Historically black colleges and universities

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Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are institutions of higher education in the United States that were established before 1964 with the intention of serving the African American community. ^[1]

[edit] Overview

There are 110 historically black colleges in the United States today, including public and private, two-year and four-year institutions, medical schools and community colleges.^[2]

The Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended, defines an HBCU as: "...any historically black college or university that was established prior to 1964, whose principal mission was, and is, the education of black Americans, and that is accredited by a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association determined by the Secretary [of Education] to be a reliable authority as to the quality of training offered or is, according to such an agency or association, making reasonable progress toward accreditation." ^[3]

Other educational institutions currently have large numbers of African Americans in their student body, but as they were founded (or opened their doors to African Americans) after the implementation of the Brown v. Board of Education ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court (the court decision which outlawed racial segregation of public education facilities) and The Higher Education Act of 1965, they are not historically black colleges, but have been termed "predominantly black." At the same time, some historically black colleges now have non-black majorities, with one especially notable example being West Virginia State University, whose student body has been roughly 90 percent white since the mid-1960s.

[edit] Impact of Higher Education Act of 1965 renewal

The pending renewal of the Higher Education Act of 1965, scheduled to occur in 2008, may add additional requirements for schools to qualify for federal funding as a HBCU. As of April 2008, the proposed legislation, in addition requiring HBCUs to have been founded before 1964, would require the schools to have no less than 1,000 undergraduate students, have at least 40 percent of its students be US citizens of African-American decent, and have at least 50 percent of all undergraduates enrolled at the institution be either low-income individuals (eligible for Pell Grants, etc.) or first generation college students.^[4]

[edit] See also

• List of historically black colleges of the United States
• List of black college football classics

[edit] Further reading

• Cohen, Rodney T.. The Black Colleges of Atlanta (College History Series). 
• Stephen, Provasnik; Shafer, Linda L. (November 21, 2004 (2004-11-21)). "Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 1976 to 2001". Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 1976 to 2001 (NCES 2004–062), Washington, DC: Government Printing Office: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics. Retrieved on 2008-01-03. 

[edit] Notes

[edit] External links

• Twilight and Reason: Higher Education and the African American Experience
• The History of HBCUs
• National Association for Equal Opportunity in Higher Education - organization representing and supporting historically and predominantly black colleges and universities.
• Black College Wire - news service to promote the journalistic work of students at predominantly black colleges and universities
• The Black Collegian - a career and self development magazine targeted to African-American students
• White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities - details about this federal initiative, including its history and recent achievements
• HBCU Central @ AOL Black Voices
• Black College Bands

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