HBCUs over Ivies: The value for Black students

BY OHAD AVIRANFINKELSTEIN staff writer

“I gained confidence from HBCUs ... At Berkeley High, I was in the Advanced Math program all the way from freshman year to junior year, and I always felt extremely ostracized,” said Rayna Carter, a BHS alum and current junior at Howard University. “I never felt worthy, and I would often have a lot of breakdowns in that class because I just never felt like I was good enough.”

Every year, around 60 percent of all high school graduates around the country enroll in colleges and universities, and out of that 60 percent, only 12.5 percent are African American. Some Black students that attend Predominantly White Institutions have described feeling isolated and disconnected from their white counterparts and peers. Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), strive to provide African Americans a space to be in a community with other Black students. HBCUs provide something important and hard to come by: confidence and a safe environment, both of which are more important than location or prestige.

Carter said that HBCUs provide Black students with extra support and confidence, something many PWIs can’t provide. Right after her freshman year, she landed an internship at Apple.

“I’m a mechanical engineering major with a mathematics minor, and that is an extremely white male dominated field,” Carter said. “If I hadn’t attended an HBCU, I wouldn’t be as confident in myself in opportunities that I think I deserve, and opportunities that I go forward with.”

Historically, HBCUs were created to undo some of the harm that anti-literacy laws and slavery caused, while also giving Black students a safe place without racism. HBCUs were also created to help bridge the many gaps caused by systemic and institutional racism, such as the wage gap between Black and white people, accessibility of jobs for African Americans, and more. HBCUs are a great