Rich black parents send their kids to private schools at higher rates than white or Asian families: poll

Wealthy black families are more likely to send their kids to private school than white or Asian families of similar means, according to a study earlier this year.

The poll is getting new attention after New York Times writer Nikole Hannah-Jones sparked controversy with an essay admitting that her daughter struggled to read after she sent the girl to local black-majority public schools in NYC in an attempt to combat racism.

Nearly 30% of “high-income” black families send their kid to private institutions, a rate significantly higher than any other group polled, except for wealthy Hispanic parents, according to education advocacy non-profit 50CAN.

That’s compared to 23% of high-income white families that send kids to private schools, and 20% of Asian parents, the analysis found.

High-income black families were the second most likely to send their kids to private schools, the 50CAN study found. 50CAN Educational Opportunity Survey

The study polled 23,000 families from across the country in a February survey of educational opportunity.

50CAN asked about everything from parent participation in school meetings to how the children of teachers fared compared to others.

The data about private school enrollment and wealth was compiled and issued separately by 50CAN founder Marc Porter Magee on X Sunday — just as Hannah-Jones’ New York Times Magazine essay was going viral and dialogues were erupting about her controversial claims.

Hannah-Jones — who penned the 1619 Project, which recast American history as being primarily driven by slavery and racism — admitted a 2015 decision to send her daughter to low-performing Brooklyn public schools instead of the top-tier schools available to her had left the girl far behind peers by the time she made it to high school.

The writer explained she felt an obligation to use her “status” and “connections” to uplift her community at the expense of her daughter’s education — but admitted the girl was left “boiling” mad by the time she became a teen and realized what her parents had done.

“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.”

The 50CAN study, however, showed black families at the heights of success were among America’s most-motivated to send their kids off to exclusive institutions.

It remains unclear how 50CAN’s qualified different wealth classes. Hannah-Jones described herself as “upper-middle-class,” but was able to afford a $1.5 million Bed-Stuy brownstone in 2018.

The study polled 23,000 parents from across the country to study the state of educational opportunity today. Monkey Business – stock.adobe.com

Black families were the least likely to send kids to private school at different wealth brackets, however — 8.6% of mid-income black families sent their kids to private schools, while 3.6% of low-income black families did, the study found.

That’s compared to about 13% of mid-income Asian, Hispanic and white families sending their kids to private schools.

Many critics panned Hannah-Jones’ decision and said they weren’t surprised things turned out as they did — and that they would never do the same to their kids.

“The most thoughtful thing I can say in response to this very predictable follow-up essay is that when I discussed your first article with my own black father who grew up under segregation and fought tooth and nail for an education,” said Atlantic writer Thomas Chatterton Williams on X.

“He was gobsmacked.”