A Tale of Two Nations: Policy Perspectives on Collegiate Desegregation in South Africa and United States

Abstract

In this chapter, the authors interrogate the structures, natures, processes, and variables that shape globalized collegiate desegregation. The authors pay attention to the history of segregation in South African culture, then proceed to current efforts to dismantle and rebuild the country’s educational enterprise. Drawing parallels with segregation policy in the United States, the authors argue that both nations may draw from global lessons about systemic global anti-Black oppression and its structural forms (e.g., apartheid, inequities in higher education). More specifically, the authors ground arguments in an analysis of the linguistic hegemony that continues to inculcate the college-aspiring students of South Africa. Understanding fundamental desegregation characteristics of racial hegemonic nations (e.g., United States) vis-à-vis racial and linguistic hegemonic nations (e.g., South Africa) is imperative to increase understanding of democratization of educational systems throughout the world.

Citation

Brown, M.C., Dancy, T.E. and Lane, J.E. (2017), "A Tale of Two Nations: Policy Perspectives on Collegiate Desegregation in South Africa and United States", Brown, M.C. and Dancy, T.E. (Ed.) Black Colleges Across the Diaspora: Global Perspectives on Race and Stratification in Postsecondary Education (Advances in Education in Diverse Communities, Vol. 14), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 223-261. https://doi.org/10.1108/S1479-358X20160000014012