About Historically Black Colleges and Universities

"Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) were established in the United States early in the 19th century, to provide undergraduate and graduate level educational opportunities to people of African descent. Black students were unwelcome at existing public and private institutions of higher education (IHEs), even after the passing of specific legislation, resulting in a lack of higher education opportunities. 

In 1799, Washington and Lee University admitted John Chavis who is noted as the first African American on record to attend college.  However, the first African American to have earned a bachelor’s degree from an American university, Alexander Lucius Twilight, graduated from Middlebury College in 1823. Three decades later, Mary Jane Patterson was the first African American woman to earn a bachelor’s degree, graduating from the Abolitionist-centered Oberlin College in 1862.  These individuals were singular in accessing higher education.

Richard Humphreys established the African Institute (now Cheyney University) in 1837 in Pennsylvania, making it the oldest HBCU in the United States.  Its mission was to teach free African Americans skills for gainful employment.  Students were taught reading, writing and basic math alongside religion and industrial arts.  During the 1850s, three more HBCUs were founded: Miner Normal School (1851) in Washington, D.C.; Lincoln University (1854) in Pennsylvania; and Wilberforce (1856) in Ohio. The African Methodist Episcopal Church established Wilberforce University, the first HBCU operated by African Americans.  The provision of education for people of African descent in early America was recognized by some as unnecessary and criminal, while others saw it as essential and vital. 

The majority of HBCUs originated from 1865-1900, with the greatest number of HBCUs started in 1867, two years after the Emancipation Proclamation: Alabama State University, Barber-Scotia College, Fayetteville State University, Howard University, Johnson C. Smith University, Morehouse College, Morgan State University, Saint Augustine’s University and Talladega College. Over a century later, HBCUs were still being established with J.F. Drake State Technical College (1961), University of the Virgin Islands (1962), Southern University at Shreveport (1967) and Morehouse School of Medicine (1975).  Technically, HBCUs are those IHEs established prior to 1964, to educate persons of African descent. Those founded after 1964 are known as predominantly Black institutions (PBIs), but are included in this study as part of the 101 HBCUs.  The technical definition of a PBI, as established in the Higher Education Act of 2008, includes the following criteria: at least 40% African-American students, minimum of 1,000 undergraduates, have at least 50% low-income or first-generation degree seeking undergraduate students, and have a low per full-time undergraduate student expenditure in comparison with other institutions offering similar instruction. These qualifications reflect conditions in which HBCUs operate, and indicate that since their founding, HBCUs have continued to serve their core constituencies: students who are of African descent, and/or first-generation, and/or low-income.

Approximately 89% of all HBCUs are in the southern region of the United States, although they can be found in Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.  North Carolina hosts eleven HBCUs, Louisiana has seven and Alabama has twelve. While many consider HBCUs to be a homogeneous group, there are levels of diversity within this unique classification of institutions, not only by academic distinction and socioeconomic status but also in student demographics. In addition, HBCUs have diverse classifications: public, private, denominational, liberal arts, land-grant, independent university systems, single-gender serving, research-based, large and small, with enrollment numbers that can range from less than 300 to over 11,000 students. " 

Alabama
Alabama A&M University- Huntsville
Alabama State University- Montgomery
Bishop State Community College - Mobile
Concordia University-Alabama- Selma (closed 2018)
Gadsden State College- Gadsden
J.F. Drake State Technical College- Huntsville
Lawson State Community College- Birmingham
Miles College- Fairfield
Miles School of Law- Fairfield *
Oakwood University- Huntsville
Selma University- Selma
Shelton State Community College- Tuscaloosa
Stillman College- Tuscaloosa
Talladega College- Talladega
Tuskegee University- Tuskegee
H. Councill Trenholm State Community College- Montgomery

Arkansas
University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff- Pine Bluff
Arkansas Baptist College- Little Rock
Philander Smith College- Little Rock
Shorter College- North Little Rock

Delaware
Delaware State University- Dover

District of Columbia
University of the District of Columbia
Howard University

Florida
Bethune Cookman University- Daytona Beach
Edward Waters University- Jacksonville
Florida A&M University- Tallahassee
Florida Memorial University- Miami Gardens

Georgia
Albany State University- Albany
Carver College*- Atlanta
Clark Atlanta University- Atlanta
Fort Valley State University- Fort Valley
Interdenominational Theological Center- Atlanta
Johnson C Smith Theological Seminary*- Atlanta
Morehouse College- Atlanta
Morehouse School of Medicine- Atlanta
Morris Brown College- Atlanta
Paine College- Augusta
Savannah State University- Savannah
Spelman College- Atlanta

Kentucky
Kentucky State University- Frankfort
Simmons College of Kentucky- Louisville

Louisiana
Dillard University-New Orleans
Grambling State University- Grambling
Southern University and A&M College- Baton Rouge
Southern University New Orleans- New Orleans
Southern University-Shreveport- Shreveport
Xavier University- New Orleans

Maryland
Bowie State University- Bowie
Coppin State University- Baltimore
University of Maryland- Eastern Shore- Princess Anne
Morgan State University- Baltimore

Michigan
Lewis College of Business- Detroit (Closed 2013)

Mississippi
Alcorn State University- Lorman
Coahoma Community College- Clarksdale
Hinds County Community College- Utica
Jackson State University- Jackson
Mississippi Valley State University- Itta Bena
Rust College- Holly Springs
Tougaloo College- Tougaloo

Missouri
Harris-Stowe State University- St. Louis
Lincoln University- Jefferson City

North Carolina
Barber-Scotia College**- Concord
Bennett College- Greensboro
Elizabeth City State University- Elizabeth City
Fayetteville State University- Fayetteville
Hood Theological Seminary*- Salisbury
Johnson C. Smith University- Charlotte
Livingstone College- Salisbury
North Carolina Central University- Durham
North Carolina A&T State University- Greensboro
Shaw University- Raleigh
St. Augustine's University- Raleigh
Winston-Salem State University- Winston Salem

Ohio
Central State University- Wilberforce
Payne Theological Seminary*- Wilberforce
Wilberforce University- Wilberforce

Oklahoma
Langston University- Langston

Pennsylvania
Cheyney University- Cheyney
The Lincoln University- Lincoln University

South Carolina
Allen University- Columbia
Benedict College- Columbia
Claflin University- Orangeburg
Clinton College- Rock Hill
Denmark Technical College- Denmark
Morris College- Sumter
South Carolina State University- Orangeburg
Voorhees University- Denmark


Tennessee
American Baptist University- Nashville
Fisk University- Nashville
Knoxville College**- Knoxville
Lane College- Jackson
LeMoyne Owen College- Memphis
Meharry Medical College
Tennessee State University- Nashville

Texas
Huston-Tillotson University- Austin
Jarvis Christian University- Hawkins
Paul Quinn College- Dallas
Prairie View A&M University- Prairie View
Southwestern Christian College- Terrell
St. Philip's College- San Antonio
Texas College- Tyler
Texas Southern University- Houston
Wiley University- Marshall

US Virgin Islands
University of the Virgin Islands- St. Thomas &  St. Croix

Virginia
Hampton University- Hampton
Norfolk State University- Norfolk
Saint Paul's College- Lawrenceville (closed 2013)
Virginia State University- Petersburg
Virginia Union University- Richmond
Virginia University of Lynchburg- Lynchburg


West Virginia
Bluefield State College- Bluefield
West Virginia State University- Institute