Education


even though some critics attempt to mar- ginalize their vast accomplishments. At the same time, even though some of these critics also question their relevance in 21st century America, HBCUs are as vital and necessary as ever. When the first HBCUs were founded


prior to the Civil War (1861-1865) - Cheney State University, (originally the Institute for Colored Youth which was es- tablished after Richard Humphreys (1750- 1832), a Quaker philanthropist moved by the 1829 race riots in Philadelphia, PA be- queathed $10,000 (1/10 of his estate) to create a school for “the descendants of the African race”), the first HBCU, in Phila- delphia in 1837, Lincoln University (orig- inally Ashmun Institute) near Philadelphia in 1854 (by John Miller Dickey (1806- 1878), a Presbyterian Minister) as the first HBCU to provide a higher education in arts and sciences for Black males, and Wilberforce, the first private HBCU at an underground railroad stop (to free fleeing slaves from the “bondage of ignorance”) in Wilberforce (founded by members of the Methodist Episcopal Church and named after 18th century abolitionist Wil- liam Wilberforce (1759-1833)), Ohio in 1856, “it was illegal to teach Blacks to read and write” since literate Blacks were viewed as “dangerous” to society. Consequently, prior to the start of the


Civil War, the Black illiteracy rate exceed- ed 95% with a majority of literate Blacks concentrated in the Northeast. Further- more, due to an absence of schools to ad- dress their intellectual needs, just about every pre-Civil War era literate Black had been self-taught. Following the Civil War, the first


HBCU era (1865-1915) began when laws prohibiting Black education were rescind- ed. The number of HBCUs exploded even though ambivalence and outright hostility (translated into Jim Crow racial segrega-


48


HBCUs - Relevant and Necessary in 21st Century America H


By: William Sutherland


BCUs (Historically Black Colleges and Universities) have played a vital role in the history of U.S. education


tion laws that were enacted in 1876 and remained entrenched until 1965) remained in the defeated South. With an overwhelming demand for ed-


ucation by emancipated slaves and their families (when still intact) who were barred from attending White institutions, including a vast majority in the North (un- til the 1950s and 1960s), HBCUs (estab- lished by churches, missionary groups, and philanthropists) embarked on perhaps the greatest educational transformation in history. Out of the previously enslaved population of greater than 4 million, per Kenneth Ng, Wealth Redistribution, Race and Southern Public Schools, 1880-1910 (Education Policy Analysis Archives 13 May 2001), “Black educational achieve- ment was substantial.” Black literacy in-


www.blackeoejournal.com


creased to 10% by 1880, 50% by 1910, and 70% by 1915. Considering Plessy v. Ferguson (1896) establishing the “Sepa- rate but equal” doctrine, which in reality resulted in Blacks attending dual, inferior, under funded segregated schools, and the oppressive Southern racial laws of the era, the achievement much in part due to HBCU efforts was miraculous - in Ng’s words, “an accomplishment seldom wit- nessed in human history.” The astonishing rise in Black literacy


was primarily due to HBCUs rather than or in conjunction with the elementary and secondary schools established under Plessy v. Ferguson. Prior to the 20th cen- tury, many HBCUs had to provide ele- mentary and secondary education and college prep-type courses before students


The Black E.O.E. Journal


&


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76