What do you think?
Rate this book
Where Everybody Looks Like Me: At the Crossroads of America's Black Colleges and Culture
A richly reported account of the forces threatening America's historic black colleges and universities—and how diverse leaders nationwide are struggling to keep these institutions and black culture alive for future generations.
American education is under siege, and few parts of the system are more threatened than black colleges and universities. Once hailed as national treasures, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) such as Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Howard University—the backbone of the nation's black middle class which have produced legends including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Oprah Winfrey—are in a fight for survival. The threats are Republican state legislators are determined to merge, consolidate, or shut down historically black colleges and universities; Ivy League institutions are poaching the best black high school students; President Obama's push for heightened performance standards, and cuts in loan funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
In this tightly woven narrative full of intriguing characters, Where Everybody Looks Like Me chronicles this near breaking point for black colleges. Award-winning journalist Ron Stodghill offers a rare behind-closed-doors look into the private world of the boards of directors, the black intelligentsia, the leaders of business, law, politics, culture, and sports, and other influential figures involved in the debate and battle to save these institutions. Told from the perspective of a family, Where Everybody Looks Like Me shows their struggle to secure the best education for their child. Where Everybody Looks Like Me is a tale of vision and vanity—of boardroom backbiting, financial chicanery, idealism and passion. Here are administrators, celebrities, alumni, and others whose lives are intricately tied to these institutions and their fate—whether they will remain strong and vital, or become a revered part of our cultural past.
American education is under siege, and few parts of the system are more threatened than black colleges and universities. Once hailed as national treasures, historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) such as Spelman College, Morehouse College, and Howard University—the backbone of the nation's black middle class which have produced legends including Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall, and Oprah Winfrey—are in a fight for survival. The threats are Republican state legislators are determined to merge, consolidate, or shut down historically black colleges and universities; Ivy League institutions are poaching the best black high school students; President Obama's push for heightened performance standards, and cuts in loan funding from the U.S. Department of Education.
In this tightly woven narrative full of intriguing characters, Where Everybody Looks Like Me chronicles this near breaking point for black colleges. Award-winning journalist Ron Stodghill offers a rare behind-closed-doors look into the private world of the boards of directors, the black intelligentsia, the leaders of business, law, politics, culture, and sports, and other influential figures involved in the debate and battle to save these institutions. Told from the perspective of a family, Where Everybody Looks Like Me shows their struggle to secure the best education for their child. Where Everybody Looks Like Me is a tale of vision and vanity—of boardroom backbiting, financial chicanery, idealism and passion. Here are administrators, celebrities, alumni, and others whose lives are intricately tied to these institutions and their fate—whether they will remain strong and vital, or become a revered part of our cultural past.
268 pages, Kindle Edition
First published September 22, 2015
5 people are currently reading
266 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 29, 2016
Looks at financial and governance difficulties besetting many HBCU's these days, mixing general overview and analysis/stats with a few running anecdotes, notably the uproar after a Howard trustee's memo to the rest of the board about grave $ difficulties and alleged poor leadership there was leaked to the Wx Post and caused a brouhaha ending with ouster of the President.
I knew some about that local story and found the details and perspectives in aftermath interesting, but for a lot of the others I might have recommended (a) being more selective -- a couple of them were hard to distinguish as just basically the same story of (i) non-wealthy alum donor base and (ii) mainstream schools cherry pick top minority students these days to bolster their diversity, making recruitment tougher for HBCU's, mixed in with the occasional (iii) corruption and self-dealing among admins.; and above all (b) one continuous writeup for each anecdote.
Who started this thing in nonfiction writing of taxing the reader's attention span by interweaving stories? So if the NYC high school girl who plays tennis and is considering Howard is A and the whistleblowing faculty member at an HBCU is B, and an admin considering merger with another school in Ohio to solve $ problems is C, they write each up piecemeal across multiple chapters in an order like ABCBCABAC
rather than just finishing each story like AAABBBCCC
I see that all the time these days, and particularly for someone like me who dips in and out of books, reads for 15 mins on the subway and then gets interrupted for a day, etc., it's annoying, and I don't see the benefit really.
But anyway, getting back to the book, seemed like a balanced perspective on issues such as whether Obama has done enough for HBCU's, whether the admins and faculty have given enough creative thought to devising a new "value proposition" [his one bit of repeated academic/corporate jargon] in an era when mainstream schools are integrated, etc.
A lot of the identity/history issues raised seem similar to ones confronted by women's colleges, though I'm not sure the financial and leadership stuff is similar.
I knew some about that local story and found the details and perspectives in aftermath interesting, but for a lot of the others I might have recommended (a) being more selective -- a couple of them were hard to distinguish as just basically the same story of (i) non-wealthy alum donor base and (ii) mainstream schools cherry pick top minority students these days to bolster their diversity, making recruitment tougher for HBCU's, mixed in with the occasional (iii) corruption and self-dealing among admins.; and above all (b) one continuous writeup for each anecdote.
Who started this thing in nonfiction writing of taxing the reader's attention span by interweaving stories? So if the NYC high school girl who plays tennis and is considering Howard is A and the whistleblowing faculty member at an HBCU is B, and an admin considering merger with another school in Ohio to solve $ problems is C, they write each up piecemeal across multiple chapters in an order like ABCBCABAC
rather than just finishing each story like AAABBBCCC
I see that all the time these days, and particularly for someone like me who dips in and out of books, reads for 15 mins on the subway and then gets interrupted for a day, etc., it's annoying, and I don't see the benefit really.
But anyway, getting back to the book, seemed like a balanced perspective on issues such as whether Obama has done enough for HBCU's, whether the admins and faculty have given enough creative thought to devising a new "value proposition" [his one bit of repeated academic/corporate jargon] in an era when mainstream schools are integrated, etc.
A lot of the identity/history issues raised seem similar to ones confronted by women's colleges, though I'm not sure the financial and leadership stuff is similar.
March 4, 2016
Steve Peifer recommended this book to me, for which I am thankful. It provides an interesting and not often considered perspective on HBCUs, discussing their strengths and weaknesses. The author, who teaches at one, uses several individuals to help tell the stories of Howard, Morehouse, and other well-known schools. I found the book a bit choppy and unfocused, however, with short chapters that jump back and forth from one situation to another, and it was hard to tell what Stodghill wanted to accomplish. He cites many of the troubles HBCUs have with money, governance, and so on, while also giving examples of their strengths, but not enough of either to give me a real sense of their place in the higher ed landscape. I know HBCUs have given rise to many stellar African Americans, but just listing them doesn't help me understand how powerful they have been. And going into depth about the particular struggles at Howard, one of the leading HBCUs, left me uncertain about what Stodghill would like me to think. Maybe he's ambivalent himself. It's not a history and not a passionate look at HBCUs (which is what I thought it would be). As a result it feels more like a patchwork quilt than a cohesive thesis.
March 15, 2021
There are very few books that are more annoying than an aimless book. Ron Stodghill's book about HBCUs has the unfortunate position of being one of those books that do not seem to know what it wants to focus on. "Where Everybody Looks Like Me" is, more or less, a collection of personal anecdotes and interviews with prominent leaders in the world of HBCUs. It also includes a few viewpoints by students, the best part of this book. Sadly, these personal accounts are horribly organized in between, and even within, each chapter.
Within this book, there have to be at least a dozen viewpoints being explored. Stodghill made the unfortunate decision to flit between each story haphazardly like he's playing a game of pinball. The reader will find themselves quickly disoriented by the gross disorganization of his interviews and sources. In one chapter, you could be discussing the viewpoint and struggles of an HBCU's board of trustees member. Then, you'll be pulled to a completely different university with the viewpoint of the president and so on. It is very difficult to keep track of where each person is in their recollection of various issues that they've had to deal with. It's especially bothersome because most of the accounts are pretty interesting.
Each personal anecdote brings information about the current condition of HBCUs, whether they are from the viewpoint of student or a college leader. In particular, the students gave often engrossing tales of their struggles to become HBCU students. I think that these accounts, however, should have been further furnished with good citations of reliable sources. This book confusingly does not provide works cited page or index. Why? There are so many statistics and personal statements made in this book, and an index would have helped readers find more info about the topic of this book. It would also give us fact-checkers an easier time accepting the particular details presented in this book. While you might find some worthwhile chapters or stories in this book, I think you would find it preferable to skip this book. It's a very messy and questionably researched book.
Within this book, there have to be at least a dozen viewpoints being explored. Stodghill made the unfortunate decision to flit between each story haphazardly like he's playing a game of pinball. The reader will find themselves quickly disoriented by the gross disorganization of his interviews and sources. In one chapter, you could be discussing the viewpoint and struggles of an HBCU's board of trustees member. Then, you'll be pulled to a completely different university with the viewpoint of the president and so on. It is very difficult to keep track of where each person is in their recollection of various issues that they've had to deal with. It's especially bothersome because most of the accounts are pretty interesting.
Each personal anecdote brings information about the current condition of HBCUs, whether they are from the viewpoint of student or a college leader. In particular, the students gave often engrossing tales of their struggles to become HBCU students. I think that these accounts, however, should have been further furnished with good citations of reliable sources. This book confusingly does not provide works cited page or index. Why? There are so many statistics and personal statements made in this book, and an index would have helped readers find more info about the topic of this book. It would also give us fact-checkers an easier time accepting the particular details presented in this book. While you might find some worthwhile chapters or stories in this book, I think you would find it preferable to skip this book. It's a very messy and questionably researched book.
February 8, 2020
A good current history of historically black colleges and universities and the struggles and solutions they are facing.
February 5, 2016
After a very off putting first chapter, this powerful book makes the case for the importance of Historically Black Colleges & Universities (HBCU) . The statistics are all there, but the author explores how the sense of community creates an environment that produces great education. This book made me understand white privilege that I was blind to before. The only thing that prevented it from receiving 5 stars is the first chapter and WAY too much Bill Cosby. A worthy read.
December 28, 2015
This book deals with a very specific topic that may not be of interest to everyone, but I found it fascinating. It was well-written and easy to read, told through stories of individuals and presenting the current situation of HBCUs from all sides. Everyone could benefit from understanding the origins and importance of HBCUs to African Americans. Well done.
February 1, 2016
i enjoyed it; insightful historical perspective on an important topic ... it seems a no brainer that the preserving and upgrading/updating of the Nation's HBCUs is worth doing, and the author provides a good deal of common sense about how to go about doing that, while providing many interesting points of view ... in the end, however, the book really didn't go anywhere
June 7, 2016
I found this book informative and well written. The book explained a lot and opened my eyes so enlightened after reading...I could go on and on. I met the author yesterday and what a pleasure open approachable personable allow conversation welcomed feedback. Just a great writer and a superb individual. Was the icing on the cake for me.
Cheers,
Sonni
Cheers,
Sonni
November 6, 2015
This book is truly enlightening. The general public has no idea what goes on behind the scenes of a college, no matter what college it is. I learned a lot and would recommend this book to others. Thanks to Goodreads for a copy.
July 24, 2015
Read this book to provide a blurb for the book. It's an outstanding read and I highly recommend the book.
October 26, 2015
Great insight into the HBCU history and prospects/challenges for the future.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews