The return to questioning affirmative action has been spurred by Fisher v. Texas, which has the potential to jettison affirmative action as a legitimate policy in higher education.

Williams argues that the college focus on racial diversity isn’t synonymous with minority achievement and success, and black parents should be cautious about colleges that favor black students, even if their grades and previous academic achievement don’t warrant it.

“The question for black parents and black people is: Which better serves our interests, a black student’s being admitted to an elite college and winding up in the bottom of his class or flunking out or a black student’s being admitted to a less prestigious college and performing just as well as his white peers? I would opt for a black student’s doing well and graduating from a less prestigious college,” Williams said.

Higher numbers of black students at prestigious colleges look good in promotional materials, and individual black students can succeed in that environment, but the average effect of admitting under-qualified students harms them in the long run.

“The number of black students enrolled is the key, not the number who graduate or wind up in useless ‘Mickey Mouse’ courses or in the bottom of their classes,” Williams said.

Black students borrow at higher rates than white students and drop out of college with student debt at higher rates than white students. A policy to lower student debt and improve graduation rates would focus on lowering college costs (instead of shifting them) and placing black students at universities where they succeed. That means admitting the shortcomings in the American secondary education system, and putting the interests of black students before university requirements for racial diversity.