Institutional Consequences of the Black Lives Matter Movement: Towards Diversity in Elite Education

Abstract

In the wake of the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests, racial disparities in elite educational attainment have received widespread attention. Universities expressed their commitment to racial diversity, but university policies aimed at rectifying historic disadvantages were also met with criticism. Critics expressed concerns that efforts to achieve racial equity would disadvantage academically successful Asian students. With this article, we examine how Black and Asian student representation has changed over time. Time series enrolment data show a continuing increase in the representation of Black students at elite universities following Black Lives Matter protests. Medical school enrolment saw a similar trend of increased representation of Black students. Contrary to concerns that Asian student representation has declined as a result of growing enrolment rates of Black students, we observe a steady increase in the representation of Asian students alongside increases in the representation of Hispanic students over the past decade. Black Lives Matter coincided with increased Black enrolment in highly selective universities, without affecting broader trends towards greater representation of minority students.