Contributors: Patrick Mason (SCAA), Reggie Williams (Salon Table Talk)
HBCU: Historically Black College or University
The State of HBCU's in America.
by Pula Davis
In 1837 when Cheyney University, the oldest historically black college in the United States, was founded there was a clear and understandable purpose for these schools to fill. It was illegal in most southern states to teach slaves to read. Very few blacks attended white colleges in the North. Black institutions were created to fill the void. They were conceived to provide separate, but equal education for black students. Usually founded by abolitionist or missionary groups, these schools focused on developing skills and some offered more utilitarian vocational courses.Today the remaining 116 historically black colleges and universities enroll 17% of black college students and graduate 33% of the black students who receive bachelor's degrees. 43% of blacks who earn doctorate degrees completed their undergraduate work at HBCUs. These schools obviously have a successful formula for educating young blacks. They have produced many eminent African Americans; among them, Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall, novelist Toni Morrison, director Spike Lee, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and others.
Spelman College, founded in 1881 as the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary by two white female abolitionists, has evolved into an academically excellent school for black women. Other schools like Morehouse, Howard University and Fisk University have also proven themselves in academics and research. However, despite their reputation or programs, most of the HBCUs are under siege.
From the first the nation's historically black colleges were underfunded and discounted. The average white American probably has heard of one or two of these institutions: such as Morehouse or Howard University, primarily because those schools have produced alumnae whose names are in the news. But what about Miles College? Voorhees College? Shaw University?
Many argue that they have endured, fufilled their function and are now retrogressive by nature. Others feel they are an integral part of African American tradition and and to have them merged with white institutions or simply closed would be a loss too large to contemplate.
Funding is always an issue for any institution of higher learning. Specialized schools such as HBCUs, often suffer even greater hardships. Couple this with an alumni pool that is not always capable of large donations and you have a loosing situation.
In the 1940s when the American economy took a downturn, following W.W.II and the Depression, charitable donations were severely curtailed at all levels. Black institutions were hit so hard that the need for a national campaign to raise funds became apparent to the then President of Tuskegee University, Dr. Frederick Patterson. An idea he mentioned in a 1943 article published in the Pittsburgh Courier resulted in the establishment of the United Negro College Fund in 1944. This collaborative effort continues to be 41 of the HBCUs' main source of revenue and their financial status tends to be more lucrative than the other black institutions that don't have the UNCF as a resource.
All of the HBCUs also qualify for many federal programs and monies. The default rate at all schools is at $2.5 billion and black schools account for 3% of that total. Historically black schools have not been penalized for their default problems because their students are often underprivileged, but that too may soon change. Earlier this year, 32 HBCUs with high loan default rates were almost booted from the federal student loan program, even though President Clinton had signed an executive order designed to broaden opportunities for HBCUs at the federal level.
Another issue that started with the Brown versus the Board of Education Supreme Court decision in 1954 and continues to be a factor, is integration. When the court ruled that separate but equal education was inherently unconstitutional, blacks began to gradually attend white institutions. After the University of Alabama was forced to open its doors to blacks in 1963, more young blacks chose to attend white institutions, even in the South, where the HBCUs had traditionally had a stronghold. Thus began the exodus of the more "gifted" black student towards white institutions.
The abundance of civil rights legislation, financial aid and minority recruiting that followed in the 1970s encouraged even larger numbers of blacks to try white institutions. Despite the numbers that indicate many African Americans had negative experiences while integrating these schools, the challenge to the raison d'etre for HBCUs had begun in earnest.
From 1976 to 1988, college enrollment figures for blacks declined as college tuition costs increased and financial aid evaporated in the Reagan years. Financial hardship began to be a way of life at these institutions. Tiny Bishop College in Dallas, TX simply ran out of money and in 1988 was auctioned off, after 107 years of existence. Fisk University survived tremendous financial problems in the late 80s and almost had to close its doors. Cutbacks established in the Reagan administration continued under the Bush administration and most are still in effect today.
Even Howard University, undeniably the most prestigious of the HBCUs has had its share of problems. Founded in 1867 by members of the First Congregational Society of Washington, D.C. who were inspired by the example of a white Union Army soldier, Howard has been under attack for mismanagement of federal funds and its radical political atmosphere.
In 1989 demonstrations at Howard University resulted in confrontations with the police and this year Howard students who are avowed supporters of the Nation of Islam have caused charges of racism to be leveled at the school and its cirriculum because of what some consider inflammatory rhetoric, including harsh attacks against Jews, other whites and some blacks.
Yet another threat to HBCUs happened much more recently. In 1992, after a 20-year legal struggle, the state of Mississippi was ordered by the U.S. Supreme Court to devise a plan to guarantee equity in funding to its black public colleges. Ironically the state's proposed solution would be to close some institutions and merge others.
One school, Mississippi Valley State College, located in an all-black area, would be closed and its students transferred to a white institution. Alcorn State would be merged and Jackson State downsized. In Maryland, a state plan, developed to insure integration, would halt any expansion of public black institutions.
Many of the HBCUs buildings and equipment are desperately in need of replacement or repair. In addition to the physical deprivation at these schools, their academics sometimes also falls victim to financial limitations. Faculty and staff are paid less at HBCUs than are their counterparts at the white institutions. White schools often recruit the "best and brightest" instructors and students, offering more lucrative salaries and financial aid packages.
Legislation introduced in Congress to restore structures at a dozen or so historically black colleges was stifled this summer by Senator Bob Dole, who wanted to include a small college in his home state of Kansas in the law.
In November a federal appeals court unanimously rulled as unconstitutional the awarding of scholarships based on race. This will have major implications for thousands of minority students who have benefited from such financial aid opportunities.
(The Schools)
INSTITUTION DATE FOUNDED LOCATION
Alabama
Alabama A&M University 1875 Huntsville, AL 35762
Alabama State University 1874 Montgomery, AL 36195
Bishop State Community College l936 Mobile, AL 36690
Concordia College 1922 Selma, AL 36701
J. F. Drake State Tech. College l961 Huntsville, AL 35811
Lawson State Community College 1949 Birmingham, AL 35221
Miles College 1305 Birmingham AL 35203
Oakwood College 1896 Huntsville, AL 35896
Selma University 1878 Selma, AL 36701
Stillman College 1876 Tuscaloosa, AL 35403
Talladega College 1867 Talladega, AK 35160
Trenholm State Technical College 1963 Montgomery, AL 36108
Tuskegee University 1881 Tuskegee, AL 36088
Arkansas
Arkansas Baptist College 1884 Little Rock, AR 72202
Philander Smith College 1877 Little Rock, AR 72202
Shorter College 1886 N. Little Rock, AR 72114
University of Arkansas Pine Bluff 1873 Pine Bluff, AR 71601
Delaware
Delaware State University 1891 Dover, DE 19901
District of Columbia
Howard University 1867 Washington, DC 20059
University of the District of Columbia 1851 Washington, DC 20008
Florida
Bethune-Cookman College Daytona Beach, FL 32115
Edward Waters College 1866 Jacksonville, FL 32115
Florida A&M University 1904 Tallahassee, FL 32307
Florida Memorial College 1879 Miami, FL 33054
Georgia
Albany State College 1903 Albany, GA 31705
Clark Atlanta University 1988 Atlanta, GA 30314
Fort Valley State College 1895 Fort Valley, GA 31030
Morehouse College 1867 Atlanta, GA 30314
Morehouse School of Medicine 1981 Atlanta GA 30310
Morris Brown College 1881 Atlanta, GA 30314
Paine College 1882 Augusta, GA 30910
Savannah State College 1890 Savannah, GA 31404
Spelman College 1881 Atlanta GA 30314
Kentucky
Kentucky State University 1886 Frankfort, KY 40601
Simmons University Bible College 1873 Louisville, KY 40210
Louisiana
Dillard University 1869 New Orleans, LA 70122
Grambling State University 1901 Grambling LA 71245
Southern University System 1974 Baton Rouge LA 70813
Southern University at Baton Rouge 1880 Baton Rouge LA 70813
Southern University at New Orleans l956 New Orleans, LA 70126
Southern University at Shreveport 1964 Shreveport, LA 71107
Xavier University 1925 New Orleans, LA 70125
Maryland
Bowie State University 1865 Bowie, MD 20715
Coppin State College 1900 Baltimore, MD 21216
Morgan State University 1867 Baltimore, MD 21239
University of MD, Eastern Shore 1886 Princess Anne, MD 21853
Michigan
Lewis College of Business 1929 Detroit MI 48235
Mississippi
Alcorn State University 1871 Lorman, MS
Coahoma Community College 1949 Clarksdale, MS
Hinds Com. College-Utica Campus 1903 Utica, MS 39175
Jackson State University 1877 Jackson, MS 39217
Mary Holmes College 1892 West Point, MS 39773
Mississippi Valley State Univ. 1950 Itta Bena, MS 38941
Natchez Jr. College 1855 Natchez, MS 39120
Prentiss Institute Jr. College 1907 (closed) Prentiss, MS 39474
Rust College 1866 Holly Springs, MS 38635
Tougaloo College 1869 Tougaloo, MS 39174
Missouri
Harris-Stow State College 1857 St. Louis, MO 63103
Lincoln University 1866 Jefferson, MO 65101
North Carolina
Barber-Scotia College 1867 Concordia, NC 28025
Bennett College 1873 Greensboro, NC 27402
Elizabeth City State University 1891 Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Fayetteville State University 1877 Fayetteville NC 28301
Livingstone College 1879 Salisbury, NC 28144
North Carolina A&T State Univ. 1891 Greensboro, NC 27411
North Central University 1910 Durham, NC 27707
Saint Augustine's college 1867 Raleigh, NC 27611
Shaw University 1865 Raleigh, NC 27611
Winston-Salem State University 1852 Winston-Salem NC 27110
Ohio
Central State University 1887 Wilberforce OH 45384
Wilberforce University 1856 Wilberforce OH 45384
Oklahoma
Langston University 1897 Langston, OK 73050
Pennsylvania.
Cheyney University 1837 Cheyney, PA 19319
Lincoln University 1854 Lincoln University, PA 19352
South Carolina
Allen University 1870 Columbia, SC 29204
Benedict College 1870 Columbia SC 29204
Claflin College 1869 Orangeburg, SC 29115
Clifton Junior College 1894 Rock Hill, SC 29732
Denmark Technical College 1948 Denmark, SC 29042
Morris College 1908 Sumter, SC 29150
South Carolina State University 1896 Orangeburg, SC 29117
Voorhees College 1897 Denmark, SC 29042
Tennessee
Fisk University 1866 Nashville, TN 37203
Knoxville College 1875 Knoxville. TN 37921
Lane College 1882 Jackson, TN 38301
LeMoyne-Owen College 1862 Memphis, TN 38126
Meharry Medical College 1877 Nashville, TN :37208
Morristown College (closed) 1881 Morristown, TN 37814
Tennessee State University 1912 Nashville, TN 37203
Texas
Huston-Tillotson College 1876 Austin, TX 78702
Jarvis Christian College 1912 Hawkins, TX 75765
Paul Quinn College 1872 Dallas, TX 75241
Prairie View A&M University 1876 Prairie View, TX 77446
Southwestern Christian College 1949 Terrell, TX 75160
Texas College 1894 Tyler, TX 75712
Texas Southern University 1947 Houston. TX 77004
Wiley College 1873 Marshall, TX 75670
Virgin Islands
University of the Virgin Islands 1962 St. Thomas 00802
Virginia
Hampton University 1868 Hampton, VA 23668
Norfolk State University 1935 Norfolk, VA 23504
Saint Paul's College 1888 Lawrenceville VA 23868
The Virginia Seminary and College 1888 Lynchburg, VA 24501
Virginia State University 1882 Petersburg VA 23803
Virginia Union University 1865 Richmond, VA 23220
West Virginia
Bluefield State College 1895 Bluefield, WV 24701
West Virginia State College 1891 Institute, WV 25112
Other Educational Institutions
Atlanta Metropolitan College 1974 Atlanta, GA 30310
Chicago State University 1867 Chicago IL 60628
Compton Community College 1927 Compton, CA 90221
Charles R. Drew University of Medicine and Science 1966 Los Angeles,CA
90059
Highland Park Community College l918 Highland Park, IL 60621
Kennedy-King College 1935 Chicago, IL 60621
LaGuardia Community College l971 Long Island City, NY 11101
Martin University 1977 Indianapolis IN 46218
Medgar Evers College 1969 Brooklyn, NY 11225
New York City Tech. College 1946 Brooklyn, NY 11201
Roxbury Community College 1973 Roxbury Crossing, MA 02120
Sojourner-Douglass College 1972 Baltimore, MD 21205
Wayne County Community College 1967 Detroit, MI 4822
York College (CUNY) 1967 Jamaica, NY 11451
This is follow-up to the discussion on HBCUs. For those of you who wrote negative and dismissive comments on HBCUs, it's time to eat crow!!! :):):) The following is an abstract from the Industrial and Labor Relations Review -- one of the three most prestigious labor economics journals in the country. I do not know the racial identity of the author. Jill M. Constantine. (1995). "The Effect of Attending Historically Black Colleges and Universities on Future Wages of Black Students," Industrial and Labor Relations Review, 48(3) (April):531-546.
"Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the Class of 1972, the author estimates the effect of attending historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) on future wages of black students. She finds that although the pre-college characteristics of students who attended HBCUs predicted lower wages than did the pre-college characteristics of students who attended mixed or historically white four-year institutions, the value added in future wages from attending HCBUs was 38% higher than that from attending traditionally white or mixed institutions for the average black student graduating from high school in 1972. This evidence that HBCUs played an important role in the labor market success of black students in the 1970s, the author aruges, should be carefully weighed in decisions affecting the future of these institions." So, despite the fact that on average black students who attend HBCUs have fewer resources -- prior to college -- they are earn 38% more than African American graduates from white schools (ceteris paribus).