“America’s colleges and universities have a dirty open secret: they have never given Black people an equal chance to succeed,” writes Adam Harris in the introduction to his 2021 book, The State Must Provide: Why America’s Colleges Have Always Been Unequal — and How to Set Them Right.

Harris, a staff writer for The Atlantic, will be on Alabama State University‘s campus to offer his thoughts on  “Exploring Inequality in Higher Education,” the focus of his book, during the University’s Civil Rights Symposium on Thursday, February 8, 2024, at 11 a.m. in the Ralph David Abernathy Auditorium.  

The 2021 New America National Fellow’s discussion will examine the systemic inequities baked into the American higher education system and touch on topics that include the emotional toll on students trying to desegregate American colleges, the role of HBCUs, student loan debt and what the future may hold for colleges in the South.