The Real College Admissions Problem: White Mediocrity
For years, my Black and Brown academic colleagues have silently shouldered the burden of our own excellence. No more.
At a family friend’s Christmas party, I found myself enthralled in an incredibly interesting conversation with a white woman intrigued by my work in religion. She, too, had folks in her life who work in religious spaces, and we found ourselves connecting on an array of topics. Suddenly, the conversation turned toward my education.
“Your work sounds fascinating, where do you attend school?” she asked.
“I am currently at Harvard Divinity School,” I replied. “I am gearing up to graduate soon.”
“Oh! Wow, you got to Harvard. Wow, so cool. Well, my son applied to a whole bunch of colleges and did not get in. But you know, there is nothing special about him, his grades are pretty average, and, you know… he is not… ethnic.”
The conversation ended there. Abruptly. Like many adults at holiday parties, I utilized the generous amount of wine present to shake off this woman’s racism and continue to mingle.
But I stewed on this conversation for days. I felt surprised at myself. I am normally incredibly assertive in the face of macroaggressions, but…
