American Higher Education in 2025 and Beyond: Toward a More Perfect Silence or a More Perfect Union?

In late 2016, while presiding at Morehouse College, I was one of more than 200 presidents who signed a letter addressed to President-elect Trump.¹ The sociopolitical climate was explosive, and we expressed concern that many people on and around our campuses felt vulnerable to the expected increases in “harassment, hate and acts of violence.” We were worried that his words and communication style were setting a virulent tone.