Wealthy Black Families Lead Private School Enrollment Among High-Income Groups, Study Finds
A recent poll indicates that affluent Black parents are more likely to choose private education for their children than their White or Asian counterparts.
Wealthy Black families are more likely to send their children to private schools compared to White or Asian families of similar income levels, according to a study released earlier this year. The findings have gained renewed attention amid controversy surrounding an essay by New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones.
The 50CAN analysis found that nearly 30% of "high-income" Black families opt for private institutions, a rate higher than that of comparable White (23%) and Asian (20%) families. Wealthy Hispanic parents showed a slightly higher enrollment rate in private schools than Black families.
The survey, which polled 23,000 families nationwide in February, examined various aspects of educational opportunity. The data on private school enrollment and wealth was separately published by 50CAN founder Marc Porter Magee.
Hannah-Jones, author of the 1619 Project, recently shared her experience of sending her daughter to underperforming public schools in Brooklyn, a decision she described as an anti-racism sacrifice. In her essay, she admitted this choice left her daughter struggling academically by high school.
"I felt an obligation to make educational decisions based on the collective good and not just our individual advantage," Hannah-Jones wrote. "We believed strongly that if families like ours went into schools like this one, it would challenge other families with similar values to do the same." However, the 50CAN study suggests that affluent Black families are among the most inclined to choose private schooling for their children.
The study also indicated that Black families were the least likely to send their children to private schools across different income brackets. For instance, 8.6% of middle-income Black families and 3.6% of low-income Black families chose private schools, compared to about 13% of middle-income families across Asian, Hispanic, and White demographics.
Critiques of Hannah-Jones' decision have surfaced, with some commentators expressing surprise at the outcome and stating they would not make a similar choice for their own children. Atlantic writer Thomas Chatterton Williams noted his father, who experienced segregation, was "gobsmacked" by her essay.
It remains unclear how 50CAN defined different wealth classes in its study. Hannah-Jones has described her own financial status as "upper-middle-class."