The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center hosted a 2024 Juneteenth Celebration. Later that fall, Indiana University reported Black students made up about 4 percent of the undergraduate student body in Bloomington. (George Hale, WTIU)
Indiana University Bloomington hasn’t made much progress on Black student enrollment in almost 50 years, according to a WFIU/WTIU News analysis.
Fall enrollment headcounts from 1975 to 2024 show Black students at IU averaging about 4 percent of the undergraduate student body.
In fall 2024, about 4.5 percent of students, or 1,696 students, at IU Bloomington were Black.
Sophomore Tu’Shawn Farris said those numbers are disappointing, but not surprising. Farris said Black students lack representation and support at IU Bloomington.
“In a sense, it kind of shows the large, systemic issues of recruitment, retention and the support for Black students at universities, and certainly a predominantly white one like Indiana University,” Farris said.
Sophomore Mikayla Jones also wasn’t surprised by the statistics. She said IU could do more to support Black student enrollment. With recent attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), she expects it to shrink.
“All of the diversity programs that have been in place for so many years, those can only help so much,” Jones said. “Even with DEI changes that are happening now, I'm sure that we're going to see a decrease in student enrollment at IU, especially within the Black community.”
Read more: Will end of affirmative action affect IU Bloomington's enrollment? Students express concern
IU didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
Enrollment by the numbers
IU publicly reports enrollment data, including enrollment for undergraduate Black students who do identify as Latino or Hispanic, in Common Data Set responses online dating from 2005 to 2024. Archived IU Fact Books from 1975 to 2004 showed undergraduate fall semester headcounts by race and ethnicity.
The share of Black students at IU Bloomington peaked in 1981 at 5.1 percent. That fall, IU enrolled 1,659 Black students. That was the record number until fall 2024.
Enrollment for other racial and ethnic groups have shifted significantly since 2005. White student enrollment dropped from 84 percent to 65 percent in 2024. Enrollment for Asian and Hispanic/Latino students grew more than 200 percent in that frame.
The percentage of students who identify with two or more races jumped from 2 to 6 percent from 2010 to 2024.
In the 20th Century, civil rights leaders in Indiana recognized IU’s work to increase Black student enrollment.
Read more: ‘Shock and anger’ — True Black History Artifacts look deep into Black History, draw reactions
IU led all major Indiana colleges in the percentage of Black student enrollment, according to a 1979 article by the Indiana Daily Student. The Indiana Civil Rights Commission reported that across all IU campuses, the number of Black students rose to 7 percent of the student body. That year in Bloomington, Black students made up about 4.5 percent of the student body.
Indiana University 1979 new... by Indiana Public Media News
Today, Black students lack representation in the classroom and in student organizations, Farris said, making it harder to speak up, find belonging or become a leader.
“It also means fewer Black voices, voices being heard and important discussions in campus policies and culture,” Farris said. “It feels like our voices aren't being heard, even when we try to get them to be heard.”
Some IU programs — such as the Groups Scholars Program and the Hudson & Holland Scholars Program — support first-generation and underrepresented students. IU also promotes an African American Arts Institute. But DEI is under attack on state and federal levels.
Before deciding to attend IU Bloomington, Jones wanted to know more about the Black community on campus — that would be the trade-off if she decided to attend IU instead of a historically Black college or university.
Jones followed the campus Black Student Union and the NAACP’s social media accounts for over a year, checking out events on campus and seeing how they formed a community. Farris researched places such as The Neal-Marshall Black Culture Center.
“These types of organizations are what keeps the students,” Jones said. “I don't think we get as much support from the community of IU, per se, as we should.”
As DEI is under attack, IU’s Black community tries to sustain itself
The Indiana General Assembly moved Senate Bill 289 forward this month. It would ban diversity, equity and inclusivity initiatives in state government and public schools. If passed, it would go into effect ahead of the next academic year.
Read more: IU leaders discuss challenge of navigating state, federal initiatives
“I've thought about transferring, but a lot of the reasons I haven't are because of the connections that the Black faculty have made,” Farris said. “I know firsthand, they have advocated for me to stay here, and open those doors, and show me that, ‘It might not seem like you have these opportunities. You might just have to work a lot harder than the average student here at IU.’”
Jones and Farris are part of IU’s NAACP chapter, but they can’t speak on behalf of their organization. In addition to community-building events, the IU NAACP has shared information about SB 289 and anti-DEI initiatives.
“Things are just happening so drastically,” Jones said. “As an organization all we can do right now is educate people and try to push for people to lobby and rally against these policies.”
Jones and Farris were both able to afford college thanks to scholarships, with some being under what they called DEI programs. But Jones expects these awards to decrease in the future. Without those scholarships, they said they wouldn’t be at IU Bloomington.
“We need to ask, are DEI issues actually improving Black student experiences? And are the resources being allocated to benefit black students?” Farris said. “When you look into it from my view, in my personal experiences, yes.”
Aubrey is our higher education reporter and a Report For America corps member. Contact her at aubmwrig@iu.edu or follow her on X @aubreymwright.
