Starting in the early to mid-1800s, colleges and universities were established to provide an education for freed slaves and their children. While the main purpose of these institutions was to educate and train teachers for schools, these colleges and universities quickly began to offer a wider variety of programs, including medicine, religion, and law.
These colleges and universities would, during the twentieth century, become known as America's historically Black colleges and universities, or HBCUs. Not only have HBCUs been a source of education for hundreds of thousands of African-Americans since their founding, but have also become an epicenter for social, cultural, and political activitiy.
What Is A HBCU?
According to the Higher Education Act of 1965, a historically Black college or university is defined as "any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans."
As of 2002, there are 104 colleges and universities throughout the United States that are recognized as HBCUs, with one of the most notable being Howard University in Washington, D.C.
History of America's HBCUs
The first HBCUs were founded by missionaries or philanthropists during the 1830s, whose wish was to create institutions in the north where freed slaves can be educated without admitting them to predominately white institutions (PWIs.) Cheyney University was the first HBCU to be established in Pennsylvania in 1837, and Wilberforce University was established in Ohio in 1856.
By 1973, more than 100 HBCUs had been established throughout the United States, granting degrees to students studying a wide array of academic and professional disciplines, including law, medicine, religion, education, business, and the arts, humanities, and sciences. By this time, HBCUs had also begun awarding graduate and professional degrees, allowing students to continue their education beyond a bachelors degree.
Throughout the twentieth century, HBCUs were also the sites of the founding of nine sororities and fraternities that comprise the National Pan-Hellenic Council. These organizations are now known as the historically Black Greek Letter Organizations (BGLOs) and boast hundreds of thousands of members around the world.
HBCUs Today
Not much academic research has been done on HBCUs, mainly because these institutions did not become the subjects of research until the 1970s. Records and research have shown, however, that by 1950, ninety percent of African-American students enrolled in higher education were students at a HBCU.
Despite representing only three percent of all higher education institutions in the United States, HBCUs are responsible for an incredible amount of degrees conferred upon African-American students. Seventy-five percent of all doctoral degrees were awarded by HBCUs, and seventy-five percent of all African-American military officers are HBCU graduates. Eighty percent of all African-American federal judges and eighty-five percent of all African-American physicians completed their course of study at a HBCU.
Overall, HBCUs are responsible for twenty-six percent of all undergraduate degrees awarded to undergraduate students, while serving fourteen percent of all African-American undergraduates.
During the 1800s, HBCUs were the only option for many freed slaves and their children to pursue an education and a career. As the nineteenth and twentieth centuries rolled on, however, HBCUs became the center of education for many African-Americans, with more academic interest being invested into studying the diversity and opportunity that these institutions allow for students at these historic institutions.
Sources
- "A Brief History of Historically Black Community Colleges in Alabama" CCC.edu, accessed 30 September 2011.
- "Brief History - Howard University" Howard University, accessed 30 September 2011.
- "Historically Black Colleges and Universities" StateUniversity.com, copyright 2011, accessed 30 September 2011.
Ashley Anderson - Ashley is an Ohio-based writer and editor with specializations in higher education, writing, and social activism.
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