Historically, black colleges and universities face a cultural identity crisis

Historically, black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have seen a new wave of sizeable donations and interest from notable talent, but attention has also highlighted issues of cultural identity.

Why it matters: Over the past decade, declining enrollment in HBCUs, which were created to provide access to higher education for black people during slavery, has resulted in schools actively recruiting non-black students.

Historically, black colleges and universities (HBCUs) are seeing a new wave of sizeable donations and interest from notable talent, but attention has also highlighted issues of cultural identity.

Why it matters: Over the past decade, declining enrollment at HBCUs, which were created to provide access to higher education for black people during slavery, has resulted in schools actively recruiting non-black students.

• This trend has raised concerns among black alumni and students who want to make sure the HBCU’s legacy – and its focus on the black experience – continues.

The big picture: Most black students choose HBCUs because they feel connected to the college culture and community, said Robert Palmer, a professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at Howard University.

• “This HBCU is a place where we came to be with people who are like us, our culture, our experiences that can relate to our problems, and also to have a sense of sincerity”, he said.
• But it’s also why “there’s a feeling that” [non-Black students] are intruders, ”he remarked.

The history: In the early 19th century, three high schools for black students were established in Pennsylvania and Ohio. But schools for black students did not flourish until after 1890 when a law required states either to demonstrate that race was not a factor in admission or to provide separate land-granting facilities for colored people.

• After the 1954 Brown versus Education Committee Supreme Court decision, black students had more options and enrolled in non-HBCUs.
• Schools had to ensure strong enrollment by marketing themselves differently per TIME to cover the cost of new facilities, faculties, or activities.

According to the numbers: Today, the growth of more than 100 HBCUs is concentrated on the south and east coasts alongside over 500 Hispanic facilities; about 30 tribal colleges and universities; and approximately 100 institutions serving Asia-American and Native American Pacific Islanders.

Game Status: Enrollment at HBCUs has increasingly taken in non-black students over the decades, federal data shows.

• In 2018, 24% of HBCUs enrolled were non-black students compared to 15% in 1976.
• As HBCUs sought out more non-black students, a handful – like West Virginia State University and Bluefield State College – became overwhelmingly white, which was causing racial tension.

What you say: When a traditionally black room becomes predominantly white, its identity and culture inevitably change, as research shows.

• Baigen Seawell, a 2019 graduate of West Virginia State University, told Axios that white students typically don’t know the history of the university and why it was necessary from the start.
• Incidents on campus – inclusive the government’s belated response to the death of George Floyd, the racist talk of a white professor, and The presence of the controversial right-wing group – Turning Point USA – has also left black students feeling insecure and disaffected, while black alumni are concerned “we are losing our HBCU,” Seawell said.

Black students at the WVSU sometimes think they’re missing out on the “HBCU experience,” said Joey Oden, a WVSU alum who now serves as the university’s vice president of student affairs.

• But there isn’t a clear definition of the HBCU experience, and the evolution of HBCUs reflects that, he noted.
• What is important is that non-black HBCU students make it their responsibility to raise their black counterparts, Seawell said. “Do your due diligence in what you are trying to be a part of.”