Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs)

Introduction

Historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are the academic institution that came into existence before 1964, intending to educate African Americans youths. This is in consideration that black Americans faced the most significant struggles to get educated. These struggles were, however, guided by the clergy, black revolutionists, and the philosophies of black scholars, some of who believed that there was no progress without struggle. The benefactors such as John Rockefeller, for instance, contributed to the establishment of Spelman College in Atlanta with the mission of according the black students a shot in the country as had been highly ravaged by the throes of JR laws.

It is also worth pointing out that a larger percentage of the HBCUs were established in the areas of slave centers where significant challenges had been presented to the African Americans who had greater ambitions and hopes of pursuing higher education but were consistently discriminated against. Bearing this in mind, there are quite a several socio-economic, legal, and political factors that contributed to the expansion of HBCUs within the United States.

Evaluates the political, legal, and socio-economic factors which lead to the creation and expansion of either HBCUs, tribal colleges, or MSIs

To begin with, several political factors led to the development of these learning institutions in the US. One such factor is the creation of anti-discrimination laws within the settings of higher learning institutions. This offered a fantastic opportunity for the African American colleges and academic centers like HBCUs to prosper or succeed even at enrolling more students. Nevertheless, a significant deal of black American students has shown an increased preference towards the predominantly white learning institutions also though HBCUs have been growing and expanding in terms of population and region over the past years. This implies that regardless of their considerable growth over the past years, HBCUs’ share in terms of national enrollment has significantly reduced in recent years. This stagnation of decline in enrollment has been contributed by two significant factors, which include the decision by the Adams court to disintegrate higher education, particularly in the south, and the expansion of white colleges in the US.

In terms of legal factors, however, it should be noted that politics forms a fundamental foundation of the American legal culture. This is in consideration that the individuals who are actively involved in politics and political activities in the US, for instance, have a unique opportunity of enforcing ideologies as well as new laws that are perceived to be of greater impact and significance in the overall advancement and development of people’s wellbeing. The political pundits have, however, failed on numerous occasions to acknowledge and approve policies that have an impact on the progress and development of HBCUs. In the same note, it is worth stating that the Pell Grant funding, which has been expanded in the recent past, has considerably led to the development and expansion of HBCUs. Nevertheless, there have been issues concerning the policies that relate the disproportionate distribution of financial aid to the low-income students who mainly comprise of the black American students. Nevertheless, it is essential to underscore the fact that politicians have been keen to enact policies and laws that increases and supports the development and progression of HBCUs for the interest of political mileage.

In terms of socio-economic factors, culture has been a significant social factor that influences the establishment and expansion of HBCUs. Just like their white counterparts, the African Americans wanted to feel a sense of belonging and identify with the HBCUs in the same way the white oriented colleges and universities did. Similarly, languages and cultural traditions of the black Americans and those of other minority groups were neither given prominence nor recognized in most white-dominated colleges. This explains why HBCUs were created with the sole mandate of advocating for the recognition and respect of the cultural traditions of the African Americans while countering their harsh treatments in the white-dominated universities and colleges by their white counterparts.

Discrimination and racism is another social factor that prompted the expansion of HBCUs in the United States. As have been previously mentioned, most HBCUs popped up at the times when African Americans faced persistent slavery where they were exposed to inhumane treatments and tortured in the hands of the whites. Mots of black Americans were forced to work in white settlers plantations without or with little pay. Save for the fact that the number of black students to HBCUs has reduced in terms of enrollment in the present times, the defenders and advocators of these institutions offered a positive environment where the students who had trouble and issues in surviving in the white-dominated settings had an opportunity to flourish.

Analyzes the current social, economic, or political challenges facing these institutions in contemporary higher education

Most of the government directed policy changes have, on most occasions, damaged or hindered the progress and development of HBCUs. The US department of education, for instance, in 2011, readjusted its lending policies to align its lending practices with the traditional bank conditions when it comes to the way of income and creditworthiness. While all American colleges and universities were affected following this legislation, HBCUs were hit harder, considering that they lost over $50 million in just after one year following the implementation of this policy.

HBCUs have, however, remained heaven and hope for the disadvantaged students, something which has dramatically impacted the higher educational institutions. The existing achievement gap, particularly for the K-12, has been narrowing; however, when it comes to the number of students who graduate from high schools, a vast majority of African American students end up dropping out of colleges and universities due to financial constraints. While the HBCUs were founded with the primary goals of serving students from low-income backgrounds, the reduced grants from charitable institutions and government funding have placed these institutions into a severe financial crisis, which has dramatically undermined their progress and advancement.

Cultural assimilation, as well as the aspiration to showcase superiority while despising the inferiority cases which has been fueled against the black Americans in the past, is another critical factor that has influenced the development and advancement of higher learning institutions in the US. This has significantly contributed to the decline in enrollment rates in HBCUs and the rise in white colleges following the increasing need for relevance in the contemporary educational landscape.

Analyze the opportunities of these institutions in shaping public policy and societal change

The American population in recent times is increasingly becoming diverse. This is in consideration that people from different parts of the world are making endless tours to American universities and colleges with various objectives such as education. Higher education has become explicitly one of the most excellent drives that make students migrate to the US. This implies that the issue of multiculturalism in terms of social perspective has significantly influenced HBCUs in ancient times. This has been viewed as unique and a perfect opportunity for these learning institutions to influence societal and policy change. Besides, the drop in literacy rates has minimized the burden of proving that American colleges and universities good-intentioned for all students, including African American students.

Moreover, politics, as having been mentioned earlier, is a vital pillar in American society. In light of this, these students who graduate from HBCUs and other tribal colleges and end up being involved in politics are often keen on formulating and reinforcing policies and ideologies that are in support of the wellbeing and existence of minority groups. Besides, it should be noted that the increased literacy rates among the minority population groups are among the significant factors that have earned the black Americans respect in the US. This is well manifested in the case of the former President Barrack Obama, who was allowed to lead the US for two complete terms. Also, the HBCUs have been essential in the development of black professionals. This is in consideration that these institutions for decades have educated a population living under social, political, economic, education, and legal restrictions. They were established to train preachers, teachers as well as other professionals to remedy the slavery despair that scared most black Americans.

Conclusion

In conclusion, the historically black colleges and universities have had a peculiar chapter in postsecondary education history. Regardless of the many obstacles faced by these institutions, they are currently at least 3 percent of such institutions among higher learning institutions in the US. Therefore, while these institutions have achieved remarkable success in the past years, it is worth investigating the diversity and unique identity they bring to American higher education.

References

Ingram, T. N., & Coaxum III, J. (Eds.). (2018). Engaging African American Males in Community Colleges. IAP.

Prince, C. B., & Ford, R. L. (Eds.). (2016). Setting a New Agenda for Student Engagement and Retention in Historically Black Colleges and Universities. IGI Global.

Harper, B. E. (2019). African American access to higher education: the evolving role of historically black colleges and universities.

Esters, L., Washington, A., Gasman, M., Commodore, F., O’Neal, B., Freeman, S., & Jimenez, D. (2016). Effective leadership: A toolkit for the 21st-century historically Black college and university president. Penn Center for Minority Serving Institutions.