Dr. Mark Anthony Neal, Chair of the African American Studies Department at Duke University, joins Sara Lomax to discuss the latest rollback to DEI. In April, Duke University abruptly ended its Reginaldo Howard Scholarship program, an investment in Black student excellence with a proud 44 year legacy. Why are diversity, equity and inclusion efforts being dismantled on college campuses and what can be done to save them? 

In the first weeks of April 2024, Duke University gutted a signature merit scholarship that invested in budding Black scholars. The Reginaldo Howard Memorial Scholarship provided a full ride, tuition, room and board, for exceptional Black students after admission to the university. 

Over the years, 234 Reggie Scholars, as they’re affectionately known, have carried on the legacy of Duke’s first Black student body president, whom the scholarship is named after. 

Reginaldo Ricardo Howard was an outstanding student and the son of Panamanian immigrants. He was elected as student body president as only a sophomore, a first at the university. He was sworn in as student body president in 1976, just 13 years after Duke allowed its first Black students to attend classes in 1963. 

Tragically, Howard passed away in an automobile accident before he was able to complete his term as student body president or graduate. Howard was only 19 years old. The Duke University community and Board of Trustees mobilized immediately to create the memorial fund in his honor. To learn more about Howard’s life, and the realities on the Southern campus in the 1970s, watch this video: 

As Dr. Mark Anthony Neal describes, “The Reginald Howard Scholars represented one of the most iconic and sustainable images that the university has some sort of commitment to Black people across the board… It’s probably the most timeless example of that commitment.” 

So, what happened? 

The June 2023 Supreme Court decision to end affirmative action in university admissions has seemingly provided the justification to dismantle racial equity programs nationwide. Ohio, Missouri, Alabama, Texas, and Kentucky have all been canceling scholarships and racial equity programming in higher education. And it’s not just schools in the South or Midwest. 

Dr. Neal describes the culture of university leadership in this way:

“We are in a moment where many institutions, including my own, have chosen to embrace a culture of aversion, risk aversion… They don’t want to take risk, and I understand that on so many levels, as I’m looking at what’s happening at Columbia now… at the University of Pennsylvania and the leadership of Harvard University and Claudia Gay. I can understand why institutions are feeling as though they’re going to be targeted… But they have to choose to stand up for something other than risk aversion.”

And while university leadership may not be prepared to strive towards the highest levels of equity, we are witnessing a wave of student activism doing just that. Student groups across the country are mobilizing protest encampments on their campuses. They are demanding an end to Israeli attacks on Gaza, which the U.N. Special Rapporteur on Human Rights has found “reasonable grounds” to deem genocide. While the calls for Israel to end its attacks on Gaza are growing, including legal claims accusing it of genocide before the International Court of Justice, Israel denies the claims. Student protests are spreading despite risks and punishment enacted by their universities.

Dr. Mark Anthony Neal goes on to say, 

“I see the young folks up at Columbia, heartened, and not even having to discuss the specific politics of it. But they were enough of a threat. And their willingness to come together and organize, the President of the University called for the police to come on campus. We really haven’t seen stuff like this since Kent State. And many of these young folks have no idea of what happened at Kent State, right? And why that was such a remarkable moment in American society and for student activism.”

And what will happen to the Reggie Scholarship? 

Rather than investing in high performing Black students, the competitive scholarship will be replaced by an uncompetitive leadership program open to all students. Current Reggie Scholars will be able to complete their education with funding in place, and after 44 years, will be the last class of Reginaldo Howard Scholars. 

Here at URL Media, we are tracking the erasure of equity programs and the dismantling of the racial equity commitments nationwide. Our 32 independent Black and Brown media outlets will be continuing to report on the changes and we hope you’ll stick around. See you next time.