LITERATURE REVIEW Background on HBCUs According to the National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES), there are 101 Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Title III of the Higher Education Act of 1965 defines HBCUs as “…any historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation” (US Department of Education, 2017). It is important to note that unlike other Minority Serving Institutions, HBCUs, are only one of two types of institutions (Tribal Colleges & Universities or TCUs are the other) federally designated by law and therefore, cannot increase in number with an act of Congress (Li, 2007). In other words, every time an HBCU closes its doors, we get one step closer to the elimination of the historical and consequential institutions. To understand the significance of these institutions one must understand the context in which these institutions were established. In the most basic sense, HBCUs were established because of racism (Evans, Evans, & Evans, 2002). Prior to the Civil War, few universities espoused the mission and goal of training and education Black people (Albritton, 2012).
Most people who believe that HBCUs are no longer useful also believe that because the law forbids the practice of racism HBCUs should be shut down. However, few take into consideration the many white historically white institutions with a legacy of turning away talented African-Americans. What about these schools? Should they not be closed down as well? I believe that persons who are proponents of the abolition of HBCUs are subconsciously practicing racism, because they are not making mention of the many schools in existence with a predominantly white student body; HBCUs are not meant to be a form of segregation but a part of history.
Alumni giving rates at private historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) lag behind the national averages of all private institutions of higher education (Robinson, n.d.). The average alumni giving rate among private HBCUs is 11% (Robinson, n.d.), while all private colleges and universities yield a 20% rate (Malhere, 2015). A culture of philanthropy among HBCU alumni has not been prevalent, although many of the institutions have been producing graduates since the late 19th century. Simply put, alumni have not lived up to what they should do to support their alma maters (Cohen, 2006). HBCUs have traditionally relied on large institutional fundraising sources, such as foundations and corporations. Historically, however,
Thesis: HBCU’s are necessary for the future of democratic America because they better prepare African American students as individuals and for the workforce.
I bring greetings on behalf of The Washington, DC Metro HBCU Alumni Alliance, Inc. (DCHBCUAA). We are a non-profit community-based organization that consists of Historically Black Colleges & Universities’ Alumni Chapters in the Washington, DC Metropolitan area. We collaborate mainly to strengthen the community through our insightful programs and we exist to provide support to underserved students interested in attending HBCUs.
This debate has led many scholars to question: Are HBCUs still relevant, and are they the best institutions to train our next generation of leaders?
African American students enrolling in HBCUs experience better outcomes such as general satisfaction with their experience, higher grade, psychological adjustments, etc than those African American students enrolling in PWIs while Whites attending PWIs experience better outcomes such as higher grade, psychological adjustments than those white students attending in HBCUs. African American students found more comfortable and friendly environment at HBCUs while White students found more comfortable and friendly environment at PWIs. Students attending in HBCUs seems to be more satisfied with college experience because of their involvement on Colleges/Universities compared to those students attending in PWIs. African American students attending HBCUs wanted just to complete their degree as compared to students attending PWIs. White students wanted to read more as compared to African American students. In the context of educating African Americans in Specific field, HBCUs became more successful in providing access and retaining students through graduation compared to PWIs. Students attending HBCU has outcomes like tutoring other students, higher GPAs, gradating with honors, and
Historically black college or universities commonly called HBCUs are part B institutions that were formed before 1964 with the sole purpose of educating black individuals then and now. These institutions need to be accredited by an agency that is nationally recognized or an association recognized by the Secretary of Education (U.S. Department of Education). This helps in establishing the quality of education offered and whether they meet the American education standards. These institutions get federal funding and aids that enable them to perform their operations. Most HBCUs were commissioned after the Civil War with religious missionary organizations from the northern states playing a key role in their establishment. However, there are a few HBCUs that were established before the Civil
It is getting old hearing about what historically black colleges do wrong. Continuously hearing about what historically black colleges cannot do and what predominantly white institutions can. Hearing the phrase “HBCU” only to be followed by a negative comment. Mainly black colleges are needed for African Americans who were unaccepted for their race or undereducated about their history, but with such an adverse light on historically black colleges, it makes you think. Why are HBCU’s so necessary to save for survival and for the future?
Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964. As amended by The Higher Education Act of 1965, a part B institution refers to any “Historically Black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of Black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation.” Though in 1837 Cheyne University of Pennsylvania and 1854 Lincoln University (Pennsylvania) had been established for Black education, Black Colleges and Universities became recognized by the United States Government in the 1890’s.
Black people wanted education to be more easily accessible → once the school opened, people flooded to it
Historically Black Colleges and Universities, or HBCUs, have played an important role in enriching the lives of not just African Americans, but our entire country.”(Keller) What Ric Keller states here is an opinion that outlines a compelling fact about HBCUs that along with several other significant information that may come as a surprise. Essentially, the great debate between the choice of whether a Historically Black College and University or Predominantly White Institution is more beneficial or not can become a pondering interrogation. Each acronym defines itself, Historically Black Colleges and Universities(HBCUs) were established by the means of providing an education for predominantly African American students. Whereas, Predominantly White Intuitions(PWI) serve to instruct and educated the opposite or in other words those of Caucasian descent.
It is more likely for a white student to get accepted for most colleges(DBQ 12). This is an indicator that colleges think that whites are smarter and better suited for the business world. In addition, the last school to be desegregated was 16 years after it was deemed unconstitutional for schools to separate based on race. Even though this was 1970 it still shows people were willing to go against the constitution in order to be separated from those of a different
Due to this the Jim Crow laws were established. They stated that facilities for blacks and whites should be separate but equal. This was not the case though. Many of the black facilities were not as good as the white ones but if blacks tried to use white facilities they would be beaten and put in jail. Due to racism left over from slavery the KKK was created.
HBCUs can at earliest be dated back to before the Civil War, when the majority of colleges wouldn’t admit African American students on the premise of their race alone These schools were created specifically for the education of African Americans due to the fact that while some states had educational facilities open to all in the North and West, most of the South had segregated systems that forbade the admittance of African Americans. In 1890, the Agricultural College Act was passed, requiring segregated states to create a separate land grant
The new generation of upcoming college scholars have been appearing to have a lot of debate over the criteria of an HBCU not being corresponding to a PWI. It is time to understand and be able to get involved with the debate about Historically Black College/University (HBCU) versus Predominantly White Institution (PWI). To proceed it is best to start with the definition of these terms because everyone needs to have knowledge when it comes to this subject. This subject also needs to be more than just a debate between students attending HBCUs and African Americans at PWIs. Quite shockingly, there are many out there that do not know what an HBCU is and if they do they think of these “black schools” as a form of racism. When it boils down to HBCU’s