Thompson Invited Talk: ‘Peril of African American Men in Higher Education Policy’

Dr. Debra Thompson, Political Science

Dr. Debra Thompson, Assistant Professor of Political Science, gave an invited talk on March 5 as part of the Conversation Series at the Institute for Research in African-American Studies at Columbia University.

The title of the talk was “Color-Void: The Peril of African American Men in Higher Education Policy.”

Abstract: This paper examines state-level policies pertaining to the access and retention of African American males in higher education in Georgia, Maryland, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, and Virginia. Using Hall’s conception of policy paradigms to examine the underlying ideas that frame policymaking, this comparison reveals that policies are not just color blind – they are color-void. In order to overcome the education gap, policymakers must employ an intersectional analysis that can situate higher education policy issues within a broader historical and social context and anticipate the blatantly unequal consequences – particularly for African American men – of race- and gender-neutral higher education policy.