Historically black colleges and universities

Cheyney University was founded in 1837 as the Institute for Colored Youth, making it the oldest HBCU in the nation

Private institutions

Most HBCUs were established in the South after the American Civil War, often with the assistance of religious missionary organizations based in the northern United States. HBCUs established prior to the American Civil War include Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1837,^[17] University of the District of Columbia (then known as Miner School for Colored Girls) in 1851, and Lincoln University in 1854.^[18] Wilberforce University was also established prior to the American Civil War.^[19] The university was founded in 1856 via a collaboration between the African Methodist Episcopal Church of Ohio and the predominantly white Methodist Episcopal Church.^[20]

Atlanta University – now Clark Atlanta University – was founded on September 19, 1865, as the first HBCU in the Southern United States. Atlanta University was the first graduate institution to award degrees to African Americans in the nation and the first to award bachelor's degrees to African Americans in the South; Clark College (1869) was the nation's first four-year liberal arts college to serve African-American students. The two consolidated in 1988 to form Clark Atlanta University.^[21] Shaw University, founded December 1, 1865, was the second HBCU to be established in the South. The year 1865 also saw the foundation of Storer College (1865–1955) in Harper's Ferry, West Virginia.^[2] Storer's former campus and buildings have since been incorporated into Harpers Ferry National Historical Park.^[22]

Some of these universities eventually became public universities with assistance from the government.

Public institutions

In 1862,^[23] the federal government's Morrill Act provided for land grant colleges in each state. Some educational institutions established under the Morrill Act in the North and West were open to Blacks. But 17 states, almost all in the South, required their post-Civil war systems to be segregated and excluded Black students from their land grant colleges. (In the 1870s, Mississippi, Virginia, and South Carolina each assigned one African American college land-grant status: Alcorn University, Hampton Institute, and Claflin University, respectively.)^[24] In response, Congress passed the second Morrill Act of 1890, also known as the Agricultural College Act of 1890, requiring states to establish a separate land grant college for Blacks if Blacks were being excluded from the existing land grant college. Many of the HBCUs were founded by states to satisfy the Second Morrill Act.^[25] These land grant schools continue to receive annual federal funding for their research, extension, and outreach activities.^[16]

Predominantly Black Institutions

Predominantly Black Institutions (PBI) are institutions that do not meet the legal definition of HBCUs, but primarily serve African Americans.^[26] Some examples of PBIs are Georgia State University, Trinity Washington University, and the Community College of Philadelphia.^[27]

Sports

In the 1920s and 1930s, historically black colleges developed a strong interest in athletics. Sports were expanding rapidly at state universities, but very few black stars were recruited there. Race newspapers hailed athletic success as a demonstration of racial progress. Black schools hired coaches, recruited and featured stellar athletes, and set up their own leagues.^[28][29]

Jewish refugees

In the 1930s, many Jewish intellectuals fleeing Europe after the rise of Hitler and anti-Jewish legislation in prewar Nazi Germany following Hitler's elevation to power emigrated to the United States and found work teaching in historically black colleges.^[30][31] In particular, 1933 was a challenging year for many Jewish academics who tried to escape increasingly oppressive Nazi policies,^[32] particularly after legislation was passed stripping them of their positions at universities.^[32] Jews looking outside of Germany could not find work in other European countries because of calamities like the Spanish Civil War and general antisemitism in Europe.^[33][32] In the US, they hoped to continue their academic careers, but barring a scant few, found little acceptance in elite institutions in Depression-era America, which also had their own undercurrent of antisemitism.^[31][34]

As a result of these phenomena, more than two-thirds of the faculty hired at many HBCUs from 1933 to 1945 had come to the United States to escape from Nazi Germany.^[35] HBCUs believed the Jewish professors were valuable faculty that would help strengthen their institutions' credibility.^[36] HBCUs had a firm belief in diversity and giving opportunity no matter the race, religion, or country of origin.^[37] HBCUs were open to Jews because of their ideas of equal learning spaces. They sought to create an environment where all people felt welcome to study, including women.^[37]

World War II

HBCUs made substantial contributions to the US war effort. One example is Tuskegee University in Alabama, where the Tuskegee Airmen trained and attended classes.^[38][39]

Florida's black junior colleges

After the landmark Brown v. Board of Education decision of 1954, the legislature of Florida, with support from various counties, opened eleven junior colleges serving the African-American population. Their purpose was to show that separate but equal education was working in Florida. Prior to this, there had been only one junior college in Florida serving African Americans, Booker T. Washington Junior College, in Pensacola, founded in 1949. The new ones were Gibbs Junior College (1957), Roosevelt Junior College (1958), Volusia County Junior College (1958), Hampton Junior College (1958), Rosenwald Junior College (1958), Suwannee River Junior College (1959), Carver Junior College (1960), Collier-Blocker Junior College (1960), Lincoln Junior College (1960), Jackson Junior College (1961), and Johnson Junior College (1962).

The new junior colleges began as extensions of black high schools. They used the same facilities and often the same faculty. Some built their own buildings after a few years. After the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 mandated an end to school segregation, the colleges were all abruptly closed. Only a fraction of the students and faculty were able to transfer to the previously all-white junior colleges, where they found, at best, an indifferent reception.^[40]

Since 1965

President George H. W. Bush signs a new Executive Order on historically black colleges and universities in the White House Rose Garden, April 1989

A reauthorization of the Higher Education Act of 1965 established a program for direct federal grants to HBCUs, to support their academic, financial, and administrative capabilities.^[41][42] Part B specifically provides for formula-based grants, calculated based on each institution's Pell grant eligible enrollment, graduation rate, and percentage of graduates who continue post-baccalaureate education in fields where African Americans are underrepresented. Some colleges with a predominantly black student body are not classified as HBCUs because they were founded (or opened their doors to African Americans) after the implementation of the Sweatt v. Painter (1950) and Brown v. Board of Education (1954) rulings by the U.S. Supreme Court (the court decisions which outlawed racial segregation of public education facilities) and the Higher Education Act of 1965.

In 1980, Jimmy Carter signed an executive order to distribute adequate resources and funds to strengthen the nation's public and private HBCUs. His executive order created the White House Initiative on historically black colleges and universities (WHIHBCU), which is a federally funded program that operates within the U.S. Department of Education.^[43] In 1989, George H. W. Bush continued Carter's pioneering spirit by signing Executive Order 12677, which created the presidential advisory board on HBCUs, to counsel the government and the secretary on the future development of these organizations.^[44]

Starting in 2001, directors of libraries of several HBCUs began discussions about ways to pool their resources and work collaboratively. In 2003, this partnership was formalized as the HBCU Library Alliance, "a consortium that supports the collaboration of information professionals dedicated to providing an array of resources designed to strengthen historically black colleges and Universities and their constituents."^[45]

In 2015, the Bipartisan Congressional Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus was established by U.S. Representatives Alma S. Adams and Bradley Byrne. The caucus advocates for HBCUs on Capitol Hill.^[46] As of May 2022^[update], there are over 100 elected politicians who are members of the caucus.^[47]

Discover more about History related topics

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania is a public historically black university in Cheyney, Pennsylvania. Founded in 1837, it is the oldest university out of all historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States. It is a member of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The university offers bachelor's degrees and is accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Institute for Colored Youth

Institute for Colored Youth

The Institute for Colored Youth was founded in 1837 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It became the first college for African-Americans in the United States, although there were schools that admitted African Americans preceding it. At the time, public policy and certain statutory provisions prohibited the education of blacks in various parts of the nation and slavery was entrenched across the south. It was followed by two other black institutions— Lincoln University in Pennsylvania (1854), and Wilberforce University in Ohio (1856). The second site of the Institute for Colored Youth at Ninth and Bainbridge Streets in Philadelphia was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1986. It is also known as the Samuel J. Randall School. A three-story, three-bay brick building was built for it in 1865, in the Italianate-style After moving to Cheyney, Pennsylvania in Delaware County, Pennsylvania its name was changed to Cheyney University.

Southern United States

Southern United States

The Southern United States is a geographic and cultural region of the United States of America. It is between the Atlantic Ocean and the Western United States, with the Midwestern and Northeastern United States to its north and the Gulf of Mexico and Mexico to its south.

American Civil War

American Civil War

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union and the Confederacy, the latter formed by states that had seceded. The central cause of the war was the dispute over whether slavery would be permitted to expand into the western territories, leading to more slave states, or be prevented from doing so, which was widely believed would place slavery on a course of ultimate extinction.

University of the District of Columbia

University of the District of Columbia

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The full university system offers workforce and certificate programs in addition to Associate, Baccalaureate, Master's, professional, and Doctoral degrees. The university's academic schools and programs include the UDC Community College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Business and Public Administration, Colleges of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability & Environmental Sciences, and David A. Clarke School of Law.

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

Lincoln University (Pennsylvania)

Lincoln University (LU) is a public state-related historically black university (HBCU) near Oxford, Pennsylvania. Founded as the private Ashmun Institute in 1854, it has been a public institution since 1972 and is the second oldest HBCU in the state after Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Its main campus is located on 422 acres near the town of Oxford in southern Chester County, Pennsylvania. The university has a second location in the University City area of Philadelphia. Lincoln University provides undergraduate and graduate coursework to approximately 2,000 students. It is a member-school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University

Clark Atlanta University is a private, Methodist, historically black research university in Atlanta, Georgia. Clark Atlanta is the first Historically Black College or University (HBCU) in the Southern United States. Founded on September 19, 1865, as Atlanta University, it consolidated with Clark College to form Clark Atlanta University in 1988. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Shaw University

Shaw University

Shaw University is a private Baptist historically black university in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is affiliated with the American Baptist Churches USA. Founded on December 1, 1865, Shaw University is the oldest HBCU to begin offering courses in the Southern United States. The school had its origin in the formation of a theological class of freedmen in the Guion Hotel. The following year it moved to a large wooden building, at the corner of Blount and Cabarrus Streets in Raleigh, where it continued as the Raleigh Institute until 1870. In 1870, the school moved to its current location on the former property of Confederate General Barringer and changed its name to the Shaw Collegiate Institute, in honor of Elijah Shaw. In 1875, the school was officially chartered with the State of North Carolina as Shaw University.

Storer College

Storer College

Storer College was a historically black college in Harpers Ferry, West Virginia, that operated from 1867 to 1955. A national icon for Black Americans, in the town where the 'end of American slavery began', as Frederick Douglass famously put it, it was a unique institution whose focus changed several times. There is no one category of college into which it fits neatly. Sometimes white students studied alongside Black students, which at the time was prohibited by law at state-supported schools in West Virginia and the other Southern states, and sometimes in the North.

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park

Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, originally Harpers Ferry National Monument, is located at the confluence of the Potomac and Shenandoah rivers in and around Harpers Ferry, West Virginia. The park includes the historic center of Harpers Ferry, notable as a key 19th-century industrial area and as the scene of John Brown's failed abolitionist uprising. It contains the most visited historic site in the state of West Virginia, John Brown's Fort.

Northern United States

Northern United States

The Northern United States, commonly referred to as the American North, the Northern States, or simply the North, is a geographical or historical region of the United States.

Continuing education

Continuing education

Continuing education, also known as lifelong education or lifelong learning is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United States and Canada.

North Carolina A&T State University is the nation's largest HBCU by enrollment.

Annually, the U.S. Department of Education designates one week in the fall as "National HBCU Week". During this week, conferences and events are held in Washington, D.C. discussing and celebrating HBCUs, as well as recognizing some notable HBCU scholars and alumni.^[48]

As of 2023, Alabama has the most active HBCUs of any state, with 14.^[49] North Carolina is second with 11.^[50]

In 2015, the share of black students attending HBCUs had dropped to 9% of the total number of black students enrolled in degree-granting institutions nationwide. This figure is a decline from the 13% of black students who enrolled in an HBCU in 2000 and 17% who enrolled in 1980. This is a result of desegregation, rising incomes and increased access to financial aid, which has created more college options for black students.^[13][51]

The percentages of bachelor's and master's degrees awarded to black students by HBCUs has decreased over time. HBCUs awarded 35% of the bachelor's degrees and 21% of the master's degrees earned by blacks in 1976–77, compared with the 14% and 6% respectively of bachelor's and master's degrees earned by blacks in 2014–15. Additionally, the percentage of black doctoral degree recipients who received their degrees from HBCUs was lower in 2014–15 (12%) than in 1976–77 (14%).^[52][53][54]

The number of total students enrolled at an HBCU rose by 32% between 1976 and 2015, from 223,000 to 293,000. Total enrollment in degree-granting institutions nationwide increased by 81%, from 11 million to 20 million, in the same period.^[52]

Although HBCUs were originally founded to educate black students, their diversity has increased over time. In 2015, students who were either white, Hispanic, Asian or Pacific Islander, or Native American made up 22% of total enrollment at HBCUs, compared with 15% in 1976.^[55]

In 2006, the National Center for Education Statistics released a study showing that HBCUs had a $10.2 billion positive impact on the nation's economy with 35% coming from the multiplier effect.^[56]

There are also developments in how African Americans may choose or not choose an HBCU. HBCUs are at risk of losing ground in terms of quality of their applicants as well.^[57] The current admission policies of predominately White institutions (PWIs) ensure that qualified applicants of any color are accepted and most top institutions actively recruit minority students.^[57] Well qualified minority students are often the target of frenzied competition (Cross, 2007).^[57] This competition is reflected in the inducements offered by PWIs to qualified Black applicants, most notably monetary incentives, which many students and their parents find too attractive to pass up.^[57] For this reason and others, fewer Black undergraduates are choosing to attend HBCUs, this figure has gradually declined to 22% as of 2002 (U.S. Department of Education, 2004).^[57] This dwindling percentage, coupled with opportunities at PWIs, have led some to speculate whether the HBCU has outlived its purpose and lost its relevance for Black youth (Lemelle, 2002; Sowell 1993; Suggs, 1997b).^[57]

Racial diversity post-2000

Following the enactment of Civil Rights laws in the 1960s, many educational institutions in the United States that receive federal funding have undertaken affirmative action to increase their racial diversity. Some historically black colleges and universities now have non-black majorities, including West Virginia State University and Bluefield State University, whose student bodies have had large white majorities since the mid-1960s.^[13][58][59]

As many HBCUs have made a concerted effort to maintain enrollment levels and often offer relatively affordable tuition, the percentage of non–African-American enrollment has risen.^{[60][61][62][63]} The following table highlights HBCUs with high non–African American enrollments:

Other HBCUs with relatively high non–African American student populations

According to the U.S. News & World Report Best Colleges 2011 edition, the proportion of white American students at Langston University was 12%; at Shaw University, 12%; at Tennessee State University, 12%; at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, 12%; and at North Carolina Central University, 10%. The U.S. News & World Report's statistical profiles indicate that several other HBCUs have relatively significant percentages of non–African American student populations consisting of Asian, Hispanic, white American, and foreign students.^[76]

Special academic programs

HBCU libraries have formed the HBCU Library Alliance. That alliance, together with Cornell University, have a joint program to digitize HBCU collections. The project is funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.^[77] Additionally, more historically black colleges and universities are offering online education programs. As of November 23, 2010, nineteen historically black colleges and universities offer online degree programs.^[78] The growth in these programs is driven by partnerships with online educational entrepreneurs like Ezell Brown.

Intercollegiate sports

NCAA Division I has two historically black athletic conferences: Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and Southwestern Athletic Conference. The top football teams from the conferences have played each other in postseason bowl games: the Pelican Bowl (1970s), the Heritage Bowl (1990s), and the Celebration Bowl (2015–present). These conferences are home to all Division I HBCUs except for Hampton University and Tennessee State University. Tennessee State has been a member of the Ohio Valley Conference since 1986, while Hampton left the MEAC in 2018 for the Big South Conference. In 2021, North Carolina A&T State University made the same conference move that Hampton made three years earlier (MEAC to Big South).^[79] Both Hampton and North Carolina A&T later moved their athletic programs to the Colonial Athletic Association and its technically separate football league of CAA Football; Hampton joined both sides of the CAA in 2022,^[80] while A&T joined the all-sports CAA in 2022 before joining CAA Football in 2023.^[81]

The mostly HBCU Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association and Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference are part of the NCAA Division II, whereas the HBCU Gulf Coast Athletic Conference is part of the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics.^[82]

Discover more about Current status related topics

List of historically black colleges and universities

List of historically black colleges and universities

This list of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) includes institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of primarily serving the black community.

North Carolina A&T State University

North Carolina A&T State University

North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University is a public, historically black land-grant research university in Greensboro, North Carolina. It is a constituent institution of the University of North Carolina System. Founded by the North Carolina General Assembly on March 9, 1891, as the Agricultural and Mechanical College for the Colored Race, it is the second college established under the provisions of the Morrill Act of 1890, as well as the first for people of color in the State of North Carolina. Initially, the college offered instruction in agriculture, English, horticulture and mathematics. In 1967, the college was designated a Regional University by the North Carolina General Assembly and renamed North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University.

Autumn

Autumn

Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September or March. Autumn is the season when the duration of daylight becomes noticeably shorter and the temperature cools considerably. Day length decreases and night length increases as the season progresses until the Winter Solstice in December and June. One of its main features in temperate climates is the striking change in colour for the leaves of deciduous trees as they prepare to shed.

Alabama

Alabama

Alabama is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States, bordered by Tennessee to the north; Georgia to the east; Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south; and Mississippi to the west. Alabama is the 30th largest by area and the 24th-most populous of the U.S. states.

North Carolina

North Carolina

North Carolina is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and South Carolina to the south, and Tennessee to the west. In the 2020 census, the state had a population of 10,439,388. Raleigh is the state's capital and Charlotte is its largest city. The Charlotte metropolitan area, with a population of 2,595,027 in 2020, is the most-populous metropolitan area in North Carolina, the 21st-most populous in the United States, and the largest banking center in the nation after New York City. The Raleigh-Durham-Cary combined statistical area is the second-largest metropolitan area in the state and 32nd-most populous in the United States, with a population of 2,043,867 in 2020, and is home to the largest research park in the United States, Research Triangle Park.

National Center for Education Statistics

National Center for Education Statistics

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the part of the United States Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics on education and public school district finance information in the United States. It also conducts international comparisons of education statistics and provides leadership in developing and promoting the use of standardized terminology and definitions for the collection of those statistics. NCES is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System.

Affirmative action

Affirmative action

Affirmative action involves sets of policies and practices within a government or organization seeking to include particular groups based on their gender, race, sexuality, creed or nationality in areas in which such groups are underrepresented — such as education and employment. Historically and internationally, support for affirmative action has sought to achieve goals such as bridging inequalities in employment and pay, increasing access to education, promoting diversity, and redressing apparent past wrongs, harms, or hindrances.

Bluefield State University

Bluefield State University

Bluefield State University is a university in Bluefield, West Virginia that is an historically black university. It is a part of West Virginia's public education system and converted to a university in the summer of 2022. It added residential housing options that include double or single rooms with full meal plans. Bluefield State University is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Kentucky State University

Kentucky State University

Kentucky State University is a public historically black land-grant university in Frankfort, Kentucky. Founded in 1886 as the State Normal School for Colored Persons, and becoming a land-grant college in 1890, KSU is the second-oldest state-supported institution of higher learning in Kentucky. In fall 2019, total undergraduate enrollment was 2,029 with a total graduate enrollment of 142.

University of the District of Columbia

University of the District of Columbia

The University of the District of Columbia (UDC) is a public historically black land-grant university in Washington, D.C. It was established in 1851 and is the only public university in the city. UDC is a member school of the Thurgood Marshall College Fund. The full university system offers workforce and certificate programs in addition to Associate, Baccalaureate, Master's, professional, and Doctoral degrees. The university's academic schools and programs include the UDC Community College, College of Arts and Sciences, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, School of Business and Public Administration, Colleges of Agriculture, Urban Sustainability & Environmental Sciences, and David A. Clarke School of Law.

Delaware State University

Delaware State University

Delaware State University is a public historically black land-grant research university in Dover, Delaware. DSU also has two satellite campuses: one in Wilmington and one in Georgetown. The university encompasses four colleges and a diverse population of undergraduate and advanced-degree students. Delaware State University is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity".

Fayetteville State University

Fayetteville State University

Fayetteville State University (FSU) is a public historically black university in Fayetteville, North Carolina. It is part of the University of North Carolina System and the Thurgood Marshall College Fund.

Vice President and HBCU alumna Kamala Harris with students attending HBCUs

HBCUs have a rich legacy of matriculating many leaders in the fields of business, law, science, education, military service, entertainment, art, and sports.

• Alcee Hastings, US Congressman from Florida's 20th congressional district – Fisk University, Howard University, Florida A&M University
• Alice Walker, novelist and poet – Spelman College
• Althea Gibson, the first African American to win a Grand Slam title had a full athletic scholarship to Florida A&M University
• Anika Noni Rose, the original voice of the first African American Disney princess (Tiana) - Florida A&M University
• Ben Wallace, former 4-time NBA All-Star and NBA Defensive Player of the Year - Virginia Union University
• Claude McKay, poet, Tuskegee University
• Doug Williams, first black NFL quarterback to win Superbowl - Grambling State
• Ed Bradley, first black White House correspondent for CBS News - Cheyney University of Pennsylvania
• Edward Brooke, first African-American elected by popular vote to United States Senate and to serve as Massachusetts Attorney General - Howard University
• James Clyburn, US Congressman from South Carolina's 6th congressional district and Majority Whip of the 116th United States Congress – South Carolina State University
• Jerry Rice, considered the greatest NFL wide receiver of all-time - Mississippi Valley State
• NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson attended West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University).
• Leon H. Sullivan, developer of the Sullivan Principles used to end apartheid in South Africa, attended West Virginia State College (now West Virginia State University).
• Lonnie Johnson, inventor, NASA engineer – Tuskegee University
• Medgar Wiley Evers - civil rights leader - Alcorn State University
• Megan Thee Stallion, Grammy-winning rapper and actress - Texas Southern
• Nikki Giovanni, poet – Fisk University
• Randy Jackson, original judge on American Idol - Southern University
• Ralph Abernathy, civil rights activist, minister – Clark Atlanta University, Alabama State University
• Reginald Lewis, first African-American to build and own a billion dollar company - Virginia State
• Rod Paige, first African-American to serve as the U.S. education chief - Jackson State University
• Astronaut Dr. Ronald McNair graduated from North Carolina A&T State University.
• Roscoe Lee Browne, prolific actor and director, graduated from Lincoln University. Browne occasionally returned to Lincoln between 1946 and 1952 to teach English, French and comparative literature.
• Toni Braxton, Grammy-winning R&B artist with over 70 million records sold - Bowie State
• Tom Joyner, first African-American inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame - Tuskegee University
• The Tuskegee Airmen were educated at Tuskegee University.
• Walter Payton, considered one of the greatest running backs in NFL history – Jackson State University
• Wanda Sykes, Emmy-winning comedian, novelist, and writer – Hampton University

• 

  Booker T. Washington, educator, orator, and advisor (Hampton)

• 

  W. E. B. Du Bois, sociologist, historian, and activist (Fisk)

• 

  Thurgood Marshall, first Black Supreme Court justice (Lincoln, Howard)

• 

  Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the civil rights movement (Morehouse)

• 

  Toni Morrison, acclaimed novelist and Nobel laureate (Howard)

• 

  Jesse Jackson, minister and politician (North Carolina A&T)

• 

  Spike Lee, film director and producer (Morehouse)

• 

  Samuel L. Jackson, actor and film producer (Morehouse)

• 

  Ruth Simmons, first African-American president in the Ivy League (Dillard)

• 

  Oprah Winfrey, talk show host and media mogul (Tenn State)

• 

  Douglas Wilder, first African-American elected governor of a U.S. state since the Reconstruction era (Virginia Union, Howard)

• 

  Kamala Harris, Vice President of the United States (Howard)

• 

  Taraji P. Henson, actress (Howard)

• 

  Chadwick Boseman, actor and playwright (Howard)

• 

  Common, rapper and actor (Florida A&M)

• 

  Michael Strahan, NFL Hall of Famer, entrepreneur, TV personality, and actor (Texas Southern)

• 

  Erykah Badu, singer, entrepreneur, and actress (Grambling State)

• 

  Leontyne Price, internationally acclaimed soprano (Central State)

• 

  Lionel Richie, singer, songwriter, record producer, and TV personality (Tuskegee)

• 

  Stacey Abrams, voting rights leader, lawyer, and author (Spelman)

Discover more about Notable HBCU alumni related topics

Kamala Harris

Kamala Harris

Kamala Devi Harris is an American politician and attorney who is the 49th and current vice president of the United States. She is the first female vice president and the highest-ranking female official in U.S. history, as well as the first African-American and first Asian-American vice president. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the attorney general of California from 2011 to 2017 and as a United States senator representing California from 2017 to 2021.

Alcee Hastings

Alcee Hastings

Alcee Lamar Hastings was an American politician and judge from the state of Florida.

Florida's 20th congressional district

Florida's 20th congressional district

Florida's 20th congressional district is a U.S. congressional district in Southeast Florida. It is currently held by Democrat Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, who was elected in a January 2022 special election, following the death of Alcee Hastings on April 6, 2021. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index (CPVI) rating of D+25, it is one of the most Democratic districts in Florida.

Fisk University

Fisk University

Fisk University is a private historically black liberal arts college in Nashville, Tennessee. It was founded in 1866 and its 40-acre (16 ha) campus is a historic district listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Howard University

Howard University

Howard University is a private, federally chartered historically black research university in Washington, D.C., located in the Shaw neighborhood. It is classified among "R2: Doctoral Universities – High research activity" and accredited by the Middle States Commission on Higher Education.

Florida A&M University

Florida A&M University

Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU), commonly known as Florida A&M, is a public historically black land-grant university in Tallahassee, Florida. Founded in 1887, It is the third largest historically black university in the United States by enrollment and the only public historically black university in Florida. It is a member institution of the State University System of Florida, as well as one of the state's land grant universities, and is accredited to award baccalaureate, master's and doctoral degrees by the Commission on Colleges of the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools.

Alice Walker

Alice Walker

Alice Malsenior Tallulah-Kate Walker is an American novelist, short story writer, poet, and social activist. In 1982, she became the first African-American woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, which she was awarded for her novel The Color Purple. Over the span of her career, Walker has published seventeen novels and short story collections, twelve non-fiction works, and collections of essays and poetry. She has faced criticism for alleged antisemitism and for her endorsement of the conspiracist David Icke.

Althea Gibson

Althea Gibson

Althea Neale Gibson was an American tennis player and professional golfer, and one of the first Black athletes to cross the color line of international tennis. In 1956, she became the first African American to win a Grand Slam title. The following year she won both Wimbledon and the US Nationals, then won both again in 1958 and was voted Female Athlete of the Year by the Associated Press in both years. In all, she won 11 Grand Slam tournaments: five singles titles, five doubles titles, and one mixed doubles title. Gibson was inducted into the International Tennis Hall of Fame and the International Women's Sports Hall of Fame. "She is one of the greatest players who ever lived", said Bob Ryland, a tennis contemporary and former coach of Venus and Serena Williams. "Martina [Navratilova] couldn't touch her. I think she'd beat the Williams sisters." In the early 1960s she also became the first Black player to compete on the Women's Professional Golf Tour.

Grand Slam (tennis)

Grand Slam (tennis)

The Grand Slam in tennis is the achievement of winning all four major championships in one discipline in a calendar year, also referred to as the "Calendar-year Grand Slam" or "Calendar Slam". In doubles, a team may accomplish the Grand Slam playing together or a player may achieve it with different partners. Winning all four major championships consecutively but not within the same calendar year is referred to as a "non-calendar-year Grand Slam", while winning the four majors at any point during the course of a career is known as a "Career Grand Slam".

Anika Noni Rose

Anika Noni Rose

Anika Noni Rose is an American actress and singer. She is best known for voicing Tiana, Disney's first African-American princess, as seen in The Princess and the Frog (2009). She was named a Disney Legend in 2011.

Ben Wallace (basketball)

Ben Wallace (basketball)

Ben Camey Wallace is an American basketball executive and former professional player who played most of his career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) with the Detroit Pistons. He is regarded by many to be the greatest undrafted player in NBA history, and was known for his shot-blocking, rebounding, and overall defensive play. A native of Alabama, Wallace attended Cuyahoga Community College and Virginia Union University. In his NBA career, he also played with the Washington Bullets/Wizards, Orlando Magic, Chicago Bulls, and Cleveland Cavaliers.

Claude McKay

Claude McKay

Festus Claudius "Claude" McKay OJ was a Jamaican-American writer and poet. He was a central figure in the Harlem Renaissance.

Federal funding for HBCUs has notably increased in recent years. Proper federal support of HBCUs has become more of a key issue in modern U.S. presidential elections. ^[83] In President Barack Obama eight years in office, he invested more than $4 billion to HBCUs.^[84]

In 2019, President Donald Trump signed a bipartisan bill that permanently invested more than $250 million a year to HBCUs.^[85]

In 2021, President Joe Biden’s first year in office, he invested a historic $5.8 billion to support HBCUs.^[86] In 2022, Biden's administration announced an additional $2.7 billion through his American Rescue Plan.^[87]

HBCU Buzz is a popular media platform primarily about HBCUs.^[88] Its coverage focuses on telling the stories of HBCUs across the nation, highlighting their culture, and recognizing the achievements of HBCU-educated individuals. Established in 2011, HBCU Buzz serves as a resource tool for prospective students, current students, and alumni of HBCUs. HBCU Buzz organizes the annual HBCU Top 30 Under 30 Awards, to celebrate the achievements of alumni of HBCU in various fields of endeavors such as politics, public service, technology, entertainment, entrepreneurship, fashion, health, education and money.^[89][90][91]

Homecoming is a tradition at almost every American college and university, however homecoming has a more unique meaning at HBCUs. Homecoming plays a significant role in the culture and identity of HBCUs. The level of pageantry and local Black community involvement (parades, business vendors, etc) helps make HBCU homecomings more unique. Due to higher campus traffic and activity, classes at HBCUs are usually cancelled on Friday and Saturday of homecoming.^[92] Millions of alumni, students, celebrity guests, and visitors attend HBCU homecomings every year. In addition to being a highly cherished tradition and festive week, homecomings generate strong revenue for HBCUs and many Black businesses.^[93][94][95]