Negro Higher and Professional Education in Kentucky

Abstract

The disparity between the facilities provided for the higher education of Negroes and those provided for whites in states where segregation prevails is too obvious to bear repetition here. Throughout the South the patterns of discrimination are much the same from state to state. The only excuse for a presentation such as this is based on the hope that certain minor variations in Kentucky might serve to accentuate the major theme and thus make even clearer the insurmountable difficulties which prevent the attainment of equality of opportunity within a segregated system. To this end it would seem appropriate to begin by reviewing the development of higher education for Negroes in Kentucky since 1930. The second and main phase of this presentation will consist of a comparison of the facilities available to Negroes with those available to whites, in so far as limited statistical data will permit. Finally, a tentative appraisal will be made of the possibilities for the expansion and improvement of higher educational facilities for Negroes in the state.