by Chaela Morris
As you roam the streets of downtown Charleston, you’ll encounter a vibrant array of people.
Gullah Geechee women selling Charleston Palmetto roses, the smell of empanadas coming from a family-owned Argenentian shop, and the energetic buzz of families and children fills the air.
But as you wander on to the College of Charleston campus – the oldest institution in South Carolina — the visible diversity you saw just mere moments ago will begin to fade.
The difference between the streets you just walked and the campus you now face are striking. You wonder how could this city, so rooted in Black history, house such a predominantly white college?
Despite The College’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion, the stagnant percentage of African American students on campus begs quite the opposite.
Charleston, CofC address their proximity to enslavement
The College of Charleston was founded in 1770 and welcomed only white students for almost two centuries.
In 1976, two Black women were admitted to the college. Just five years later, Eddie Ganaway, a Charleston native, made history as the first African American to graduate from CofC.
But the presence of African Americans “on campus” was more prominent long before its foundation.
“If These Walls Could Talk”, a 2021 documentary, explores the history of Charleston and documents how enslaved Africans helped to build the iconic college campus we see today. The film aims to celebrate enslaved Africans by honoring their names and recognizing their achievements - something that has been largely ignored and forgotten throughout history.
The topic of slavery in Charleston is not new. During the Atlantic Slave Trade, the Lowcountry was one of the wealthiest regions in the world, and that wealth stemmed from Charleston being the largest port of entry for enslaved Africans in North America.
The first enslaved Africans are believed to have touched down in Charleston in 1526. In 1710, 300 enslaved Africans were being brought to Charleston annually. By 1720 that number rose to 1,000, and by 1770, more than 3,000 enslaved Africans were trafficked into Charleston each year.
Although an exact number has not been found, throughout this period of enslavement, historians believe over 150,000 enslaved Africans were brought to Charleston.
The Holy City’s connection to slavery is undeniable, and its roots in a segregated South since have played a large role in the racial disparities in the city for centuries.
And while many institutions in Charleston have improved their diversity, it's an uphill battle. Nowhere is that more obvious than at the College of Charleston.
CofC is committed to diversity, but the small presence of African Americans on campus (around 6-7%) is an ongoing challenge.
South Carolina’s educational system fails its students
Renard Harris, former Chief Diversity Officer at CofC, said the school’s diversity problem is due to many factors.
“I don’t think any one thing is the reason,” Harris said. “Each piece of the puzzle plays a role.”
To Harris, the No. 1 culprit is that so many of South Carolina’s Black students are not given the best educational resources in high school to be prepared for being successful in college.
“If you’re not prepared,” Harris said, “how can you get in [to CofC] or then stay?”
This points to the disappointing state education system that particularly harms Black students who are more likely to come from disadvantaged areas with fewer educational resources.
In South Carolina during the 2017-2018 school year, half of the white eighth-graders passed the state reading and math exams. For Black students, that number was reduced to just one in five.
During that same school year, the high school graduating class placed not far from last in the nation on the ACT college preparedness test. Only 2% of Black students and 20% of white students were prepared for college.
In 2023, in-state students made up 53.2% of the student population. If CofC is getting the majority of its students from South Carolina, and Black students are not getting the educational foundation they deserve, how can we expect them to be qualified or ready to excel on a college campus like CofC?
“[CofC] is a state school,” Harris said. “K-12 education needs to prepare students to go to college.”
When you think about college preparedness, you may not be inclined to think back to your childhood. However, the Department of Education states that success in elementary school is predictive of college readiness.
Finances an additional factor driving away students of color
In addition to the racial inequality seen in local primary and secondary schools, financial inequality is also a primary factor.
Anthony Greene, director of the African American Studies Program at The College, notes that CofC is the most expensive public university in the state.
“So if we're recruiting a large percentage of our Black students from in state, we're competing with Coastal [Carolina University], we're competing with Clemson, we're competing with USC, we're competing with South Carolina State," he pointed out. "We're competing with these other institutions that one, are cheaper, but two, offer more scholarship money to attract more Black students.”
According to the College Board, the average cost of tuition after financial aid at CofC is $21,120. For Coastal Carolina University, that number is substantially lower at $14,000.
“That’s a losing battle, but we’re trying,” said Courtney Howard, CofC’s current Chief Diversity Officer. “We’re increasing our scholarship spend every year, so we’re doing better; it’s just hard to compete with schools that just start off with a lot more money to begin with.”
Both Coastal and CofC have around 10,000 students attending. But the Black student population at Coastal is 11%, while CofC's is around 6-7%.
In addition to the tuition cost, the latest cost of living report shows that Charleston ranks No. 17 among the most expensive cities in which to rent.
This financial strain makes it hard for CofC to compete with other South Carolina college towns that are cheaper to live, like Greenville or Conway.
“It’s expensive to live here in Charleston,” said Howard. “And it’s expensive to attend the College of Charleston.”
Greene believes the CofC administration could do more to correct this problem with different admissions policies and more scholarship money for Black students. But Greene is quick to compliment the Admissions officers who are targeting more minority students.
“I work with them, and they do a hell of a job getting the Black students we do get," he said, "but they're strapped.”
The issue also lies in recruitment initiatives.
Greene believes part of the issue is that CofC recruits a lot in the Northeast to families who can afford the out-of-state tuition and would be attracted to a coastal city like Charleston.
“The primary student base, in terms of who the college goes after, are out of state, Northeastern students, who generally are wealthier, white ... you know, families who can afford the tuition,” said Greene. “And you know, it follows that stereotypical model of their child.”
Kenyatta Grimmage, an admissions counselor at CofC, backs up this statement.
“Their in-state tuition [in the Northeast] is comparable to our out-of-state tuition,” said Grimmage. “So for them, it’s 'do I want to stay up here and freeze or do I want to go to the beach?'”
Black students fear they may not fit in at CofC
But a third reason, Harris believes, is just cultural fit. He’s not sure The College always shows off its diversity initiatives enough so students can see how they could fit in.
“Do we promote what we have well enough so people know they can thrive here?” he asks.
CofC does have a program called Speedy Consolidation and Transition Program (better known as SPECTRA) that was created to ease the transition into college for underserved communities, particularly Black students.
However, one student didn’t think this program showed what CofC was truly like.
“SPECTRA gave me a feeling of being surrounded by people who look like me at that moment,” said English Brown, a senior at CofC studying communication. “But I knew that when school started, I wouldn’t see many Black women or Black men around me.”
Brown also believes their diversity initiatives are dishonest.
“They try to promote a narrative that doesn’t match what’s really happening on campus," she said.
Although this deception is not factually dishonest, the continuous appearance of Black students on CofC's social media pages creates a misleading narrative about the actual amount of diversity on campus.
How is CofC addressing the issue?
Students and admin alike believe our diversity problem stems from a lack of preparedness, financial inequality, and a mismatched cultural fit.
One thing Harris would like to see is for The College to look at diversity differently. Rather than just trying to get a minimum to meet some standards, The College should improve it because it could be a real strength.
“I think people often, unfortunately, see diversity as damage control, rather than leverage. And those are two different views. Damage control says, “What’s wrong with me being Black, gay, or Muslim? Why doesn’t the school see it?” Versus “We’re doing the school a favor by being Black, gay, or Muslim.”
Recent research shows that diverse campuses are beneficial to everyone in a multitude of ways. They “promote creative thinking, prepare students for future career success, and expand worldliness.”
However, Howard is happy with the progress being made on campus while highlighting the existing diversity initiatives.
“The Race, Equity, and Inclusion (REI) initiative, for example, is new, and all students are now required to take courses focused on these topics. That’s significant here,” said Howard. "There are also online diversity modules for incoming freshmen and various programs like Spectra, the 1967 Legacy Program, and Call Me MISTER. These cohort-based programs help create a supportive community for Black students.”
African American history courses are already positively impacting students across campus and the REI course requirement could be just the push CofC needs to attract more Black students.
“I think [the African American history course] was very beneficial. There were a lot of things I did not know,” said Brown, “and I did learn a lot.”
Although CofC is struggling to get more Black faces on campus, the Black students at CofC are taking initiative and making the best of their experience, Howard believes.
“It’s nice to see Black students, in particular, very active in things like BSU, and National Panhellenic and other culturally focused organizations,” said Howard. “But it's also great to see Black students greatly engaged in more integrated activities and taking leadership roles in student government.”
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