White valedictorian:A first for historically black Morehouse

CNN's Don Lemon reports on the first white valedictorian in historically black Morehouse's 141-year history.

Story Highlights:
Joshua Packwood, 22, will become first white valedictorian of Morehouse College

He turned down Ivy League scholarship to study African-American studies

Throughout his life, Packwood always gravitated toward the black experience

Packwood: "I don't think ethnicity makes the difference; it's what's in his heart"

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• atlanta
• georgia
• joshua
• packwood
• white
• valedictorian
• historically
• black
• morehouse
• college
• ivy
• league
• columbia
• university

[superspice]

DAMN!!!...AND he's fine!!!

[skypurple15]

hmm handsome and smart!

[TheGirlLovesSports]

damn he's sexy, I love a white guy going to a black college diversity is amazing, we'd have some lovely biracial babies lmao

[nognilk]

There goes the neighborhood.

[773SleepyHollow]

@cybersuh1 As for HBCU's, yes it's true that they're not as elite as the best non-HBCU's, but that's partially because the best black students tend to go to the non-HBCU's. You're simply wrong to call them all "bottom-of-the-barrel." Morehouse for example is a mid-tier liberal-arts college as measured by US News & World Report & by average SAT scores. Its sister school Spelman is a good amount better, ranked by US News near such well-known non-HBCU's as DePauw, Reed, & Wheaton.

[773SleepyHollow]

@cybersuh1 You're not very bright, are you? Affirmative act. & other forms of preferential treatment give certain students advantages in admission (African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans, low-income students, regional-diversity students, legacy students, males (females of all races outperform males overall, so males are sometimes given an advantage), children of donors, et cetera), but they do NOT lower standards for graduation. If you can't cut it, you WILL flunk out.

[cybersuh1]

@773SleepyHollow Whether he said it or not, the fact remains HBCUs are bottom of the barrel when it comes to academic standards. They pretty much exist to make low-achieving blacks feel like they are smart -- a remedial high school erroneously called a college. It's like affirmative action -- yeah you might have graduated from a "college" but everyone knows it's mostly because standards were drastically lowered for you.

[fa11234]

free for all.

[fa11234]

I am happy to see the young man becoming valedictorian at a predominantly black college. I am also happy to see any young man graduating college. If the majority of black students and school administrators can accept him being valedictorian, then why are some predominantly white schools can't accept a black valedictorians and black students? Colleges and schools should be an institution of learning for everyone regardless of race. I also believe in universal education and that college should be

[BabyGirlGoddess]

"Until now"

Dun Dun Dun!