on its head and to ignore the fact that the constitution is both color blind and color conscious. The history of black colleges proves that they are still needed in a society in which racism and discrimination affect income, life expectancy and the chances of having cancer. Credible models are provided on black campuses for aspiring black youth who see “blacks manage and operate News black schools have only 43 percent of the black college enrollment. While the college age population of whites is decreasing, the college age population among blacks is increasing - especially in the Sun Belt where blacks are losing control of some schools. Experience also demonstrates that displacing black students, faculty and administrators with white ones will reduce the higher educational opportunities for blacks for years to come. For example, when Florida abolished its black junior colleges, there was a drastic decline in black student enrollment in the junior college system - spite of special provisions for black students. The Project ’80, the first celebration of the beauty and achievements of the institutions which have graduated 75 percent of ail black Ph.D’s. 75 percent of all black army officers and 80 percent of all black doctors, will not just talk about black culture and excellence, but will demonstrate them also. Carter’s statement President Carter issued a strong statement of support for the realistic retention of black schools: "The continuing importance of his torically black colleges and universities, not only to students but also to this nation’s social, economic and educational life, cannot be overes timated. This administration is committed to enhancing their strength and prosperity." The legal system has joined the president in his opinion. Even the federal court, when striking down the dual systems in higher education important affairs," wrote Dr. Kenneth Tollett, dis tinguished Professor of Higher Education at Howard University. Dr. Tollett identifies other unique functions served by the black colleges. Necessary enclaves "Second, for cultural and psycho - social reasons, they provide educational settings which many blacks find congenial and prefer to attend. Third, as special - group - oriented colleges they serve as educational enclaves in which their students can prepare for an make the necessary transition from underprivileged isolation to 'mainstream.'” A transitional enclave, as identified by Dr. Tollett, does not require the exclusion of other groups. "Black institutions ... to sacrifice this avenue in the name of integrated locomotion is to push the wayside thousands of blacks who could benefit from the experience. NAFEO, the association of black college presidents, urged the federal government to understand what federal Judge John Pratt had in mind when he ruled in the Adams - desegregation litigation that the desegregation plans should “take into account the real danger that desegregation will diminish higher education opportunities for blacks. A NAFEO letter said: "Since blacks in this society have not yet reached the level of equality with whites in economic or educational terms, and since specific focus on the educational needs of black Americans is permitted by the constitution, and required by the Adams litigation, we urge the Office for Civil Rights (Department of Education) to take a more sen sitive, and aggressive leadership position in help ing both the Adams States and the non-Adams States focus on the goal of producing more black professionals, and abandon the current headlong drive toward elimination of program duplication and toward enhancement of black colleges for the purpose of bringing in more white students, faculty and administrators. “To require (the black colleges) to import more (whites) in the guise of desegregation will serve only to weaken the ability of those institutions to meet their primary special purpose and mission, namely to enable more blacks to move into the mainstream of higher education, the professions, the leadership roles in American life, and thus contribute to a more racially integrated society. World (Adams vs. Califano), noted that the process of desegregation must not place a greater burden on black institutions or black student's op portunity to receive a quality public higher education. Desegregation is a potential danger to blacks, the court ruled. "The spirit of the court in the Adams vs. Califano decision was to expand opportunities for blacks, but many feel that the ultimate effect will seriously jeopardize the traditionally black institutions,” explained a publication of the National Center for Education Statistics. Corporate America has also discovered black colleges. “The availability of qualified minority college graduates is one of the many problems that industry faces today in its efforts to increase equal employment and equal opportunity,” said a National Alliance of Business publication.” It said we need "to identify and try to solve the problems and concerns of these schools - with the ultimate aim of producing better prepared graduates.” A unique group A unique group of business, labor, government and education works as an NAB - sponsored cluster of 1,000 companies and 24 mainstream institutions involving some 3,000 business and educational people actively securing jobs and training for black college students. Many sectors of America have "joined the solution." The recognition of the threat of black college is now a public issue. And the corporate sector, the academic community, political leaders, students and the total community are responding.