Article from Greenville News by Matthew Kirk
With so many colleges in our state students have many options. So why do the numbers show that black and Hispanic males aren’t enrolling in college?
According to a 2015 study, only 73 percent of Hispanic males graduate from high school in South Carolina compared to 79 percent of white males. The numbers are lower for black males, who graduate high school at a rate of 69 percent. The statistics become staggering when we consider that 68 percent of white students in the state are enrolled in college, but only 28 percent and 5.5 percent of black and Hispanic students are, respectively.
The reasons behind these achievement gaps become clear when we look at the barriers that exist for black and Hispanic communities. Historically, people of color have been denied access to higher education in the United States, and exponentially so for black and Hispanic people.