| In order to examine the Black college experience, I analyzed data from the University of California Undergraduate Experience Survey (n = 51,819) and collected 39 interviews with Black undergraduates at one University of California campus. The prominent work on Black students in college was done during the time of Affirmative Action. In this post-Affirmative Action era, I found that Black students have low levels of intellectual integration into the university, which has a deleterious effect on their persistence. The extant literature suggests that African Americans (native Blacks) differ from Black immigrants and children of Black immigrants (immigrant Blacks) in their ethnic identities, social networks, perceptions of discrimination, and educational outcomes. I contribute to this growing body of work, showing that there is no difference between these two groups. Although interview respondents have the expected narratives of cultural difference between immigrant and native Blacks, regression analyses and the interview data point to similarities in college experiences and outcomes. The findings from this study also address the timely question of the color line. Researchers are struggling with the place of the post-1965 immigrants and their descendants in contemporary U.S. society, given the differences from the immigrant wave in the early 1900's. Based on regression analyses across ethnic groups, I found that Black students have a unique college experience. These findings suggest that, on college campuses, the color line is drawn between Black and non- Black. I conclude with suggestions on how the university can improve the intellectual integration and overall college experience of Black students. There is a Black college experience; it transcends immigrant generation; it has an impact on the academic attainment; it is less favorable than the experiences of non-Black students; and it can be ameliorated by institutional policies. |
