Introduction

Institutions of higher education are a part of a global culture that maintains the racial divide and highlights the constant clashes between the ideals America espouses and what Americans practice in fact. Racial prejudice becomes racism when one group has control over another group. In institutions of higher education, policies of affirmative action, as set by trustees and key administrators, have been responsible for flexible admission policies, financial aid packages to meet the needs of underrepresented students, special support services, and programs for substantially improving the campus climate for people of color. The inseparability of racial diversity and the changing demographics in the world bring to mind the discontent of those who perceive themselves as outside the system. The crisis of “haves” and “have-nots” has been as mismanaged in higher education as it has in all other American institutions. Civil rights advocates were marginally successful in forcing open closed doors; but they, at least, made themselves seen and heard.