Does Educational Background Influence the Careers of Negroes?

Abstract

There is a widespread belief that, whatever general or civic values are inherent in Negro education, the amount and character of the training bear slight relation to vocational opportunity. The advisability of stimulating the Negro to higher educational goals has been questioned. Some educators maintain that advanced education will help the Negro little, if any, in making his vocational and social adjustments. Others feel that only by additional education and vocational equipment will it be possible to break down racial prejudice and secure for the Negro equality of opportunity which is so essential in a democracy. Therefore, vocational counselors are confronted with the perplexing problem of advising the Negro student to choose between a trade course which might prove valuable in securing employment or a higher academic course with its dubious employment value. These important questions stimulated the author to make a study' of the education and careers of Negroes living in Manhattan, during the years 1929-1937, in order to discover the nature of the relationship between their scholastic training and their subsequent occupations. The factors tending to inhibit or stimulate vocational placement and progress of the Negro were also considered.