Is Higher Education Immune to Colorism?

In this episode of The Academic Boardroom, the hosts Dr. Eli Joseph and Dr. Janice Gassam Asare sat down with Dr. Maggie Hunter about the impact of structural equity and colorism in today's education. Based on her personal experience as a biracial academic and her latest research regarding Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), Dr. Hunter provides a review of the situation regarding institutional belonging. Also, she emphasizes that the cultural practices inherent to the life of campuses help students of color to find support and become successful.    Upon discussing the impact of colorism and skin-tone bias on employees working at academic institutions, Dr. Hunter notes that people with lighter skin have an unfair advantage when it comes to recruitment, promotion, and being accepted in their organizations. Through making a distinction between personal feelings and economic issues tied to discrimination practiced against people with darker skin, this episode provokes legacy institutions into thinking through the necessity of broader measures than just implementing diversity initiatives.