Here We Go Again: Are HBCUs Still Relevant?

I've been writing and rewriting my response for the past ten minutes but no matter how I say it, I'm going to ruffle some feathers. But what else is new? :D

****DISCLAIMER: the views expressed here are solely those of my somewhat bougie, pseudo-elitist, quasi-militant, bluntly outspoken self.*****

I graduated from a PWI (predominately white institution) and if I had to do it all over again, I would do the same thing.

Why? Because the way we regard our HBCUs (historically black colleges and universities) is a microcosm of how we regard our community: we do not seem to have an overall comittment to excellence these days. Some may say that I think the white man's ice is colder; it's not a question of the white man's ice being colder, but of the white man usually having ice in the first place.

Back in the day, it used to really mean something to attend an HBCU, especially the "major" ones like Howard, Fisk, Hampton, Spelman, Morehouse, Tuskegee (shoot, my mother attended Spelman). The Talented Tenth attended these schools and during a time when education was a priority and upward mobility was expected (honest trades, doctors, lawyers, teachers, accountants).

(and if you don't know what the Talented Tenth is, look it up)

Nowadays, HBCUs seem to be synonymous with marching bands and step shows; School Daze,Drumline, and Stomp the Yard may have done our community more harm than good...and we as a people haven't done much of a job in dissuading those who will be hiring students from those colleges, from this particular point of view. We as a people already have a mythical reputation of being lazy, partygoing (to the exclusion of all else), underachieving, and hypersexed...and don't forget loving to dance. *rolling eyes* Why add fuel to the fire?

Then there is the financial aid issue. I remember my senior year and while some classmates (those whose parents weren't paying for their education) were struggling to get money and housing from HBCUs so that they could attend, I and other classmates who attended PWIs had our education paid for by those institutions...and on-campus housing too.

Secondly: giving back. Why are endowments so low across the board? A college education used to be considered like a prize pearl; so why are HBCUs not maintained to reflect that prized status (since campus upgrades, etc.are largely funded by alumni donations)? Why do we have to wait for a Bill and Camille Cosby to drop a few million here and there, especially when the doors are threatening to be closed on an institution? The alumni of PWIs come out of pocket on the regular, and it shows: better stocked libraries, recent technology, maintained and updated grounds, research programs, and yes: scholarships for need-based students such as myself.

Which brings up the topic of admissions. With all due respect, the admissions requirements for most HBCUs tend to be lower than comparable institutions. Perhaps this is to give ALL students a chance at an education, and I'm not mad about that, but people tend to take for granted that which is easily obtained. We are not a stupid people, so why are we not challenged to show that off the break? Okay, everyone may not want a challenge and just want to go through life without rocking the boat, and that's your business. But if we want to retain the best and the brightest who do, we've got to give them something to sink their teeth into. Raising the required SAT scores and/or GPAs isn't going to kill us.

Someone brought up a good point: organization and customer service. The same argument of HBCUs vs. PWIs can be applied to BOBOs (black owned/black operated) businesses vs. white businesses. We seem to think that the color of our skin is a predicate for automatic support--regardless of the way we handle things--and that thinking is across the board: businesses, marriages, politics. Look at how we as a community blindly support Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and the Democratic Party (but that's a whole 'nother discussion).

Which brings me to my final point: are HBCUs still relevant? Perhaps, but they need to first treat themselves as relevant, which means investing in curricula and not aesthetics (new buildings, etc.). Pretty campuses are all well and good, but that's just putting a dress on a pig. Everything ain't for everybody, and everybody isn't built for a PWI. But until HBCUs step up their game and make a conscious effort to provide a viable alternative to PWIs, things won't really change.

Thanks for stopping by.

T.