Really well done - thank you!
Mahalo for this important documentary on HBCUs and on the broader history of African American education.
A brief note - General Samuel C. Armstrong was the son of New England missionaries to the Hawaiian Kingdom and was educated at Punahou School (which at the time was open only to the children of white missionaries). It’s too bad that Stanley Nelson’s documentary did not mention Armstrong’s early years in Hawai’i, since I believe that his attitudes towards blacks were shaped by his experiences in the Islands.
I know my wife, who went to an Ivy League school, has said that if she had to do it again, she would’ve chosen an HBCU. She envies the strength and confidence that graduates bring to wider society.
1
Written in 2016:
"As I listened to President Obama’s final State of the Union (SOTU) Address Tuesday night, I could not help but be saddened by the possibility that this administration may not care about or prioritize black colleges – that black colleges may not matter." https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/01/15/do-black-c...
We must protect H.B.C.U.s.
Excellent OP Doc. Mr. Nelson did a great job. thank you New York Times
3
The sad note is that HBCU's are simply not very good environs of higher education. They have horrible graduation rates and black students are often better served by the 'integrated' state colleges that have higher graduation rates for students of color.
Most studies indicate that, with a very few exceptions, talented men and women of color would be far better served going to another college
5
Response to SteveRR:
Historically White colleges have historically refused to admit many African-American applicants. That is precisely why H.B.C.U.s must be protected.
Also, I strongly refute your insinuation of inferiority. I am a graduate of an H.B.C.U. and I often outperformed White peers that had graduated from renowned White colleges.
I am against school segregation. I am in favor of school integration (which has occurred at present-day H.B.C.U.s).
I'm not sure where you got your "stats," if they even exist. But the stats below actually reveal the opposite, that graduation rates for blacks at HBCU's are higher than for blacks who attend other institutions.
https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/10/28/survey-finds-big-differen...
2
So called "Black" colleges are racist by definition. Can you imagine the uproar if there were "white" colleges.? It is time to judge students based upon intellect, not skin color. Sorry.
3
A "white" college, and there were plenty of those in the past, would be one that EXCLUDED anyone who was not white. A "black" college is one that was originally founded to educate people who COULD NOT GET IN to "white" colleges. They were never founded for the purpose of excluding anyone. Don't get so hung up on word choices that you fail to recognize the history behind them.
12
Hi Steve! Here’s a quick education: historically black colleges were created to allow people of color to have a college education during an era where only White men were allowed to attend college. That’s why we call them “historically” black. They have accepted students of all race and background for years. Take a moment to educate yourself before you build an invalid argument that argues for racial segregation (and denial of access) when it was founded to combat the very thing you’re proposing.
20
You missed the modifier "historically." They were black colleges, because they were the ones that accepted blacks. I'm not sure that they ever refused to accept whites; whites had many other choices. I know three white men who are lawyers; they graduated from Howard U. Law School more than 50 years ago. I am certain that all historically black colleges now accept white students and have done so for at least a few generations and probably much longer.
Almost all colleges in the South (public and private) excluded black students until the late 1950s or early 60s. H.B.C.U.s were the exception. Northern colleges, even state schools, were not too accepting of black students. I began college in 1956 at the Univ. of Illinois; that was the first year that Illinois gave a basketball scholarship to a black athlete or had a black player in its basketball program. The reason given for that exclusion was "they don't play our kind of ball." There were many other examples.
1
The New York Times ran an article on January 12 regarding Claflin College, a largely black college. According to the article, the Betsy Devos proposals regarding for profit schools will be a big help to black colleges.
2
The Trump appointees and the Republicans like Kentucky's Matt Bevin now struggle to hold their ground as a tide of reason washes their sand-castle reasoning out from under them. Their ability to keep a straight face while making arguments like DeVos's here is their last defense.
1
HBCU's are truly the incubators of the freedom struggle. Mr. Nelson's sharp commentary anoints them within the halls of academic excellence as beacons of cultural pride for many black families, yesterday, today, and tomorrow!
3
These institutions are very important. Brooklyn's African American political class comes out of this tradition and some of the top students at my law school, Brooklyn Law School, were from Howard University for instance.
1
There are some truly bizarre yet rage-filled comments for what I thought was a very mild and articulate article. Part of the anger seems to be the false impression that you need to be black to attend a HBCU. I don't claim to be an expert, but even after some brief research it seems a lot of HBCU's actually have majority non-African American students today. I think Stanley Nelson's point is more about the importance of the history of these institutions, and they should be preserved because they are an important part of American history AND continue to be of value as educational institutions.
If some people could muster the same enthusiasm for "history" as they did when confederate statues get moved off town square...
16
Agree. H.B.C.U. are inclusive not exclusive. Their purpose is to give opportunity when there were few for people who had few options.
This is a lovely article. It's also worth remembering that Jews created their own educational system since they too were denied access - for example Mount Sinai in NYC and Beth Israel Hospital in Boston were formed as a place for Jews to receive medical training. Looking back, it seems that the history of Ameria is one of exclusion based on race, sex, or religion. Trump and his cronies are trying to take us back to the bad old days when these were the values that ruled the country. Let's hope the public will fight back when the next elections come along.
28
@poins: "Looking back, it seems that the history of America is one of exclusion..." Don't be so hard on your country. My (Germany) and most other European countries were much worse, and for a much longer time period.
3
Black colleges continue exclusion. Why are you blaming Trump?
In DC, you can visit Howard University, an HBCU, and see non-black students, especially at the graduate, professional and medical schools.
While HBCUs were the only choices for many in the past (it was just 55 years ago James Meredith required U.S. Marshalls to escort him to classes at University of Mississippi) they are choices for many black students and students of all races. Indeed, some HBCUs are now so integrated, white students comprise the majority. The schools - why largely sought by black students - do not discriminate; all who apply and are accepted are welcome.
Many students choose colleges based on the heritage and culture of the institution: to follow in the path of illustrious alumni, or family members or to join friends. HCBUs are no different. In the age of Trump, when violent and vocal racism is expressed without embarrassment by Trump and his followers, HCBUs can be a choice for students to study without hostility. Presently, there is a student at University of Alabama (from NJ) who posted nasty, insulting and derogatory comments on Instagram - on MLK's birthday. With examples like that, it's no wonder some students may prefer colleges where they receive a quality, affordable education coupled with amity from their peers.
27
DeVos might be the only Cabinet member with less knowledge, understanding, and brain power than Trump. Her statements reveal her to be quite dim-witted. She appeals to him because she is a scammer like him. Her scams are in education, and looting the government to carry out the profit making scheme. That she is an out and out bigot is just the icing on the cake for Trump (and that her family gives big money to the republicans).
31
Come 11/6, you guys know what you need to do.
10
Why click bait about Trump? DeVos and Trump agree with you. Your family's laughter over DeVos comments seem to come from an inconvenient truth that they understand and agree with DeVos. Rather shameful of you to sell your own family short like that rather simply acknowledge common ground. You make an excellent argument for HBC shame you have perspective .
8
Bwwaaaa Hhhhaaa, great satire!
1
Didn't the NYTimes just have an article a few days ago on how HBCUs agreed and supported some of the policies DeVos is pursuing?
I truly don't understand why everyone we don't politically align with is the devil incarnate. Doesn't bode well for this country. We should be working together on middle-ground issues that unite people.
Why do we need black colleges? We need them no more than we need to bring back separate lunch counters for blacks.
All institutions of higher learning generally espouse a liberal point of view and the issues confronting the African-Americans and other minorities are fleshed out during classroom sessions and in forum discussions.
I'll say it again: we need black colleges no more than we need back of the bus seating for blacks.
Anachronism.
Get rid of them and get over it.
5
While we're at it, let's get rid of the universities that used to segregate. I mean, what's the use of them, now that segregation has gone the way of the dodo?
There's about as much sense in what you just wrote. What's the use of a school like Ole Miss, desegregated 1962? The use is they are still educating students. So, for your information, are HBCUs. (without discrimination. For the last time, ALL ethnicities are welcome at HBCUs. Just like all ethnicities are now welcome at Ole Miss. The only difference is that no ethnicity was ever barred from HBCUs, but Old Miss didn't allow African Americans to attend even 60 years ago).
The reasoning of HBCU opponents is as twisted as a pretzel. Why would anyone get rid of the HBCUs because of their--MORAL--historical mission, and at the same time keep those institutions that had an IMMORAL historical mission? Where is the sense in that? I say, if we're going to get rid of any institutions, it should be the ones that profited from evil.
14
Hyperbole.
Trump isn't coming for the black colleges. The black community, maybe..
.but not the colleges.
3
On the lighter side, when dealing with people of the mentality of Betsy De Vos and Donald Trump, we might quote to them the words of Alexandre Dumas (whose father was born in Haiti of mixed race) when he (Dumas), having been insulted by a man about his heritage, responded: "My father was a mulatto, my grand father was a negro and my great grand father, a monkey. You see, Sir [Madam], my family starts where yours ends."
20
I couldn’t agree more. The Democratic Party is suffering from too much concern with the needs of minority groups as well as corporations instead of focusing on the needs of working families.
Their billboard statement should be:
“Fighting for The American Dream”
This, of course, would include all those named on the Statue of Liberty
6
of course black folks never sailed past the Statue of Liberty. they were brought to other ports like Savannah and various places on the shores of Rhode Island.
Historically black colleges have had more than their fill of trouble before Trump---the colleges have been plagued by higher costs, dwindling enrollments, an insufficient pool of qualified applicants, and a growing pressure for diversity everywhere. It is not about their history, it is about their future, and one can predict that these entities will become a thing of the past.
5
Fortunately, you incorrect, thus ill informed. HBCUs are here to stay. And as you ignorance of these awesome institutions is readily apparent, you do not know that Whites a flocking to many of them given the high caliber of their academic offerings. One example of North Carolina A & T State University in Greensboro. It Engineering program is one of the tops in the country.
2
One might think that such colleges are somewhat racist in our current culture. Sure I remember those bad times with now illegal discrimination, now we should pay little to no attention to race, gender, etc. in our education system. Let those in who show promise and wish to attend.
10
Somewhat racist? HBCUs have always had students from other races and there are a growing number of white students attending these institutions. May I offer Claflin University in Orangeburg, SC, founded in 1969, with this phrase as part of its admissions policy and mission: to accept students “regardless of race, complexion, or religious opinion.”
I hope you will watch Mr. Nelson's documentary.
18
You do know that anyone can attend an HBCU, right? You know that H means historically? Also, you do know they were not set up to exclude anyone, and have never done so--they were set up to educate those that were excluded? You do know that people of all ethnicities attend HBCUs, right? That they don't "pay attention" to gender or race in their admissions policies? That those that are majority African-American (some actually aren't anymore) are that way because of self-selection? You know that self-selection is another word for people utilizing their FREEDOM OF CHOICE?
14
One might think that if one also believed that the color of one's skin no longer mattered in the United States, or if one believed that the effects of hundreds of years of racism against black people could be undone simply by passing some laws in the 1950s, '60s and '70s. But culture is not so easily undone, and our "current culture" is not so changed from the old one as we sometimes like to think. We are in a process of making things more inclusive for people with various backgrounds and beliefs, but that process has just begun. Black colleges and universities still have a role to play in this ongoing process. Recognizing that reality is not racist, it's just seeing the world in the proper historical context.
20
The TV show "A different world" introduced me to the history of black colleges. We didn't really learn about them or why they were necessary during my public education. Education above all else is the key to freedom. Through it we learn to think and question and plan which is why white people denied education to black people. It's much easier to control someone who doesn't know how to think for themselves.
We still need these universities. In addition to giving black people an opportunity for a quality education in a place where they don't have to navigate the daily indignities of racism they still act as our moral compass. Black professors are given a platform where they can sound the alarm when racism starts to rear it's ugly head and students have a safe place where they can once again strategize how to bring awareness to the rest of us who never feel the sting of racism and don't recognize the dangers to society that such intolerance causes.
41
You mean black professors are given a platform for spouting about white privilege. These students are living in an insulated, isolated world. Why not discuss how they are overpaying for a mediocre education?
Women's colleges were established because, at the time, few existing colleges admitted women. Essentially, their history is the same as that of black colleges. Both created a choice for those who previously had none. Both were pioneers of quality higher education. Ms. DeVos got it right. All the knee jerk liberals got it wrong. Creating something of quality where nothing once existed is a major accomplishment, even if necessitated by bigotry and hatred.
25
On the surface this seems a complex issue. Are HBCUs still relevant now, almost 130 since the majority of state schools among them were born out of separate but equal legislation in 1890? I still have in mind Ralph Ellison's satiric indictment of one such institution in "The Invisible Man". And I find it difficult to endorse vistually any educational concept that Secretary De Vos supports.
All that said, one of my favorite memories of living in Tennessee for a few years in the early 70s, was watching a Tennessee State basketball team led by the great Leonard Robinson fall just short of upending Vanderbilt University in the first-ever game between those two schools.
At the end of the day, just as America needs colleges and Universities like Harvard, Smith, Swarthmore, SUNY Binghamton and Oral Roberts, it very much needs and should support the HBCUs. More power to them!
10
What a ridiculous statement. HBCUs were not a "choice" they were a necessity during Jim Crow. Any attempt to draw parallels between the creation of HBCUs and the promotion of privately owned Charter Schools is a lie. HBCUs have a purpose, providing a way for a historically disadvantaged group to advance up the ladder. Charter Schools are set up to enrich the share holders and owners while shorting the students. Charter schools are not willing nor able to handle special needs children and lack public oversight. School Choice is an argument to privatize education, an argument that only benefits bottom lines not students nor society at large. Any attempt to draw parallels between the creation of HBCUs and the promotion of privately owned Charter Schools is a lie.
33
"Both created a choice for those who previously had none."
That's a bit of an Orwellian contortion. When you only have one option, it's not really "a choice." I believe that was one of the points the author was making about DeVos's comparison.
Trump brought presidents os HBCU's to the Oval Office to hear their concerns. Did Obama do that? The DOE under Obama instituted rules re student loans that could hurt these colleges enormously. DOE under Betsy DeVoes is looking into them. Tell me what Obama ever did for these schools.
19
Sad, but true!
1
https://www.ed.gov/news/press-releases/fact-sheet-obama-administration-i...
Maybe there are legitimate criticisms of the Obama's administration's support, or lack thereof, for HBCUs. But meaningful positive relationships require more than bringing folks in for a photo-op.
2
As per the Dept. of Education, the Obama admin invested over $4 billion in HBCUs. Pell grants for these schools increased from $523M to $824M and the admin launched initiatives to increase awareness and recognition of HBCU's, their graduates and their accomplishments.
And Trump invited some presidents over to chat.
8
I am a proud graduate of the 1983 class of Howard University. As a high school graduate I did not waiver from my intention on attending Howard. It was and still is an excellent educational institution, as well as a premiere HBCU. After twelve years of a public education and a system that believed that MLK was the beginning and end of the tremendous history of African -Americans, I was determined to experience the full panorama of my history. "Black Diaspora" was my freshman experienced. My first semester with Professor Suggs. He open my eyes and my heart to the intricate beauty of my race. When I visited home on weekends,I inundated my family with the facts of the enormous, critical contributions of my race. I was truly changed as a black man in "white" America. I felt taller, wider and more consequential. Howard gave me the opportunity to meet and learn from black scholars. Men and women who were not only physically in the classroom, but in the books of literature and history in the library. I now make it my business to advise new high school graduates to attend HBCU's. They will be loved, nurtured and educated by people who fully understand who they are and where they come from....there is no substitute !!!