The National Science Foundation recently released its annual data on doctoral degree recipients in the United States. The Survey of Earned Doctorates showed that for U.S. citizens and permanent residents of this country, 2,725 African Americans earned doctorates from U.S. universities in 2023. This is the highest number ever recorded.
But not all the news is good. In 2023, 890 doctoral degrees were awarded in the fields of agronomy, developmental biology, cellular biology, human genetics, biomechanics, plant pathology, zoology, biological medical engineering, structural engineering, nanotechnology, geochemistry, climatology, oceanography, medicinal and pharmaceutical chemistry, astronomy, nuclear physics, elementary particle physics, theoretical and mathamatical physics, physical and biological anthropology, environmental economics, archeology, English literature, and Spanish language and literature.
None of these 890 doctorates were awarded to African Americans.
While we should encourage African Americans to further their studies, I don’t believe that this is the path to success. We should be focusing on entrepreneurships, leadership, innovation and creativity.
Does one understand that a person of color can pursue a scientific discipline and still become an entrepreneur. The discussion we need to have with our children is the importance of being well prepared, flexible and multifaceted.
Last evening someone in conversation mentioned the White House Fellowship Program. I looked at the names listed as the 2024 – 2025 Fellows and wondered if any one of them shared my skin hue?
We do our children a disservice not to introduce them to as many options as possible because everybody does not want to dance, sing, play football or basketball.
We need both studies in entrepreneurship, leadership, innovation and creativity but also challenge the historical narrative that was contructed against Africans and African-Americans.