A matter of diversity, equity and necessity: The tension between maryland's higher education system and its historically black colleges and universities over the office of civil rights agreement

Eighteen years after the Supreme Court rendered its decision in Fordice, many states have complied somewhat or not at all to its mandates. This has been particularly evident in Maryland, where the presidents of historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are pressuring the state to fulfill its commitment with the Office of Civil Rights (OCR), stemming from Fordice, to make HBCUs comparable to their White peers. While Maryland has declared that it has complied with its OCR agreement by preventing unnecessary program duplication between HBCUs and White institutions, investing more money into HBCUs, and increasing racial diversity on all of its public campuses, leaders of the State's HBCUs charge Maryland with not fully honoring its commitment. In this article, the authors will discuss Maryland's collegiate desegregation plan, stemming from the Supreme Court's decision-U. S. v. Kirk Fordice, and explain the tension resulting from the HBCUs leaders' accusations of Maryland's lack of commitment to this agreement.