The Importance of HBCUs

Story by Violet Hardy. Photo courtesy of Jacksonville Free Press.

Historically Black colleges and universities were originally created to educate young African Americans that were not provided educational opportunities due to racial discrimination and slavery. HBCUs are important because they provide a variety of programs college students plan to pursue, in addition to teaching African American students about their history and culture.

In comparison to most private schools, HBCUs help families in need by offering low-priced tuition. According to EveryLearner Everywhere, “Some schools even have outreach programs for families to support student success. Care at HBCUs is also expressed by making a post-secondary degree affordable for Black families.” This shows that HBCUs provide low tuition costs that help families that may not have much money. Affordable tuition is an important subject at the moment, especially under the Trump administration. 

It seems as though President Trump’s goal is to condense Black history and education. For some context, The PhD Project is an organization that promotes diversity in the workforce. According to NPR, “The Trump Education Department alleges that The PhD Project limits eligibility based on the race of participants. Therefore, universities involved with the organization are engaging in ‘race-exclusionary practices.” This type of practice is an example why there’s a need for HBCUs. With those practices in place, The Trump administration is saying that HBCUs are being unfair and not including everyone. To sum it up, under the Trump administration, HBCUs are being reshaped from what they were made for, as well as a decrease in already low funding.

HBCUs are a very important part of Black culture. Without HBCUs, black students today would not be receiving the proper education based on their history as well as equal opportunities in our society.

Violet Hardy is a 6th grade scholar at Friendship Southeast Academy.