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It can be a bittersweet feeling when students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) are proud to rep their school while also facing the challenges that may come with attending one. According to a 2022 report by the Hope Center for College, Community, and Justice (Temple University), out of a surveyed 5,000 students from 14 private and public HBCUs in the fall of 2020, 46% shared that they “ lacked sufficient food a month prior to when the survey was taken.”
Professors at a Historically Black College and University (HBCU) in Maryland are helping incarcerated men advance their education. In the fall of 2022, Bowie State University became the first HBCU in Maryland to offer a bachelor’s degree program at a correctional facility, per The Baltimore Banner.
Tones of Melanin Founder Ashley Jones transformed a side hustle into disrupting the collegiate apparel industry. While attending Norfolk State University, the Virginia Beach native designed for every organization on the campus. However, she noticed there was a void in HBCU fashion. Coming from grandparents who owned one of the first Black-owned beauty supply companies in her hometown, Jones embarked on her own entrepreneurial journey by launching Tones of Melanin.
Robert F. Smith’s Student Freedom Initiative is working to ensure more minority college students are able to cross the stage despite their financial background.
Pharrell’s Black Ambition has yet to cease supporting current and former HBCU students. In 2021, AfroTech reported on Spelman alumna Mya Havard and her co-founders being awarded $100,000 to help more people buy Black. Now, Black Ambition has backed another HBCU alumna, except this one is supporting student-parents.
The National Historically Black Colleges and Universities Week Conference is an event where the HBCU community comes together to envision how to combat the barriers it faces while also being given its flowers for its persistent advancement through it all. The annual conference is under the White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs).