The above post kindoff answers this. If the religion makes the persuit of learning certain things meaningless, then eventually you will find that the people who adopted that worldview are less capable in those things, than those who didn't.
so what is the "religion" that Black and Latino people belong to which is similarly making this pursuit "meaningless" as they have half the rate of higher education than white people ?
Ultimately, religion is just another expression of culture, and culture directly shapes what we believe is possible in the world.
It seems unsurprising (but tragic) that the enslavement of a race over hundreds of years would leave deep imprints about the nature of meaning on the resulting culture.
Does this fully account for the discrepancy you mention? I’m sure there are other factors that play a part, and the fact that racism is still alive and well almost certainly is one of those factors - and another cultural artifact that hasn’t been fully addressed.
