President Of One Of America’s Oldest Historic Black Colleges Builds Bridges In Sacramento

By Stephen Magagnini

Dr. Donzell Lee, president of Tougaloo College in Jackson, Mississippi, made a pilgrimage to Sacramento on Jan. 27 to promote Black education and partnerships with California colleges in a time of great political uncertainty. He was hosted by Dr. Alan Rowe, a veteran Sacramento educator who has pioneered relationships between local schools and HBCUs.

“Dr. Lee is sharing the importance of using HBCUs as an option for higher education with the challenges coming from the new administration and people wanting to take away opportunities for our community. It is a timely visit,” Rowe said.

Dr. Lee, 75, spent 46 years at another HBCU, Alcorn State University, where slain civil rights champion Medgar Evers went to school. He began as a music instructor, became director of the honors curriculum program, and went on to serve as dean of graduate studies and interim president.

Dr. Lee met with Sacramento State President Dr. Luke Wood and Dr. Helen Young, who manages transfer agreements with HBCUs including Tougaloo, a small liberal arts college of about 600 students founded in 1869. He also promoted partnerships with local high school districts to hire Tougaloo grads as teachers.

In a Q&A with OBSERVER Editor-in-Chief Stephen Magagnini, Dr. Lee emphasized the importance of HBCUs for African American students, highlighting their nurturing, supportive environments and strong community bonds. He noted that there are about 102 HBCUs serving more than 300,000 students. Lee discussed the challenges of student retention and graduation rates, often affected by financial constraints and homesickness. He also addressed the potential impact of federal education funding cuts, stressing the need for intentional advocacy to preserve federal support for HBCUs and higher education research. The Q&A has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Q: Dr. Rowe tells us you are a man on a mission.

A: I’m extremely passionate about providing opportunities, particularly for African American students, to attend college. It’s important for students who look like me to go to college and to be very sincere, very conscientious and very intentional in terms of improving themselves through education. I am here to encourage students to go on to seek higher education beyond high school, even beyond the bachelor’s degree.

One of the greatest educational experiences that I had was as an undergraduate at Xavier University of Louisiana in New Orleans. I was a music major and so being in New Orleans with all kinds of music, from opera to symphonic to jazz to contemporary R&B, I was just in music heaven – I’m a pianist.

Q: Why is it important for young Black people to have an opportunity to go to an HBCU? What can that experience offer them that they might not get at a Sac State or even a UC Davis?

A: You’re going to be around a lot of folks that look like us who really do care about us and our students, and that’s critically important. You’re going to be around folks who will nurture you, who will be role models for you, who will always be encouraging yet challenging, and they will provide that impetus for you to move up, to move forward.

You’ll be around a lot of peers who are equally motivated, who will be encouraging and supportive. Most HBCUs tout themselves as being a family, and that is absolutely true. We are so closely knit that we know your names. You’re not going to get lost as a number. We care about issues that you care about. We’re concerned about your family. We’re concerned about you.

Living the HBCU experience is what really distinguishes them from other institutions. Other institutions are much larger and, in many cases, have many more resources than we have at HBCUs.

There are around 102 HBCUs serving well over 300,000 students. And although the number of students attending HBCUs makes up a very small percentage of all colleges, HBCUs are responsible for producing more African American students than all the others.

Q: How difficult is the adjustment for California high school kids who attend an HBCU far from home?

A: Anytime a 17-, 18- or 19-year-old moves away from home, there’s an adjustment period and HBCUs are far away – you can’t just get in your car and drive back to Sacramento. But we have programs and services geared to provide social outlets for our students, programs that provide mental counseling for our students. We are prepared to accommodate students who come from afar. We understand the importance of that, and that’s why most HBCUs, particularly those that are small, have such a close-knit society that we’re able to keep up with everybody.

Q: How are student retention and graduation rates at HBCUs?

A: Retention and graduation rates may be a little lower, but there are a lot of mitigating factors. Sometimes students opt out for various reasons, and in many instances, that reason is related to finances. Sometimes they really do get really lonely and want to go back home for a while. After a semester back home, many want to come back because they realize what they’ve left at the HBCU.

Graduation rates are always a challenge. Retention rates are always a challenge. But if we can get a student to stay one semester, we’ve got them hooked.

Q: How are you building bridges between HBCUs such as Tougaloo and California educational institutions?

A: Tougaloo is a private liberal arts institution. We do have strong components in education [and] the sciences, and are developing a strong technology component. We pride ourselves on being a versatile kind of institution that will be attractive to a variety of students.

COVID took a real serious toll on our enrollment. In the state of Mississippi, there are fewer students to share among our competitors, including public institutions, which are generally less expensive than the private institutions, but we’re hanging in there.

I’m here to develop memorandums of understanding with community colleges. We have MOUs for all of the community colleges so that students can transfer seamlessly from to our institution.

We’re also looking at opportunities to engage in exchange programs with institutions. Had a wonderful meeting earlier today at Sac State, and we’re hoping that we’ll be able to move forward with some collaborative partnerships.

One of the great needs all around the country is for teachers. Teacher education is one focal point that we’re also looking at while we’re here. We hope that we can provide some of our wonderfully trained teachers to come to Northern California. I’m hoping that we can develop a cadre of students from Northern California who come and go through our teacher education program and then come back to Northern California to work.

If we can get a small group coming initially, that group can then interact with students who may have interest, and we can use those students to help in terms of recruiting. So not only are we growing our population, we would also be enhancing the teacher education pipeline. Many HBCUs in the South are part of this consortium, and it’s working already.

Q: We have a new administration that is throwing a lot of things on the table, including possibly eliminating the Department of Education and all the funding it provides. What impact could this have on Black education, Black students, Black teachers, Black parents and what can we do about it?

A: I certainly hope that there are those in Congress who will temper the movement to eliminate the Department of Education. HBCUs historically and systemically have received less funding from the states and federal government. If you think about the possibility of eliminating the federal Department of Education, one would assume that a good deal of responsibility would then fall on the states to take up the slack or to fill in those gaps where federal education programs have been eliminated.

If we move from a federal system that hopefully oversees fairly equitable resources, if we abandon that and move to a state-supported system, I have some very serious concerns.

HBCUs’ minority students just don’t get the recognition that I think we deserve for the work that we do. It’s assumed that our work is less than, less effective than the work at predominantly white institutions. I would have a chorus of “amens” when I say that is absolutely untrue. The work we do is critically important. We certainly educate a good number of students who may not have access to any other institutions. Many of our students rely on federal student aid, which comes out of the U.S. Department of Education. So if we eliminate the department, what happens to federal student aid? If student aid has been made the responsibility of the states, how effective then are the states going to be in maintaining the level of commitment that we get from the federal government?

There are certain programs that HBCUs have relied on for years. Title III, for example, is a special allocation to HBCUs for innovative programs. It helps with infrastructure, academics and university operations. That source of funding is critical for HBCUs. So how do we negotiate? How do we anticipate what might happen if the U.S. Department of Education is limited [or] eliminated? I think that it would create a lot of angst all over the country.

Q: What can we do to prevent this and other initiatives such as wiping out DEI programs?

A: We have to be very intentional and contact our legislators, express to them our concerns and particularly say that the U.S. Department of Education is absolutely critical, beyond HBCUs. Our country has been a haven for research and innovation; much of that happens on our campuses through grants. Many of the major institutions are doing outstanding, innovative and creative research that keeps this country ahead of most other countries in terms of development. Students from all over want to come to America to study because of the quality of our graduate programs, and the opportunity to engage in high-level research, groundbreaking research.

The Department of Education supports that and serves as a kind of drum major for research and development. If we lose that, we run the risk of allowing others to step in and replace the United States. If we’re going to maintain our edge in the world [and] our status in the world, we need to be able to do the bona fide research we need to make those discoveries that will propel us into the future.

The new administration threatens to take away the nonprofit status of some of the larger institutions. That’s a political response aimed at punishing folks who don’t have the same opinion. If folks contact their elected officials and work with civic organizations that are like-minded, I think that’s the way to go. If parents can take charge of their students, of what their students are reading in a more direct manner, that would solve some of the concerns.

Q: Black students in Sacramento face some of the worst suspension rates in California, and districts in the region are joining others nationwide in trying to eliminate Black American history, aka critical race theory. What can Americans do, and what can HBCUs do to stem these tides?

A: HBCUs can continue to offer realistic and true historical perspectives. There is a move to erase real history. And the code phrase for that is “make America great again.”

If we are going to be true to our country, true to ourselves, we have to understand and appreciate the historical perspective of all of those groups that make up this country. We’re not a singular race. We are a motley group of individuals. There are perspectives from every group, and there are great contributions to the development of this country from every single group that has come here, not just one group. That’s why I’m an advocate of starting to teach history even before students start formal education. You’ve got to help them to understand their culture. You got to help them to understand the culture of others, and you have to help them to understand how to discern what is true and what is not true. Teaching history will do that.

So if we continue to offer Black studies programs in our institutions, if we continue to help our younger kids to understand the importance of themselves and culture, I think we can counterbalance the effort to eliminate all history. When you say that it is not important to celebrate diversity, you’re saying that it is not important to celebrate those who have made this country what it is. Perhaps 90% of folks who are opposed to what they call critical race theory have never read a word. We have to take charge of our kids’ education, particularly from a young age. Let’s ensure that they have access to the great works of those individuals who have made great and important contributions, particularly from our race.

It’s absolutely going to fall on the parents. The parents have to help their children to understand the importance of who they are and what they are, and the importance of the contributions that the various races have made. No one race is better than another.