For the first time, African Americans are as well represented on southern college campuses as they are in the region's population. The Southern Regional Education Board measured 16 states, and found that blacks make up 21 percent of college students and 19 percent of the population. However the South's rapidly growing Hispanic population has reduced the proportion of the population that is black, making the milestone easier to reach mathematically. Overall, black college enrollment rates still lag well behind those of whites.
