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Opinion Page
help for Tabitha I
.• I
Dear Editor,
When I first heard about
Tabitha For ter on the evening I
ne my heart went out to her
and I prayed for ber survival. .
Tabitha Foster is the three- Regardless of the reasons,
year�old Black girl wb der- Ta itha and her parents deserve
ent an historic five orgaa . our concern and support. Only
transplant last October. She bas SS2,OOO have been raised so far
proven to be an amazing sur- and her medical bills have al-
vivor and a medical miracle. ready topped $300,000.
However. after seeing the in I am asking every Black
iti report, I only w two fol- church to take up donations for
low-up reports on her recovery, this brave family. I urge all or-
. and wondered why Tabitha ganizations that claim to be
wasn't major national news. On working for the good of Black
Monday, Jan. 1, my suspicions 'people, 10 raise funds for
were confirm d when I read an Tabitha. t
article in the Detroit News en- According to the family
titled, "Why Don't We Care lawyer, Mr. Joseph K. Williams,
About Tabitha?" by Susan Ager. money can be sent to: Ta�tha
It stated that the nation hasn't Foster Fund, Heritage National
embraced Tabitha's plight in the Bank, 401 Smithfield Street, Pit-
way it has other children such as tsb g, Penn, 15222. . .
Jessica McClure, who was Cards and words ofen-
trapped for 58 hours in a well. couragement may be sent
The article suggests racism as' directly to the Pittsburg
a possible reason. Also, the fact Children's Hospital.
that her ordeal h s not been Tabitha is still in serious con-
dramati�y marketed for the I' dition and her parents, who are
mass media is another con- both OD leave from their jobs,
sideration. remain t her bedside. Come on,
I personally feel it is a com- Black America, we must take
bination of the two. Ironically, care of our OWD.
we are at atime when Black Kathleen X. Walker
people are made to feel 1112 Ambrosia
apologetic and defensive for the Muskegon, Mich. 49442
mere suggestion of racism. .
BI.ac'ks
(Editor: On Jan. 14, 1988 the
,Nationa/l Urban League
delivered its annual State 01
(I Bl«k Amoica: For each of 10
. weeks, Q suinnuuy of one section
of tIult �pon is �prinUd hue.)
Thi eek: -Black EnroU�
me . Higher Education: The
Unfu1fi1Ied Promise of Equality:
by Niere Suderkasa, Ph.D.,
President Lincoln UnNersity of
Peamsylvania. \
A decade 0, in 1916, Black
undergraduate enrollment
reached high point of 10.5 per
cent of the n tional total, up
from six percent ill 1968. By
- 19a1, it bad declined to 10.1 per
ee d by 1�, the last year
included in the American Coun
cil of Education's "Report on
Minoritie ill Higher Educe-
tioD,- it down to 9�rcent.
�etween 1980 and 1 , the
decline in numbers from
932,254 to 897,185, re resenting
(a net loss of 3.8 percent. Blacks
,y re the only major r cW or.
ethnic group whose under-
•
In
gr duate enrollments declined
, between 1980 �d 1984; othe
minoritie and whites ex
perienced an maease.
Black enrollment in graduate
school also declined substantial
ly over the decade. Only Black
enrollment in profe ional
schools increased, but not
enough to offset the OYCraU loss
in enrollment beyond the
bachelor's le\d.
In 1987, two years after the
College Board published
"Equality and Excellence: The
Education I Status of Black
Americans, - arning of the
seriousness of the down ard
trend in Black higher educatioo,
the nation still DOt moved
with sense of urgency to
'remedy this situation. The ar
ticle on minorities in higher
education in the b ck-to-school
i sue of The Chronicle of
Higher Education" is typical of
those that have ppeared in the
wake of the College Board
report.
highet
. I
can
o SOURCE COM IT·
MENT .
The bottom line in an these
plans aDd proposals calls for in- .,
creases in pending and a major
commitment of other resources.
To date, neither the federal
government, the states, nor the
individual coUeges and univer
sities have been willing to com
mit the necessary resources on a
'Iona term and ustained basis to
reverse this decline. Had such a
commitment been made in the
mid venties to safeguard the
pins &om the siJti the Black
emoUment pi�e would 100
very different today.
. The downward trend in
Black enrollment in higher
education and the growing h -
tility toward Blacks in
predominantly white· colleges .
and universities have served to
undencore the vital role of the
historicaDy B ck colleges and
universitie (HBCU) in
American higher education.
Black colleg have borne, and
still bear, the of America'
\ BLAC
TER
A. recent. study by the
Sociologist W er Allen . 986),
comparing BI ck students at
predominaDte Black colleges
\ with those at predominantly
bite c liege , provides et
another' piece f evidence t
Black colleges 0 a better job
than their pred . tJy white
coUnterparts of ucatiDg Black
GBSDOBET-
undergr duates,
Allen sho a Jacqueline .
I Fleming had earlier (1984), that
Black colleges offer a more nur
I turing cademic and en-,
vironment, and grad ate
proportionally larger num rs
\ of Black students. They also
provide students with the skills
I and self-confidence necessary·
to compete effectively in
graduate and profes ional
schools, as well as in the orld
of work.
The Michigan
Citizen wclco let-
ters from re der .
Write: 16032
Woodwar , High
land Par I 48203.