On Character | Booker T. Washington, Hampton University 1875

Character is power. Booker T. Washington, Educator, Orator, Author, College President Continue reading →

On Dignity | Booker T. Washington, Hampton University 1875

No race can prosper till it learns that there is as much dignity in tilling a field as in writing a poem. Booker T. Washington, Educator, Orator, Author, College President Continue reading →

Nine Divine HBCU Sorority Sisters You Should Know

I confess. I’ve never watched a single episode of VH1’s Sorority Sisters. As a historian, as well as a social and cultural observer, I think it’s important that folk at least know what it is they are criticizing. But in this particular instance, there was no plot twist. The show was merely more of the same. … Continue reading →

On Teaching | Septima P. Clark, Benedict College ’42

We need to be taught to study rather than to believe, to inquire rather than to affirm. Septima P. Clark, Activist, Educator, Benedict College ’42, Hampton Institute (University) ’45 Continue reading →

HBCUs Are Not Merely Relevant

This content was initially offered as “The State of the Story: HBCU Relevance is a Losing Proposition,” the closing remarks of the 2014 HBCUstory Symposium, which was held in Washington, D.C. on October 24 + 25 at the Association of Public Land-grant Universities. Barnard, Wellesley, Smith, Mills and Sweet Briar are women’s colleges; no one asks … Continue reading →

On Company

Associate yourself with people of good quality, for it is better to be alone than in bad company. Booker T. Washington, educator, author, orator, Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute (Hampton University), 1875 Continue reading →

“HBCU” | A Poem by Terry E. Carter, Fisk ’80

HBCU The Freedmen’s Bureau and other concerns, provided for that which a black man yearned. Degrees which only coloreds could earn… Classrooms where only Negros could learn… At times, in the places where crosses burned. Started in churches and normal schools— mindful of bigots, haters, and fools. Money raised in a thousand ways… from collection … Continue reading →

HBCU Storyteller Spotlight: Francena McCorory, Hampton ’10

HBCU Storyteller Spotlight Gold Medalist Francena McCorory, a 2010 graduate of Hampton University, posts her billboard on Instagram Francena McCorory, a 2010 graduate of Hampton University, won a gold medal in the Women’s 4 x 400m Relay at the 2012 London Olympics. A Virginia native, the city of Hampton is celebrating her with a billboard. I run all over the world, … Continue reading →

Six Little-Known HBCU Connections to Russell Wilson

Seattle Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson’s resemblance to his father the late Harrison B. Wilson III is uncanny–but both men look like Russell’s grandfather Dr. Harrison B. Wilson, Jr. For more than 25 years, the HBCU community has held on to the glory of Grambling State University alumnus Doug Williams, the first African-American quarterback to play … Continue reading →

Saluting Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. | HBCU Standouts

Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Incorporated (ΦΒΣ) was founded on January 9, 1914 at Howard University in Washington, D.C. by three African-American men A. Langston Taylor, Leonard F. Morse, and Charles I. Brown. We salute their Founders  and thousands of HBCU Sigma men whose “cause speeds on its way.” SALUTING SIGMA STANDOUT – JAMES WELDON JOHNSON | Initiated … Continue reading →