Myth #1: HBCUs are no longer necessary. (The “but Black students are no longer barred from admission at other institutions” argument.)

Not every Black student applying to university feels the need to study in a community like the ones fostered on HBCU campuses, and many Black students have truly wonderful experiences at PWIs. That is not the case for everyone, though. Many Black university students are in a position where they would feel better (and subsequently perform better) in an environment where they feel safer, more supported, and perhaps better represented. For many Black students, their college experience is the first time in their lives that these feelings of safety and support will be available.

Myth #2: HBCUs aren’t as “good” and HBCU graduates have fewer opportunities.

Our VP, Kamela Harris, Toni Morrison and Thurgood Marshall went to Howard. Oprah Winfrey went to Tennessee State. Marilyn Mosby, current state attorney of Baltimore, and Lonnie Johnson, inventor of the Super Soaker, went to Tuskegee. Marian Wright Edelman, president and founder of the Children’s Defense Fund, went to Spelman. Kasim Reed, mayor of Atlanta, went to Morehouse.

Not to conflate profession and education, but the history is pretty clear. HBCUs graduate some of the greatest minds in the country each and every year. Many HBCUs have highly ranked academic programs (Howard is a national leader in civil rights law, for example), and graduate schools and corporations recruit heavily from HBCUs. Some PWIs benefit from iniquitous endowments that have grown during decades of inequality, but HBCUs are neither starved for resources nor short on opportunities. In fact, HBCUs benefit from massive government funding resources specifically aimed at helping sidestep some of the systemic disadvantages faced by the communities most heavily served by minority-serving institutions. HBCU alumni networks are also some of the most active in the nation, and there is a heavy emphasis on networking for undergraduates at most of these campuses.

Myth #3: HBCUs are Party Schools.

Every school has parties. The National Lampoon franchise is about Dartmouth, an Ivy League college. Yale has campus-wide foam parties, and Columbia literally has a bacchanal on campus. Some schools are a bit better known than others for the shenanigans students engage in, but HBCUs run the gamut when it comes to how much or how little partying there is on campus.

Myth #4: HBCUs are only for Black students.

This one is patently false! About 20% of students enrolled at HBCUs do not identify as Black. Black students are the majority on HBCU campuses, but diversity is still important for these students and these institutions. HBCUs understand that to silo students would be to limit them. HBCUs are great places for anyone interested in a college experience where minority culture is majority culture. They are great places for students interested in contributing to and being a part of campus communities devoted to equity in academia. They are great campuses for students interested in learning how to put aside unconscious biases. They are great campuses for anyone who is not afraid to study in a place where Black culture is centered, rather than sidelined.