WHY ARE HBCUS NECESSARY?

HBCUs date back to the 19th century, when many offered black students an opportunity for higher education. Today, HBCUs continue to serve a vital role in higher education.

The first such institutions began in Pennsylvania with the establishment of Cheyney University in 1837 (the first HBCU) and Lincoln University (founded in 1854), the first degree-granting HBCU. In the wake of emancipation, many black Americans founded HBCUs to educate black students. Howard University in Washington, D.C., and Tuskegee University in Alabama are prominent examples.

During the segregation era, HBCUs offered one of the only paths to a college degree for black students. Two of the most prominent HBCU graduates of this era were Thurgood Marshall (Lincoln University in Pennsylvania ’30), the first black person appointed as a U.S. Supreme Court associate justice, and Edward W. Brooke (Howard University ’41), the first black person elected to the U.S. Senate by popular vote.

Historically, HBCUs enrolled primarily black students. However, today non-black students make up nearly a quarter of HBCU enrollment.

After the Civil Rights Movement, HBCUs continued to offer black students a supportive, inclusive environment. Today, HBCUs graduate a high number of black STEM majors.

You can find most of the 101 HBCUs in the Southern states. Around half of these HBCUs operate as private schools, while the other half are public institutions.