Ralph Jones Jr., a 16-year-old academic prodigy from Atlanta, recently shocked some Americans when they learned that he choose to enroll at historically Black Florida A&M University instead of Harvard, Stanford, Cornell and more than 40 other elite traditionally White institutions.
Critical questions and comments were ringing in public forums. Why would this African-American choose a historically Black college over an Ivy League school? Does he not know the Ivy League road is better paved and lit up for him to travel quickly to economic security?
“I would have picked Harvard, hands down!” wrote one commenter on The Root, which interviewed Jones about his decision. “There is too much competition and to have the Harvard name and prestige, it’s priceless! FAMU is a good school, but regardless of the family feeling you go to college to better yourself and your chances for employment.”
Other respondents on The Root, usually members of the HBCU family, defended Jones and applauded his choice.
This debate came on the heels of a heated national argument as to the mission of HBCUs, tossed into the public discourse by Wall Street Journal editorial board member Jason Riley in late September. Riley, an African- American, responded in a WSJ editorial to President Barack Obama’s pledge earlier in the month to invest $850 million in HBCUs over the next decade.
