The DISH

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Vol. 13 Issue 16…Dedicated to the Dialogue on Race…April 18, 2010

Bit of History

Dr. Percy Julian (1899-1975)

"I feel that my own good country robbed me of the chance for some of the great experiences that I would have liked to live through. Instead, I took a job where I could get one and tried to make the best of it. I have been, perhaps, a good chemist, but not the chemist that I dreamed of being." -- Percy Julian

Born April 11, 1899 in Montgomery, Alabama, Percy Lavon Julian was the grandson of a former slave. His mother, Elizabeth Lena Adams, was a school teacher. James Sumner Julian, his father, was a railway mail carrier for the United States Post Office. During Jim Crow segregation, black children did not receive a public education beyond the 8th grade. However, Julian's parents encouraged the pursuit of higher education. As a result, Julian attended DePauw University in Greencastle, Indiana.

The college accepted few black students; none were allowed to live in the college dormitories. Initially, Julian stayed in an off-campus boarding house that refused to serve him meals. He eventually found work firing the furnace and doing other odd jobs in a fraternity house, where he was allowed to sleep in the attic and eat at the house. While he entered DePauw as a 'sub-freshman,' given his relatively poor academic preparation, Julian graduated in 1920 as class valedictorian with Phi Beta Kappa honors.

After graduating from DePauw, Julian taught chemistry at Fisk University. He received an Austin Fellowship in Chemistry and attended Harvard University (1923) for his M.S. When Harvard University withdrew his teaching assistantship out of an abundance of concern that whites would resent being taught by an black man, Julian was unable to complete his Ph.D. at Harvard.

In 1929, while an instructor at Howard University, Julian received a Rockefeller Foundation fellowship to continue his graduate work at the University of Vienna, where he earned his Ph.D. in 1931. In Europe, Julian found freedom from the racial prejudices that had nearly stifled him in the USA.

Dr. Julian taught chemistry at several universities and conducted research for private industries before founding his own research firm, Julian Laboratories, Inc., in 1953. His first major scientific contribution came in 1935 with the synthesis of physostigmine, the drug used in the treatment of glaucoma; Dr. Julian was the first to synthesize the natural product physostigmine. A pioneer in the industrial large-scale chemical synthesis of the human hormones, steroids, progesterone, and testosterone from plant sterols such as stigmasterol and sitosterol, his work laid the foundation for the steroid drug industry's production of cortisone, other corticosteroids, and birth control pills. His work made possible the production of these drugs in large quantities, reducing the cost of treating hormonal deficiencies, arthritis and other disorders.

Despite being a renowned scientist, Dr. Julian denied a professorship because of his race. He left DePauw to become director of research at the Glidden Company, a paint and varnish manufacturer, where he focused on soybean research, creating a process to isolate the proteins from soybeans, and used them in the manufacture of paper coatings, water-based paints and textile sizings. During World War II, he also isolated a soya protein to produce AeroFoam, which was used to extinguish gasoline and oil fires. Dr. Julian's research yielded more than 100 patents.

In 1947, the NAACP awarded him the Spingarn medal. Dr. Julian was elected to the National Academy of Sciences. In 1964, he founded Julian Associates and Julian Research Institute, which he managed for the rest of his life. He died on April 19, 1975. The Percy Lavon Julian family papers are archived at DePauw University. (Sources: www.blackhistorypages.net, http://en.wikipedia.org, and www.aaregistry.com)

Politics Y2K10

Educating Slaves and Their Descendants

By John Burl Smith

Kidnaped and brought to the United States of America (USA) for their labor, slaves were forbidden to acquire any type of learning that slave masters did not think was directly related to their work. Learning to read or write were offences punishable by severe beatings, loss of limbs and hanging for repeat offenders. Beyond the antebellum South, slavery was permitted, which meant restrictions were placed on all blacks. Prior to the Civil War, a few states allowed blacks to attend school and exceptional blacks were even allowed to attend college.

Pennsylvania, populated by fiercely anti-slavery Quakers, led the way in educating blacks, establishing schools of higher learning. Cheyney University was the first in 1837 and Lincoln University, which began as the Ashmun Institute, was second. Wilberforce University in Ohio established in 1856 rounded out the educational picture for blacks prior to the American Civil War.

The years between the Civil War (1860-1865) and World War I (1914-1918) witnessed tremendous growth for American colleges and universities. Higher education grew primarily through institutions financed by public taxes, particularly the rapid expansion of land-grant colleges which were established by the US Congress in the Morrill Act of 1862. Land-grant institutions, coupled with a growing system of state colleges, marked the emergence of publicly supported institutions of higher learning in America.

African American education took a different path. Former slaves and their descendants attended private colleges from the Reconstruction era (1865-1877) through World War II (1939-1945). Northern religious missionary societies and African American religious and philanthropic groups were primarily responsible for establishing and maintaining these institutions.

Given the nonexistence of public education for blacks in the South, private institutions had to provide preparatory courses at the elementary and high school levels. Students often attended for years before college-level courses could be attempted. Modeled after white institutions, these early schools reflected the ideals of classical liberal education, with its emphasis on ancient languages, natural sciences, and humanities. Blacks were trained for literacy, but also for teaching, preaching and a few other professions.

However, the history of education for slave descendants in the US cannot be appreciated without examining the major legislation and court decisions that led to the birth of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs). The Morrill Act passed in 1863 (also known as the National Land-Grant Colleges Act of 1862) changed the face of education in the US by establishing land-grant colleges in each state and making post-secondary education accessible to more Americans. The second Morrill Act (1890) required states to establish separate land-grant colleges for blacks, if slave descendants were being excluded from white only land-grant colleges. The First Morrill Act paved the way for the Reconstruction era Freedman's Bureau (1873) to provide support to a small number of HBCUs. The Second Morrill Act of 1890 led to the establishment of nineteen HBCUs.

Although, these legislative acts provided an atmosphere of change in which educational institutions in the North and West opened their doors to blacks following the Civil War, the 17 Southern states excluded blacks from their land-grant colleges. Segregation is the other side of the HBCU story. Segregation was the impetus for the growth of black institutions of higher education, particularly in response to the 1896 Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson, which ultimately established legal discrimination (American apartheid). Plessy authorized states to draw a color line and set up what was supposed to be separate but equal schools. Ironically, this decision led to the expansion and growth of historically black colleges and universities.

Historically black colleges and universities increased from one in 1837 to more than 100 in 1973. Most of these colleges were founded in an atmosphere created by the Supreme Court decision in Plessy v. Ferguson. States in the North and South that wanted to avoid admitting blacks to their "white only institutions" established HBCUs. However, this was not just a simple matter of keeping blacks out, it was about resources. Separate but equal allowed state governments to tax blacks as first class citizens but provide them with 3/5 Compromise second class substandard services.

On May 17, 1954, in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the Supreme Court ruled that separate education for blacks in public schools was unconstitutional because separate facilities are inherently unequal. This decision, which ended de jure racial segregation in public schools, also required states to dismantle dual systems of higher education. It required predominantly white institutions (PWIs) to open their doors to black students. Quite to the contrary, rather than opening their doors, white institutions developed a system of de facto segregation using entrance examinations and other requirements that barred the door to blacks.

The resistance of whites to allowing blacks to attend PWIs today maintains the need for HBCUs, particularly at the college entrance level. For many black students, beginning their education at an HBCU to establish their educational bona fides, then transferring to a PWI, circumvents efforts to keep black students out. For this reason, some state governments have forced HBCUs to merge with the state university system to eliminate their unique character, while others have sought to close them or force them to use affirmative action to recruit white students by offering scholarships to whites that would not qualify to enter a PWI.

HBCUs: Surviving Against the Odds

By John Burl Smith

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions defined by the Higher Education Act of 1965, as "part B institution" and are "...any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation." Part B of the 1965 Act provides for direct federal aid to Part B institutions.

Following the enactment of Civil Rights laws in the 1960s, all educational institutions that receive federal funding were supposed to undertake affirmative action to increase their racial diversity. White schools have continually and consistently evaded this requirement, whereas black schools have been forced to admit large numbers of white students. Some historically black colleges now have non-black majorities, notably West Virginia State University and Bluefield State College whose student bodies have been roughly 90% white since the mid-1960s. Conversely, there are no PWIs that have been forced to admit as much as 10% black students, much less become majority black. That would be "reversed discrimination" according to the US Supreme Court.

Many non-state-supported HBCUs are struggling financially, due to the increased cost of delivering private education and declining financial aid. As colleges work harder to maintain enrollment levels, the percentage of non-African American enrollment has continued to climb at HBCU schools, while black enrollment drops at PWIs since the elimination of affirmative action.

Perhaps one of the greatest struggles faced by blacks in the US has been getting an education. Framed by black scholars who believed that without struggle there was no progress, black revolutionists who believed that education was the passport to the future, and black clergy who preached that without vision their people would perish, HBCUs were seen as fortresses. Essentially, education is a vital weapon today as blacks fight neo-segregation, racism, illiteracy, and poverty. The steadfast desire of slave descendants to be educated influenced the development of HBCUs, and HBCUs have likewise been crucial to black advancement.

The struggle of blacks in the USA to get an education is also the HBCUs' story of survival. Federal and state governments have never financed these schools at the same level as PWIs because educating slave descendants has never been a priority. An educated black person is competition for whites in the market place of ideas, goods and services. Keeping HBCUs in an inferior position to PWIs by providing fewer resources and limited educational choices, feed into the perception that blacks are less qualified.

Jake Ayers, Sr. challenged this system in his 1975 lawsuit against the state of Mississippi which provided more financial support to its predominantly white institutions than to black schools. The state settled the lawsuit in 2002 and agreed to direct $503 million to three historically black colleges, collectively, over 17 years. All 17 southern states are guilty of the same type of under-funding discrimination against black institutions.

For most of America's history, African Americans who received a college education did so at an HBCU. Today, HBCUs remain one of the surest ways for an African American, or student of any race, to receive a high quality education. HBCUs graduate far more than their share of African American professionals. While the 105 HBCUs represent just 3% of the nation's institutions of higher learning, they graduate nearly one-quarter of African Americans who earn undergraduate degrees.

Historically, Black colleges and universities in the United States today, including public and private, two- and four-year institutions, medical schools and community colleges, are all in former slave states and territories of the US, except for 6: Central State University (Ohio), Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, Lewis College of Business (Detroit, Michigan), Lincoln University (Pennsylvania), Wilberforce University (Ohio), and now-defunct Western University (Kansas).

The 105 HBCU institutions in America today can boast of 27 schools offering doctoral programs and 52 schools with graduate degree programs at the Master's level. Undergraduate Bachelor's degree programs are offered at 83 and 38 offer associate degrees. HBCUs have seen a steady dropped from 35% in 1976 to 21.5% in 2001 in Bachelor degrees awarded to black students due to matriculation at PWIs. From 1976 to 2001, total HBCU enrollment grew from 180,059 to 222,453, with most of this increase being attributable to the growth of black female enrollment up from 88,379 to 117,766.

The Real Benefits of HBCUs

By John Burl Smith

The primary purpose of HBCUs was to educate slave descendants from 1865 to the 1950s, which they did almost exclusively. The overwhelming majority of HBCUs came into existence in response to states that desired to avoid admitting newly freed slaves to white only institutions, while recognizing the need to have institutions that could educate the huge illiterate black population. Since their establishment, HBCUs have been at the center of the recurring debate over the role of these institutions within the larger framework of educating slave descendants. During the years of strict and legal racial segregation in the United States, HBCUs served as "islands of hope" where blacks could learn to read and write without fear of retaliation.

A direct result of state efforts to avoid admitting blacks to their white only institutions, the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas dealt racial segregation in public schools a death blow by requiring states to dismantle dual systems of higher education. Interestingly, the effects of that decision from the mid 20th century have lingered over higher education into the 21st century.

Nowhere has repercussions from Brown been more apparent than on HBCU campuses. Opponents of these institutions viewed only these colleges and universities as segregated, not larger white only state schools. They used the desegregation order to dismantle dual systems in higher education as an excuse to merge or close HBCUs. This has led to a series of discussions, debates, and court rulings that underscores the fact that previous decisions ignored the significance of these centers of higher education and were not based on research.

Beginning in the early 1970s, researchers found that HBCUs enhanced not only the academic experiences of black students but their social well-being as well. Walter Allen, author of College in Black and White: African American Students in Predominantly White and Historically Black Public Universities (1992), reported that black students who attend HBCUs have better academic performance, greater social involvement and higher occupational aspirations than black students who attend PWIs. On black campuses students emphasize feelings of engagement, experience extensive support, acceptance, encouragement, and connection. Allen also found that the HBCUs' nurturing environment assured students that intellectual growth and development are not risky endeavors.

Donald Smith found that HBCUs provide an accepting environment with emotional support, which are assets that are unavailable and unattainable for black students at white institutions. HBCUs offer an environment that is accepting of students for who they are. Students do not feel social isolation, but rather integrated into campus life and extracurricular activities. HBCUs also foster healthy social relationships, and students form positive relationships with faculty members as well as their peers. It is not uncommon to find formal and informal mentoring relationships develop in this environment. Proponents of HBCUs argue that they have served black students with considerable effectiveness.

Early HBCUs were established to remedy the disparate treatment during slavery and were crucial in the development of black professionals. For more than 160 years, these institutions have educated a population that has lived under severe legal denial of educational, economic, political, and social opportunities. First and foremost, HBCUs opened their doors with programs designed to meet the unique needs of black students and the black community by educating many students with learning deficiencies. Although the facilities are generally modest with limited resources, numerous studies indicate that HBCUs have done an outstanding job preparing slave descendants to live as free people in the hostile environment of the US.

Fostering ethnic pride and self-esteem, HBCUs serve as repositories of black heritage and after 1950 they provided educational foundations for black students who were under-prepared to enter predominantly white institutions. Historically, HBCUs have served 90% of black students in higher education. Moreover, HBCUs have produced 75% of all black Ph.D.'s, 75% of all black army officers, 80% of all black federal judges, and 85% of all black physicians.

Researchers conclude generally that the positive academic gains and social experience of black students attending HBCUs compared to their counterparts at predominantly white institutions far outweigh financial gains as alumni from PWIs.

Hood Notes

NAACP: HBCUs have 2nd Class Status

By Errin Haines

The Georgia NAACP has sued the state, claiming it has systematically underfunded its public black colleges and threatened their survival as a result.

Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue and Board of Regents Chancellor Errol Davis are listed as defendants in the lawsuit filed in federal court. Two students at Savannah State University and Fort Valley State University joined the NAACP as plaintiffs.

Attorney John Clark, who announced the legal action at a press conference on April 2, said the alumni associations of Albany State, Fort Valley State and Savannah State Universities support the legal action.

"Whether there's money or no money, we get the same answer,'' Clark said. "The time is now to address inequities that have persisted. It is never too late to have redress.''

The Legal Defense Coalition for the Preservation of Public HBCUs, which is also supporting the lawsuit, published a 2008 report claiming the state violated the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and the 14th Amendment in its treatment of the three colleges. The coalition is a non-profit organization made up of alumni and supporters of Georgia's public black colleges.

Many of the report's findings are the basis for the lawsuit. According to the report, a lack of state funding has for decades hobbled the institutions and kept them from establishing professional programs on par with their mainstream counterparts in Georgia. None of Georgia's state black colleges are classified as research universities or offer professional degree programs and there is a disparity in funding for capital improvements at these colleges. As a result of systematic discrimination by the Board of Regents, the state's public black colleges have been relegated to a second-class status and operated under de facto segregation.

Georgia State NAACP Chapter President Edward DuBose said the issue was not race, but fairness. "We refuse to allow the demise of our historically black colleges,'' DuBose said. Adding that the NAACP people in Washington also support the lawsuit, he said, "These colleges have been around for a long time.''

Last year, supporters of the three schools balked at a Senate proposal to merge Savannah State and Albany State with two nearby majority white institutions as a cost-cutting measure. The university system chancellor also opposed to the idea.

For more on the Legal Defense Coalition for the Preservation of Public HBCUs and its report, visit www.galdc.com/, and to learn more about the Georgia State Conference of the NAACP and its lawsuit against the state of Georgia, see www.ganaacp.org.

News You Use

'Never Too Late for Justice'

By Scott McDowell

Syracuse University College of Law's Cold Case Justice Initiative (CCJI) will host "Never Too Late for Justice" on Saturday, April 24, at the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, during which some 30 families that lost loved ones to Civil Rights Era murders will gather in one location for the first time. CCJI conducts investigations and research on unresolved cases, offers academic courses, public forums and other special events, and serves as a clearinghouse for information on active cases.

The event will include a panel discussion with representatives of family members whose loved ones were victims of still unsolved murders in Mississippi and Louisiana during the Civil Rights Era. Paula C. Johnson and Janis L. McDonald, SU professors of law and co-directors of CCJI, will also participate in the panel discussion, which will explore the legal, historical and societal impact of these unsolved killings; the current effects of the crimes; and the future implications for society in failing to resolve this unfinished business.

"These cases are not cold for the families. We are not talking about the past. They are living with the lack of answers, with the lack of judicial process and the trauma of these events," says Johnson. "While the victims of these acts of race-based domestic terrorism may be long gone, their families are very much alive and continue to demand justice. We are law professors and lawyers. We and our students can do the work of investigators and fact finders, and try to determine theories to take to authorities."

CCJI was founded in response to the 1964 murder of shoe shop owner Frank Morris in Ferriday, LA, which remains unsolved. SU College of Law students, under the supervision of Johnson and McDonald, researched thousands of documents and worked with local investigative reporters. This led to witnesses providing new information, the appointment of a special agent by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and a pledge by the U.S. attorney for a full review of the case. The students' efforts have ignited law enforcement investigation of additional deaths long suspected by the community to be racially motivated and committed by the Ku Klux Klan.

"CCJI's work epitomizes Syracuse University's bold tradition of leveraging scholarship in the interest of justice," says SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. "Just as our faculty and students marshaled their intellect to fight for the rights of women, members of minority groups and people with disabilities in decades and centuries past, Paula Johnson, Janis McDonald and our students are bringing their expertise to bear on seeking justice for the victims of Civil Rights Era atrocities. We are deeply honored to host this unprecedented gathering in this hallowed location for families for whom justice has been too long delayed."

Following the panel discussion, Grammy Award nominee Mavis Staples will give a free concert. The legendary family gospel group The Staple Singers became the musical voices of the Civil Rights Movement in the 1960s. Group member and civil rights activist Mavis continues to inspire those who work for peace and justice throughout the world with her Civil Rights Movement-inspired blend of gospel, soul, folk, blues and jazz.

Families will start arriving on the afternoon of Friday, April 23, to participate in a private, facilitated conversation, which will resume Saturday morning. This is an opportunity for families to share experiences, identify needs and goals, and learn more about CCJI. The Saturday afternoon event is free and open to the public on a firs-come, first-seated basis. Doors open at 2:15 p.m., and the program begins at 3 PM. Ebenezer Baptist Church is located at 407 Auburn Avenue, NE, Atlanta, GA.

Free parking is available at the Martin Luther King, Jr. Historic Site Visitor Center on John Wesley Dobbs Avenue between Jackson Street and Boulevard. Ebenezer Baptist Church can also be reached by taking the MARTA train to the King Memorial Station.

Disgruntled wants to know: Another sign that economic times are tough is the return of Freaknik to Atlanta. If you will recall, the city drove the black college spring break revelers and others away for some of the same reasons prevalent at all spring break sites, i.e., noise, trash, lewd behavior, drunk and disorderly conduct, traffic jams. The major difference was the skin color of the partygoers. So, the city's leaders bowed to the pressure and ended Freaknik in the late 1990s. Now, it has quietly returned. Unfortunately, while the city that's too busy to hate wants the revenue a black college spring break can generate, it does not want to see large groups of black young people crowding the city's streets. Instead of providing venues to which thongs of youth can be steered and where they can let it all hang out, metro cops are busy discouraging blacks from congregating even near Underground, a public entertainment area. The city's message is duplicitous! We want you money, but we don't want you! If all the city of Atlanta plans to do is harass and help create traffic jams by closing off certain streets, which in itself creates traffic nightmares, why bother?

Disgruntled says: One never knows from whence the next great idea, cure or invention will come. And, that is a compelling reason for a nation to educate all its citizens.

Disgruntled feels: Farmed! Do not get me wrong! I am all for the dedicated men and women of the DeKalb County Police Department that diligently do their jobs. There are some people determined to do the wrong things, which too often end up harming innocent individuals. With that said, I have noticed a pattern of policing that is downright disturbing. It never fails that a contingent of DeKalb County police haunt several portions of I-20 near the exits leading to majority black neighborhoods, especially on Friday afternoons. On the most recent Friday, there were no fewer than five traffic stops on the expressway within a five mile stretch of I-20. The entire scene is reminiscent of a speed trap, which gives one the impression that black folks in DeKalb County are being farmed just like a cash crop.

Mailbox: E-Mails, Faxes and Telephone Calls

Email www.blueoregon.com...The violent rhetoric of Senator Jeff Kruse...By Kari Chisholm ...Fifteen years ago, this Monday, the Alfred P. Murrah federal building Oklahoma City was destroyed in a terrorist attack. The terrorist who delivered the bombs was Timothy McVeigh, a former Army veteran and militia sympathizer. In a letter to the editor prior to the attacks, McVeigh complained: Taxes are a joke. Regardless of what a political candidate "promises," they will increase. More taxes are always the answer to government mismanagement. They mess up. We suffer. Taxes are reaching cataclysmic levels, with no slowdown in sight... Is a Civil War Imminent? Do we have to shed blood to reform the current system? I hope it doesn't come to that. But it might. On Thursday, State Senator Jeff Kruse (R-Roseburg) headlined an anti-tax Tea Party protest on the steps of the Douglas County Courthouse. According to the Roseburg News-Review, Kruse said: "We have super majorities in both Salem and in Washington, D.C., and they are moving as absolutely as fast as they can before the revolution. And the revolution is coming," Kruse said. "This is where it starts. It is not a revolution of guns, God I hope it's not -- but I do have a gun." The similarities are striking. Am I suggesting that Kruse is about to blow up a federal building? Absolutely not! But words matter. Words have consequences. You can't work in politics and believe otherwise. After all, the whole point of political rhetoric is to motivate people to take action. And to see Senator Kruse engaging in that kind of violent rhetoric - even hypothetically - before a fired-up crowd is deeply disturbing.

Email www.nytimes.com...Goldman Sachs' winning bet has a price...Recent suit against firm adds to suspicions about Wall Street's risky game...By Louise Story and Gretchen Morgenson...For Goldman Sachs, it was a relatively small transaction. But for the bank -- and the rest of Wall Street -- the stakes couldn't be higher. Accusations that Goldman defrauded customers who bought investments tied to risky subprime mortgages have only just begun to reverberate through the financial world. The civil lawsuit filed against Goldman on Friday by the Securities and Exchange Commission seemed to confirm many Americans' worst suspicions about Wall Street: that the game is rigged, the odds stacked in the banks' favor. It is the first big case -- but probably not the last, legal experts said -- to delve into a Wall Street firm's role in the mortgage fiasco. The move against Goldman came at a particularly sensitive time for Wall Street. Washington policy makers are hotly debating a sweeping overhaul of the nation's financial regulations, and the news could embolden those seeking to rein in the banks. President Obama on Saturday stepped up pressure for financial reform by accusing Republicans of "cynical and deceptive" attacks on the measure. The SEC's action could also hit Wall Street where it really hurts: the wallet. It could prompt dozens of investor claims against Goldman and other Wall Street titans that devised and sold toxic mortgage investments.

Email www.chicagotribune.com ...Inner City Charter School Graduates All Of Its Seniors To College...By Casey Gane-McCalla...The entire senior class at Chicago's only public all-male, all-African-American high school has been accepted to four-year colleges. At last count, the 107 seniors had earned spots at 72 schools across the nation. Mayor Richard Daley and Chicago Public Schools chief Ron Huberman surprised students at an all-school assembly at Urban Prep Academy for Young Men in Englewood this morning to congratulate them. It's the first graduating class at Urban Prep since it opened its doors in 2006. Huberman applauded the seniors for making CPS shine. "All of you in the senior class have shown that what matters is perseverance, what matters is focus, what matters is having a dream and following that dream," Huberman said. The school enforces a strict uniform of black blazers, khaki pants and red ties -- with one exception. After a student receives the news he was accepted into college, he swaps his red tie for a red and gold one at an assembly.