History Of Historically Black C0lleges And Universities

Illinois CAN Meeting Fall 2009

 The term Historically Black Colleges and Universities

refers to a group of 105 U.S. colleges and universities founded with the primary mission of educating people of African descent.  In the Higher Education Act of 1965, the federal government formally recognized 105 colleges as Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs). To qualify for this designation, institutions had to fit the following criteria. Each school had to have been:  Accredited by a national or nationally recognized regional

accrediting agency.  Founded before 1964.  Founded for the purpose of educating black students.

US Southern and Eastern States and

territories 105 historically black colleges and universities in the United States,

4-Year Public

40

4-Year Private

49

2-Year Public

11

2-Year Private

5

 1823 Alexander Lucius Twilight becomes the first African American to receive a 

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bachelor's degree in the United States, from Middlebury College in Vermont. 1837 In Pennsylvania, the first historically black college is established. Founded by Philadelphia Quaker Richard Humphreys, The Institute for Colored Youth was originally a teacher training college. The school later became known as Cheyney University, which remains the oldest historically black institute of higher education in the United States. 1862 Mary Jane Patterson becomes the first African American woman to receive a bachelor's degree in the United States, from Oberlin College in Ohio. 1869 Howard University opens the first black School of Law in the United States. The school was founded in part to help address the legal needs of newly freed slaves. 1876 Edward Alexander Bouchet, a student at Yale University, becomes the first African American in the United States to earn a PhD. He also was only the sixth American ever to earn a PhD in Physics. 1881 In Atlanta, Georgia, the first traditionally black woman's college is founded by Harriet E. Giles and Sophia B. Packard. Originally called the Atlanta Baptist Female Seminary, it now is known as Spelman College.

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1907 Alair Leroy Locke becomes the first African American Rhodes Scholar. A graduate of Harvard University, Locke earned his PhD from Harvard in 1918. 1922 At Howard University, William Leo Hansberry (uncle of the playwright Lorraine Hansberry) teaches the first course in the U.S. on African Civilizations. He also established the African Civilization Section of the Howard University History Department. 1921 The first three African American women earn doctoral degrees: Georgianna Simpson from The University of Chicago, Eva Beatrice Dykes from Radcliffe College, and Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander from The University of Pennsylvania. 1944 The United Negro College Fund is established. This philanthropic organization raises money to support students at 39 historically black college and universities. Since 1972, the organization has been well known for its motto, "A mind is a terrible thing to waste." 1960 Four college students from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical College sat down at an all-white Woolworth lunch counter in Greensboro, North Carolina and politely refused to leave until they were served. Although they were not served lunch, their sit-in was a landmark moment in the Civil Rights Movement that sparked a wave of sit-ins and economic boycotts of Woolworth stores nationwide. Six months later, the students were served lunch. 1962 Escorted by federal marshals under the orders of President John F. Kennedy, James Meredith becomes the first African American student to attend the University of Mississippi. Riots ensued, which led to two deaths and dozens of injuries. Meredith graduated in 1963. 1963 At the University of Alabama, Governor George Wallace tried to physically block the admission of Vivian Malone and James Hood, two African American students who had been admitted by court order into the university. The National Guard was present to protect the students. Governor Wallace eventually stepped aside, and two years later Vivian Malone became the first African American student to graduate from the University of Alabama. 1968 The first Black Studies Department in the United States is established at San Francisco State University. 1998. The University of California Berkeley establishes the first U.S. doctoral program is African Diaspora Studies.

Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute Class of 1886 A Need to Improve

Education for Blacks Very few schools open or inviting to Blacks

 Booker T. Washington (1856-1915)– graduate of Hampton

University, born into slavery and freed by the Civil War, founded Tuskegee Institute to train freed Blacks in the practical arts and sciences.  W.E.B Dubois (1868-1963), undergrad at Fisk University, born free in Massachusetts, stressed that was essential that blacks receive training not only in vocational fields, but also in the liberal arts.  Dubois feuded very openly with Washington over the proper strategy for educating black university students. Dubois felt quite strongly that Washington's universal vocational training only perpetuated the servitude of slavery.

AMA (American Missionary Association)

Freedmen’s Bureau, and Black Churches responsible for establishment of private colleges Between 1861 and 1870, the AMA founded seven black colleges and 13 normal (teaching) schools.

 The Morrill Land-Grant Act (1862) gave federal lands to the

states for the purpose of opening colleges and universities to educate farmers, scientists, and teachers. Although many such institutions were created, few were open or inviting to blacks, particularly in the South. Only Alcorn State in Mississippi was created for blacks.

 Post Civil War –  13th Amendment  Morrill Land-Grant Act of 1890,specified that states using

federal land-grant funds must either make their schools open to both blacks and whites or allocate money for segregated black colleges to serve as an alternative to white schools. Sixteen exclusively black institutions received 1890 land-grant funds.

Alabama A&M University

Alabama

Grambling State University

Louisiana

Alabama State University

Alabama

Southern University A&M College

Louisiana

University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff

Arkansas

Southern University at New Orleans Louisiana

University of the District of Columbia

District of Columbia

Delaware State University

Delaware

Florida A&M University

Florida

Albany State University

Georgia

Fort Valley State University

Georgia

Alcorn State University

Mississippi

Savannah State University

Georgia

Jackson State University

Mississippi

Kentucky State University

Kentucky

Mississippi Valley State University

Mississippi

Bowie State University

Maryland

Coppin State College

Maryland

Morgan State University

Maryland

University of Maryland Eastern Shore Maryland

Harris-Stowe State University

Missouri

Lincoln University

Pennsylvania

Lincoln University

Missouri

South Carolina State University

South Carolina

Elizabeth City State University

North Carolina

Tennessee State University

Tennessee

Fayetteville State University

North Carolina

Prairie View A&M University

Texas

Texas Southern University

Texas

North Carolina A&T State UniversityNorth Carolina North Carolina Central University

North Carolina

Norfolk State University

Virginia

Winston-Salem State University

North Carolina

Virginia State University

Virginia

Central State University

Ohio

Bluefield State College

West Virginia

Langston University

Oklahoma

West Virginia State University

West Virginia

Cheyney University of Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

University of the Virgin Islands

U.S. Virgin Islands

Concordia College Selma

Alabama

Bethune-Cookman University

Florida

Miles College

Alabama

Edward Waters College

Florida

Oakwood College

Alabama

Florida Memorial University

Florida

Selma University

Alabama

Clark Atlanta University

Georgia

Stillman College

Alabama

Georgia

Talladega College

Alabama

Interdenominational Theological Center Morehouse College

Georgia

Tuskegee University

Alabama Morehouse School of Medicine

Georgia

Arkansas Baptist College

Arkansas

Philander Smith College

Arkansas

Morris Brown College

Georgia

Howard University

District of Columbia

Paine College

Georgia

Spelman College

Georgia

Dillard University

Louisiana

Xavier University of Louisiana Louisiana

Allen University

South Carolina

Benedict College

South Carolina

Claflin University

South Carolina

Morris College

South Carolina

Voorhees College

South Carolina

Fisk University

Tennessee

Knoxville College

Tennessee

Lane College

Tennessee

Rust College

Mississippi

Tougaloo College

Mississippi

Bennett College

North Carolina

Johnson C. Smith University

North Carolina

Livingstone College

North Carolina

Shaw University

North Carolina North Carolina

Lemoyne-Owen College

Tennessee

St. Augustine's College Wilberforce University

Ohio

Meharry Medical College

Tennessee

Huston-Tillotson University

Texas

Jarvis Christian College Texas Paul Quinn College

Texas

Southwestern Christian Texas College Texas College

Texas

Wiley College

Texas

Hampton University

Virginia

Saint Paul's College

Virginia

Virginia Union University

Virginia

Virginia University of Lynchburg

Virginia

Journal of College Student Development, May/June 2002, Lamont A. Flowers

Graduation Rates Nationwide, only 41% of African American students who begin college graduate within 6 years Only 37 % of HBCU students earn a bachelors degree within six years. The figures are even worse for Black males, with reportedly just 29 percent of them earning a degree within six years. HBCUs educate only one-quarter of black college students, but produce an outsized number of future black graduate students and leaders. That group is distinctly female; HBCUs award twice as many degrees to women as to men. More than 60% of students at HBCUs get Pell Grants, which go mostly to students from families earning under $30,000.