A community college in Illinois is trying to defend itself after it decided to offer special classes only available to black people.

“College: Changes, Challenges, Choice” is a one-credit introductory course at Moraine Valley Community College in Palos Hills, and is intended to help new students “assess your purpose for college, assess your study strategies, set college and career goals, examine your values and decision-making skills, and develop an appreciation for diversity.”

But while the class may want students to appreciate diversity, the school doesn’t practice what it preaches. Two sections of the class are specifically set aside exclusively for black students, who make up about 10 percent of Moraine Valley’s 34,000 students. The special classes were first reported on by The Chicago Tribune after the newspaper was notified by the parents of several students.

Moraine Valley says it’s simply trying to improve the odds of success for black students, who are typically less likely to graduate from the school.

The school has defended its action by pointing out that it has been creating classes targeted to certain demographic groups for some time. Previous classes have been open exclusively to veterans, older students and Hispanics. This may not be legal; the federal Title VI law prohibits racial discrimination in all programs that receive federal funds, and it’s hard to imagine a genuine case of racial segregation is not violating the law.

Margaret Lehner, the school’s vice president for institutional advancement, told Inside Higher Ed that the classes should be fine because separate but equal versions of the class are available for members of other races.

“Because a few people object to it should not be a deciding factor in limiting these opportunities for at-risk students,” she said. “We certainly are not hampering other students also being successful. We have the same courses available to them as well.”

Moraine Valley’s predicament is similar to a recent one at Michigan State University, where a longstanding women-only study lounge was shut down shortly after a college professor discovered it and argued that it was a violation of Title IX’s ban on sex discrimination.

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