For decades, the NCAA’s Academic Performance Program has sought to hold colleges across the country accountable to provide a quality education to their student-athletes. Yet, today, this program has come under fire for the way it treats historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). Is it racist to hold HBCUs to the same academic standards as other colleges? What role should institutions of higher education play in serving the long-term interests of their athletes? In this episode, Johnny Taylor Jr.—president and CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management—joins Naomi and Ian to discuss this issue and more. Johnny is an expert on issues pertaining to HBCUs. He used to lead the Thurgood Marshall College Fund—a non-profit organization supporting more than 300,000 students at HBCUs. Johnny notes that a vast majority of student athletes—even those from top-tier athletic schools—never go on to play professional sports, and academic standards are an essential method of holding colleges accountable to prepare their student-athletes for career success.

Later, Naomi, Ian and Johnny discuss why HBCUs continue to provide critical pathways to upward mobility for young black men and women who might otherwise miss out on opportunities for higher education. They also examine recent unsolicited donations from Mackenzie Scott and discuss why it will be important for additional support of these institutions to hold colleges accountable to allocate funding toward value-adding improvements.

Time stamps:

00:58 | What is the Academic Performance Program and why is it coming under fire?

06:22 | How do we understand claims of systemic racism in the NCAA?

08:55 | Should we be investing more resources into HBCU’s?

11:00 | What is the ‘Value Proposition’ of HBCU Institutions?

17:35 | The recent renaissance of HBCUs with notable graduates like Stacey Abrams, Raphael Warnock and Kamala Harris.

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