ATLANTA — “How did you end up here?”
From the time that I first came to Ohio in 2010, until I left in 2021, I was asked this question whenever I told someone where I was from. You see, unlike the vast majority of those I met, the Buckeye State was not home for me. Home for me is Los Angeles, California. I came to Ohio from Atlanta, Georgia.
I came to Ohio to attend law school at the University of Akron. I had never been to Akron before. All I knew about the city before coming to it was that it was the home of LeBron James.
I applied to the school at the request of my mother. At the time, she lived in nearby North Canton, Ohio. She had moved back to Ohio from California to take care of her mother. When I told her I was applying to law schools, she offered up Akron Law as one to consider. I had no need to ask her why she would say such a thing. She is my mom. I am her son.
Though I applied, I had no intention of going to Akron Law. I planned on going to the Howard University School of Law in Washington, D.C. I’d gone to Morehouse College, an Historically Black College and University, for my undergraduate education. The idea of attending a similar institution for law school excited me. Plus, as a political science major, being in the nation’s capital was a huge plus.
Well, as you know, my plan did not come to fruition. Instead, my mother’s plan did. The reason? Money. Howard Law offered me a partial scholarship. Akron Law offered a full scholarship.
We are still seeing the fallout from the U.S. Supreme Court’s sweeping “Fair Admissions” decision, in which it struck down race-based admissions programs at Harvard University and the University of North Carolina. Language from that decision, such as, “Eliminating racial discrimination means eliminating all of it[,]” has subsequently been used to destroy programs that invest in Black-owned businesses. Now, it is being used to do the same to race-based scholarships. Scholarships that can fairly be described as programs that invest in Black students.
This month, five Ohio law schools stopped their race-based scholarship programs. Those law schools were at Cleveland State, Ohio State, Cincinnati, Toledo, and Akron. These decisions came after pressure from The Buckeye Institute, a “conservative, free-market public policy think tank” based in Columbus. In letters sent to these schools declaring the illegality of these programs, the Institute cited the “Fair Admissions” decision.
When I read the news, I immediately thought of my own experience. I cannot say for certain that I received a race-based scholarship. I did not specifically apply for one. But it is not unconceivable to me that my race had something to do with Akron’s decision to offer me a full scholarship.
There were only a handful of Black students in my incoming class. Nearly all of us were from outside of the state. Nearly all of us were offered a scholarship in some form. The same could be said for the 12-15 Black students in the entire school at the time.
What would denying such scholarships do to Black student enrollment? At least during the time I was attended Akron Law, I can say that most of us would not have attended Akron Law without the scholarship offer. Per U.S. News & World Report, 6% of Akron Law’s current total enrollment of 414 students are Black. I would venture to guess that the enrollment of most of these students also hinged on similar offers of financial assistance.
Assuming the worst-case scenario, whose interests are served if the Black student enrollment at Akron Law falls to less than 1%? Assuming those 24 seats and scholarships go to white students, who represent over 80% of the current student body, whose interests are served by that change? Is Akron Law made better for it? The city of Akron? The state of Ohio? The Ohio bar as a whole?
The difficulty with advocating for racial diversity is how words cannot properly capture the impact of the experience. It is an abstract concept. In a way, it can be compared to the concept of love, in that it is something that is better felt than described. You can read for hours about the benefits of diversity with a simple Google search. But it does not take hours to feel its benefits when socializing in a diverse room.
Now before someone says it, I understand that you can achieve a diversity of thought without considering race. But I need you to understand that the breadth of thought offered, its variety, is plainly increased when race and culture are considered. These concepts inform our thought and perspectives in ways both conscious and unconscious.
Consider this: Imagine asking a room of people what the best Thanksgiving dish is. How many different answers would you expect in a room of white people? How many different answers would you expect in a room of white, Black, Latino, Asian, and Indian people?
If nothing else, diversity compels you to challenge your preconceived notions. Notions about others. And notions about yourself.
I came to Ohio from Atlanta, Georgia, because of a presumably race-based scholarship. Since that time, I served. During law school, I served inmates in the Mahoning County Jail who needed help resolving complaints. I served Akron business owners who could not afford in-house counsel. After graduating, I served Cleveland residents with their housing issues. I later served Cuyahoga County residents as a prosecutor. I opened a law practice to serve. I applied to join the Editorial Board of this paper in the hopes that I could somehow be of service.
Here, now, over a decade later, I can say that I am better for that service. Hopefully, the people whom I served over that time, and the people whom I served with over that time, are better for it, as well. There is no way to be completely certain.
But one thing I am certain about is that, had I not been offered that scholarship, none of that service would have happened. What is more, you would not be reading this column right now.
Time will tell just how much things will change because of the “Fair Admissions” decision. But if certain groups have their way, a logical consequence is fewer and fewer people in Ohio’s colleges and universities will look like me. Some of you might think that’s acceptable. To each his own.
Eric Foster is a columnist for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com.
Regardless, Ohio’s population is getting smaller. Its college-educated workforce is likely to become less diverse. At some point, Ohioans will start to wonder why their government must offer corporations billions in taxpayer subsidies to even get considered for relocation. They may wonder why their government spends unknown amounts of money on advertising campaigns to attract people from elsewhere to Ohio.
In 10 to 20 years, Ohioans are going to be asking their government that one simple question, “How did you end up here?”
It starts like this.
Eric Foster, a community member of the editorial board, is a columnist for The Plain Dealer and cleveland.com. Foster is a lawyer in private practice. The views expressed are his own.
To reach Eric Foster: [email protected]
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