Katherine I. E. Wheatle, Ph.D. (she/her)

I’m delighted to share that my article, “Neither Just Nor Equitable: Race in the Congressional Debate of the Second Morrill Act of 1890”, has been chosen as the 2020 Article of the Year by the American Educational History Journal. A year later, here are my reflections (thread)

Jim Crow has always been an authoritarian regime, but Americans lock it away. Don’t speak of Gestapo when they got it from the slave catcher. They were inspired by U.S. Interest convergence ‘bout a bish, huh?

Today, I think about just how many white people, executives, and leaders were surprised by the responses of their colleagues and staff to Mr. Floyd’s murder. How many believed that warning against fascism, using the word would increase polarization. Don’t look away now.

A lot of failed solutions to higher education going around right now: lower interest rates, bankruptcy reform, caps on amounts borrowed, changes to repayment plans, having the private sector administer loans, etc. Just make college free. The end. There should be no loan at all.

“Indiana University, one of the great American public universities, is currently melting down with a speed and violence unprecedented in the history of higher education.” utotherescue.blogspot.com/2025/11/anatom…

Applications to historically Black colleges and universities surged last cycle, and enrollments are up this fall. insidehighered.com/news/admission…

Breaking News: Black student enrollment at Harvard dipped after the Supreme Court effectively ended affirmative action. nyti.ms/3zeOZFI

.@Harvard Makes Meager Progress in Slavery Reparation Efforts bit.ly/3ZlhBrs

Anti-DEI Bills Failed in Kentucky. Universities Are Restricting It Anyway. Some of the state’s biggest public institutions have voluntarily dissolved their DEI offices. But will that be enough to forestall legislation that guts them even more? bit.ly/4dWoGTH

Xceleader, an HBCU alumni-led non-profit focused on HBCU students, and HeadCount, a leading youth voter registration organization, have partnered to launch the 10-stop Vote HBCU “Say It Louder Tour.” spklr.io/6017sjHJ

Weeks after Hurricane Beryl, Black neighborhoods are still recovering from unprecedented power outages and damage. Black and elderly neighbors have relied on community-driven efforts—not government agencies—for ice, water, and food whatimreading.net/p/after-hurric…

bro might really be the real life mr feeny

A recent study from @UrbanInstitute shows that as of August 2022, approximately 6 percent of adults aged 50 and older—or 7.2 million Americans—have yet to pay off their student loans. It’s a financial burden that leaves many seniors struggling to retire. bit.ly/3ywUnUj

Gov. Walz signed into a law a promise program in 2023 that covered tuition for students from families making less than $80k a year and supported other measures to make college more accessible. Those changes and a funding boost have paid off. insidehighered.com/news/governmen…

This is the crowd to see Kamala Harris & Tim Walz in Detroit, Michigan now. Remember: The venue had to change to an airport hanger because there were so many sign ups, & even that now is totally full & has an overflow crowd.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture has sent out more than $2.2 billion in payments to Black and minority farmers who’ve been waiting on this kind of money for years. Here’s why it matters whatimreading.net/p/historic-fed…

YOU GUYS YOU GUYS YOU GUYS this is the crowd BEHIND the barricade! This is a view of the people in what is essentially overflow. They are standing behind the first video I posted below. I cannot even. (credit: @shawnamizelle)

This is big news for Native Americans. With Walz as the Democratic pick for VP, it means Peggy Flanagan would presumably become the next Governor of Minnesota. There has never been a Native female governor of a state. Flanagan is Anishinaabe from the White Earth Nation.

Plural/possessive name reminder: For names that end in an s or z sound, you can either add -'s or just an apostrophe. Going with -'s is the more common choice: the car that belongs to Jones → Jones's car or Jones' car

States that ban DEI at universities claim it won't ban popular cultural centers that serve students. But in every state that's banned DEI so far - Texas, Florida, Iowa, and Utah, where I taught history for four years - cultural centers have closed too. My latest @insidehighered:

Bloomberg Philanthropies is announcing a $600 million gift to the endowments of four historically Black medical schools. $175M each will go to Howard University, Meharry Medical College, and Morehouse Medicine. Charles Drew University will receive $75M. apnews.com/article/mike-b…