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HBCUs : DEFYING THE ODDS, REDEFINING THE FUTURE
BY ABDUL-HAKEEM IMORO
T he story of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) is often one that points to persistency in the eye of the storm. While some HBCUs have folded up over the years, the last to close its doors was Concordia College in 2018. The remaining 101 HBCUs have kept their heads above the water. Majority of the challenges that confront these institutions are the lack of funding and infrastructure. Beyond the foregone institutional challenges lies the uphill task of efficiently running some of these colleges tailored to minority students. Despite the challenges that confront HBCUs, Stanley Nelson and Marco Williams, in their 2018 movie: Tell Them We Are Rising, shared that these institutions are rising rods in the skies of higher education. The resilience seen in HBCUs today embodies a long history that began with slavery and, subsequently, denial of access to education for Black men and women. The emergence of Cheyney University of Pennsylvania in 1837 as the first HBCU brought a significant change in the education trajectory for Black people in America. Cheyney University signaled
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