Are Historically Black University's Still Relevant?

Not too long ago, Blacks were not allowed or encouraged to attend traditional universities creating out of necessity the dozens of historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) spread out across the United States. It was during this severe racially divisive era, that blacks under sheer will power to learn sought to build solid educational communities created of and by themselves. 

Now that the world has steadily become more integrated, many black students who go on to further their education are choosing to not attend HBCUs. Over the last twenty years HBCUs have since seen their enrollment slowly dissipate and many of them face financial hardships due to mismanagement or misappropriation of funds. An example of this is the constant financial troubles of Shaw University in Raleigh, NC. 

Not to say that they all face hardships but as the world becomes more diverse, greater numbers of young people are finding that attending all black universities are not indicative of what today's job force looks like. Less students are choosing to forgo HBCU's because many of them just do not have the same experiences of racism that our forefathers faced and therefore do not see the value in them. Unfortunately, our HBCU's have not done a great job of highlighting the benefits of attending an majority black college or university. 

HBCU's are a great sense of pride in black communities and the future of these institutions are becoming less clear. North Carolina A&T University has one of the strongest followings in a state which includes such powerhouses as the University of North Carolina, N.C. State, Duke University, and Wake Forest University just to name a few.  Their events brings support form former alumni and fans from all over the country each year and they boast an impressive resume of alumni and faculty. 


Thanks to many supportive alumni and celebrities like Tom Joyner, who founded a scholarship program for HBCU students, many HBCUs continue to flourish. 

Do you think that historically black colleges and universities are still relevant?