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My College Friends Didn't Know What an HBCU Was

Discovering this was eye-opening

By Aysia ConnerPublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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My College Friends Didn't Know What an HBCU Was
Photo by Drahomír Posteby-Mach on Unsplash

At my university, I was in a conversation with some of my American college friends. I forget exactly what the conversation was about, but at some point, I said the acronym "HBCU." Not long after, one of my friends stopped me and asked what it meant, the four-letter acronym.

I fumbled over my words slightly because I did not even think they would not know what it was. Then, I briefly explained it, and we moved on, but that moment has not left my mind since.

I thank them for their curiosity. They have given me the spark and inspiration to write this article.

Do you know what an HBCU is?

What is an HBCU?

HBCU stands for "Historically Black Colleges and Universities." When "an HBCU" is said, the speaker is referring to one of those schools.

The U.S. Department of Education's website reports that it is defined in the Higher Education Act of 1965 as,

"'a school of higher learning that was accredited and established before 1964, and whose principal mission was the education of African Americans.'"

The very first HBCU, now Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, was formed in 1837 to provide Black students an opportunity to receive a basic vocational education - something most Black people were denied during that time.

Currently, there are a little over one-hundred HBCUs.

Attending an HBCU means you are taught all you needed to be taught, with an emphasis on Black history, culture, and contribution.

HBCUs are important and significant.

Why are HBCUs important?

There are many reasons why, but I will cover just two.

1. They are a large part of Black history - Black education history.

HBCUs are a part of the Black history of the past and are making Black history now.

We praise universities for being groundbreaking or having impactful alumni. HBCUs are the same, yet I doubt many have even heard of them.

They've graduated tons of well-known, notable alumni. Just to name a few: civil rights activist Rev Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., author Toni Morrisson, director Spike Lee, judge Thurgood Marshall, actor Samuel L. Jackson and current democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

HBCUs have graduated two-fifths of all Black American engineers and members of Congress, half of all Black American lawyers and professors at non-HBCUs, and four-fifths of all Black American judges.

Now that is historic.

For those of you looking to expand your knowledge of this part of Black history, make a mental note to search "the importance of HBCUs" on the internet.

2. They provide more affordable education geared towards the advancement of underprivileged and low-income youth.

Their tuition rates on average are lower than those of other institutions. And the vast majority of their students receive loans or qualify for grants.

For years, they have been working to provide affordable education and opportunities for disadvantaged youth to prepare them for their desired career paths.

So, what influence or impact did this experience have on me?

The most obvious answer to this question is that it prompted me to write an article. That is indeed true, but there's more to it.

Allow me to switch gears a bit.

I grew up in a predominantly Black area, submersed in the Black community, and various aspects of Black culture. And then I decided to attend a PWI.

What is does PWI stand for?

It stands for "Predominantly White Institution," which is any school where the White student population is over fifty percent. For many who are learning about the acronyms defined for the first time, it may come as a shock to you that schools are referred to this way by some people.

From what I have learned, one social reason why the distinction is made is the experiences at PWIs vs those at HBCUs can be quite different for both POC and Non-POC people. I won't get into that, but if you are interested, search up "HBCU vs. PWI" on Google or Youtube, and you'll find different people talking about their experiences.

For me, HBCUs were always an option. If anything, it was an option pushed on me by many of the amazing Black adults in my life. Naturally, my high school, which was a majority Black as well, promoted them. Quite a few times, when I had been asked about the colleges I applied to, and I didn't list an HBCU, I was questioned why I had not chosen any.

I say all this to say that where I grew up affected how I thought and how I saw things.

That seems obvious right?

The effects your community has on you it something you don't really think about or notice until you leave your hometown or community and experience other people. It contributed to this sort of disorientation or culture shock I felt starting college.

My situation changed quite a bit when I went to university. I was exposed to more people (primarily White, but some of other races too) from the midwest, an area I had had almost no desire to visit. I'll admit the idea of the midwest had left a bad taste in my mouth (sorry to midwesterners). But when exposed to more people from there, my opinion changed for the better.

There were times where I would say and talk about certain things that my peers from my hometown understood, but my peers at my university did not. I presented some of them with ideas and concepts of which they had not been previously aware. And they did the same for me.

When mentioning HBCUs I had this preconceived, unintentional mindset that everyone must know what they are. My brain did not even really think twice about mentioning them, as it had with some of the other apparently uncommon information I shared.

Though my sample size of peers to judge from was small, something within me believes that the HBCU is a part of Black history that has been mostly skipped over by the masses, yet they do and have done so much for the Black community, specifically the Black community in America.

Black history is underrepresented in many schools across America.

I won't even pretend to know all I should about my Black history. And here I will not harp on how the American education system has failed people of color in this regard in general. But just know that it has. Even at my own high school with primary Black students, Black history was swept under the rug.

This saddens me, so here I am, typing this article, hoping to educate.

---

I want to encourage healthy discord across cultures and regions. We need to understand and accept that as people, our experiences vary. It is natural that it is this way. For those who wish to share there's, share, and educate. For those who want to know more, research.

We need to be open and willing to learn more about people who don't look or live like us. Sometimes we need to take the initiative to do so. When we have our blinders on, and we only see our experiences or those of the people in our community, we become tone-deaf or intolerant - stuck in our ways. Then how on earth are we going to progress as a society?

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