A recognized month of celebration of the rich contributions made by African Americans to the greatness of America is certainly one in which all Americans can be proud. The sacrifices and contributions of those who came before us should never be forgotten, and that is why this month is so important. All of us need reminders from time to time. Unfortunately, some of the programs that will be shown on television this month are not shown during other months of the year. I hope you and your families find ways to enjoy the rich traditions of this month. Whenever we revisit our history, we are able to better understand our future.

A revisit to our history must include an understanding of the role our Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have played in the evolution of African Americans—in the growth and progress of our nation. Our ancestors, who came here under duress and against their will, understood early on that an education would be the key to freedom. Many were probably the descendants of African kings and queens and consequently, in spite of hardship and lack of freedom, they never lost their innate desire to achieve and succeed. Education of the African people who were transported to American soil was prohibited during the early years of building a new America; however, the value of an education was never misunderstood by the people who found themselves in a new land. First attempts to keep the importance of education alive were probably orchestrated in secret. Faith in a just God has often been described as the glue that kept the hope of a people alive. This faith and hope eventually led to the formation of the African-American Church Community, and through African-American churches, many of our HBCUs were formed. Most of our people know where Morehouse College is located, but it is well worth remembering that Morehouse College—the institution that formed and produced Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.; Spike Lee; Samuel Jackson; and so many other outstanding Americans—was founded and formed in the basement of a church.

It is for the aforementioned reasons that we created HBCU Today, the ultimate resource guide on HBCUs. You may have your own reasons for the pride you feel toward our HBCUs, whether it is due to personal memories or those of members of your family. As always, this is a wonderful time to celebrate our nation’s HBCUs as we celebrate African-American History Month!

This week, I—like many of you—participated in celebrations of the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. On January 18, I attended two major celebrations in Los Angeles, where I was able to hear the words of others who uplifted this giant of a man.

As I thought about how significant Dr. King’s life and work is to where we are as a people, in our respect and understanding of the importance of justice for all, I wondered just how impactful his educational roots may have been as he grew into his ultimate mission to be that “Drum Major for Justice,”—not only for African Americans but for the people of the world!

Dr. King’s life and legacy is nothing short of amazing. At a recent breakfast honoring his birthday, I heard that he entered Morehouse College reading at an eighth-grade level, but graduated as an incredible student. Was Morehouse (an environment of predominately male African Americans) the environment that Dr. King needed in order to test his thinking, his visions? Could it have been the environment, being with so many other outstanding male African-American students that convinced Martin Luther King, Jr. that his thoughts about Christianity and his vision for justice for all were indeed correct for the times?

Dr. John Wilson, Executive Director for the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and the speaker at the MLK breakfast celebration I attended in Los Angeles, spoke of the transformations that Martin Luther King, Jr. went through as he grew to be the person who would ultimately change America. Dr. Wilson acknowledged how that transformation had to do with race, describing Dr. King’s mindset as he entered Morehouse. Dr. King actually felt, at that stage in his life, that the Christianity taught to him was emotionally rich yet intellectually poor. As he grew in his thinking, he later realized that he could be an intellectual as well as a respectable minister of the Christian faith. This realization led to his unwavering commitment to non-violent protest as a way to demonstrate the inequity in how African Americans were treated by a country and government that proclaimed that “all men were created equal.”

It is my personal belief, and one shared by many others, that Morehouse College may have shaped Dr. King’s vision more so than what has been typically written. The Historically Black College/University still serves African Americans in a manner that no traditional institution can.

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This is a most exciting moment for me personally! The launch of a blog is something that I would never have thought I would be interested in just a few short years ago, but what a difference a few years can make. In 2006 I made a personal commitment to adopt a cause that would be the foundation of my “cause-related” objectives. I found that life cannot be all about career and achievement objectives. I also realized my personal life would never be about having excessive time to relax and kick back. I’ve got to be dedicated to something worthwhile, otherwise I get bored real quick! Therefore; after retiring from my last corporate experience, I chose to dedicate a major portion of my new life to supporting and promoting the incredible value of the educational opportunities and cultural experiences offered at our nation’s Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs)! I really could not think of anything I could be more passionate about and I got this way in a very different way from most. You are probably ready to ask me what HBCU I attended, and you may even be guessing at which one it might be.

My Background

I grew up in an HBCU home, but I did not attend an HBCU. I graduated from high school in Virginia at a time when certain doors were beginning to open for us as African Americans in various parts of the country. At the encouragement of counselors, I passed up a scholarship to Hampton to attend a Top 5 engineering school where I spent 5½ years learning how to design buildings. Architecture was my passion at that time, and there was nothing I wanted more than to be an architect. In those 5½ years I certainly learned the discipline of study, but I also describe myself as having been a social drop-out relative to campus activities.

The Kids

I’ll now fast-forward about twenty years. When my daughter was ready for college, I wanted her experience to be better than mine, from a cultural growth point of view, so we took her on a tour of some of the HBCUs. Fortunately for us, my daughter chose Howard University for her undergrad, and four years later my son chose Hampton for his undergraduate studies. In many ways, he went to Hampton for me. As a result of not only the quality of the education they received, and the care they received from professors who tend to treat their students as family, they became what I never could become in terms of not only getting a quality education, but gaining a cultural experience that cannot be easily duplicated on any campus other than that of an HBCU.

Our Purpose

My mother graduated from Virginia Union University and my father graduated from Hampton (it was Hampton Institute at that time). Talk about pride in the house… my mom’s Alpha Kappa Alpha pink and green was all over the place! I didn’t understand that pride in those days as I understand it today, and that is why I am so very excited about starting this blog. We are going to stay focused on education and cultural experiences. Through our conversations, we want to be a catalyst for the many voices out there that can help our readers better understand why HBCUs are as significant, relevant and important today as ever! We will address some of the issues that are threatening HBCUs, but we will also talk about value—incredible value—and why we should never ever forget those institutions that made it possible for us to get an education when others would not accept us.

As I have dedicated a major portion of my life to promoting our nation’s HBCUs, my son and I have founded an enterprise whose mission is to enhance awareness of the cultural and educational opportunities available at Historically Black Colleges and Universities, among youth in particular. The company is Black Educational Events, LLC. Our first project was to produce a Historically Black College/University Classic on the West Coast where our young people never get the chance to experience the thrills and pride associated with a black college classic event. In three short years, the Angel City Classic, held in Los Angeles, has become one of the largest classics in the country. The kids do not remember the score of the game but all remember the BANDS!

As we interacted with students in the school system in Los Angeles and surrounding communities, we discovered a real thirst among the kids for more information on HBCUs. This experience motivated us to create a publishing division that has now published a most unique resource guide on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, HBCU Today. The guide is over 300 pages and it is really unlike anything we found in our research. In the book we talk about the history of the schools, the cultural experiences gained, highlights of some of the world-class programs offered, and profiles on each of the Historically Black Colleges and Universities. The book also contains a resource section with tips on the application process and a listing of scholarships and college tour services. Check out www.blackeducationalevents.com to learn more about the Angel City Classic and HBCU Today. Of course, I feel every young person in the nation needs the information contained in HBCU Today. I know you would expect the publisher to say that, but I do hope you check it out. You may not need the book yourself, but it makes an excellent gift for that young person contemplating secondary education.

Our business projects will continue to expand and we will offer more and more events, products and services to enhance awareness of our HBCUs and promote the educational and cultural excellence the schools represent. We will keep you abreast of our activities and progress but most importantly, we want to create a conversation—a conversation that will help students better understand why HBCUs should be strongly considered when making that most important decision about a college or university. We want the conversation to be helpful to parents who struggle with making recommendations, because oftentimes, they may not know enough to help as effectively as they would like. We know that many teachers and counselors do not know enough about HBCUs to promote or recommend them as effectively as they could. We also know that, at present, there are approximately 275,000 to 280,000 students enrolled at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. I actually believe our conversations can help to increase enrollment across the country!

HBCU News

There are some in the country who feel we no longer need Historically Black Colleges and Universities, and that’s when you get me really fired up! In the state of Mississippi, there is much debate about Governor Haley Barbour’s suggestion that three of the states Historically Black Colleges and Universities merge. The three schools are Jackson State University, Alcorn State University and Mississippi Valley State University. The state has a budget shortfall of approximately $500 million and the suggested merger is estimated to save the state approximately $35 million. However; what ramifications are associated with this suggested merger? If financial savings is the primary motive, and we have lost sight of the tremendous contributions these schools have made in educating and cultivating young people who need a different type of atmosphere and approach to the educational process, the state could end up saving a few dollars but losing out in developing future leaders and productive citizens for the state. Dr. John Wilson, head of President Obama’s Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities, recently stated that he opposed the motivation of the merger. I happen to be of the opinion that some of these debates, and some of the challenges faced by many of our HBCUs, would be eliminated were they experiencing increasing enrollments versus decreasing enrollments in so many cases. Enrollments equate to revenue, and when enrollments are decreasing, revenue is also decreasing. Prairie View A&M University recently experienced a record-breaking freshman class, so what a school does to promote its programs and culture, through its alumni and supporters, has everything to do with how the university sustains itself, grows and prospers, or whether it struggles for survival.

The concerns mentioned in the previous paragraph belong to all of us who are respectful and appreciative of what these institutions (HBCUs) have meant to us personally and/or our families. As African Americans in this country, regardless of where we ultimately received our education, all of us are indebted to those who founded our Historically Black Colleges and Universities. These institutions were founded by a wise generation—our ancestors—who realized that education was the biggest key to freedom! Most of our HBCUs were founded, directly or indirectly, by an African-American church. Morehouse College was founded in the basement of a church! These are the kinds of stories that we should never ever forget. Youth today are informed of where Dr. Martin Luther King received his undergraduate education (Morehouse College), consequently they hear of Morehouse; but do they know the real story of Morehouse? I could say the same for any of our HBCUs—do we know the real stories? These are the stories we should never forget!

Were it not for the fact that our HBCUs enabled many of our parents, grandparents and great-grandparents to attain the dream of higher education, none of us would have the opportunity to pursue our education wherever we choose. Through this blog, we will start telling the real stories of our HBCUs—stories more powerful than any brochure or catalog.

Talk to Me

We would love to hear your thoughts and perspectives on our HBCUs.

Simply click on the word “Comments” below this line to your right and start sharing. As the conversation continues, so many others will benefit from the insights and perspectives shared here.