Students and alumni of Howard University, alma mater of Vice President-elect Kamala Harris, gather on campus to celebrate her victory with President-elect Joe Biden, Saturday evening, Nov. 7, 2020. Harris, a daughter of Indian and Jamaican immigrants, is set to become the highest-ranking woman in the nation’s history. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
Historically Black Colleges and Universities have existed in the United States since 1837. Decades before the abolishment of slavery, these institutions promoted access to education, as a path toward freedom. Today, there are over 100 HBCUs across the country, graduating roughly 20% of Black students. So, what exactly are the institutions and why are they so important?
This hour, we’ll hear from a student and a professor at an HBCU in Texas who are drawing on their institution’s long history to protect voting rights. We’ll also learn more about the history of HBCUs – how they disrupted the notions of leadership and excellence to elevate Black communities.
GUESTS:
Maia Young – 2020 graduate of Prairie View A&M University
Dr. Melanye Price – Endowed political science professor at Prairie View A&M University, author of The Race Whisperer: Barack Obama and the Political Uses of Race, and “HBCUs Are Our Past – And Our Future”, a January article for Elle Magazine
Dr. Jelani M. Favors – Associate professor of history at Clayton State University and author of Shelter in a Time of Storm: How Black Colleges Fostered Generations of Leadership and Activism
MORE FROM EPISODE:
Want to learn more about New Haven’s 1831 failed black college proposal? Click here to listen to “A People’s History of Dixwell” walking tour, voiced by Metropolitan Business Academy students in New Haven.
Special thanks to Dameon Dillard, a 2020 graduate of Metropolitan High School in New Haven.
