ABSTRACT
The role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in American higher education is both impressive and crucial. HBCUs were created in response to the void in educational opportunities available to African Americans in this country resulting from the vestiges of segregation and legally sanctioned discrimination. Beginning in the mid-1800s with the founding of institutions such as Cheyney State University and Lincoln University (both in Pennsylvania), the nation’s 100-plus HBCUs have afforded countless numbers of African American men and women the opportunity to earn their initial academic degrees. In 1965 the Higher Education Act defined these institutions as those “established before 1964, whose principal mission was then, as it is now the education of Black Americans” (U.S. Department of Education: Fast Facts). According to data published in 2015 by the White House Initiatives on HBCUs, there are 105 accredited public and private colleges and universities who meet this definition (Whitehouse Initiatives on HBCU). These institutions enroll approximately 265,000 African American students (275,000 if students from nonaccredited schools are included) which represents about 9% of all African Americans enrolled in college (Frequently Asked Questions About HBCUs).
