Public Black Colleges & Universities

This paper will discuss the role played by historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in higher education in the United States. The position of this paper is that HBCUs continue to play an important role in the higher education system in this country, despite the process of desegregation which began forty years ago. The first part of the paper will examine HBCUs under four organizational theories. The second part of the paper will discuss the underlying assumptions and issues involving the continuing existence of HBCUs. The third part of the paper will look at some of the data concerning the positive effect HBCUs have on black students. The final part of the paper will summarize the opposing arguments concerning HBCUs and present an argument in favor of the continued existence of HBCUs.

The major issues involved in this controversy are: (1) the effect of HBCUs on African Americans, particularly black students; and (2) the problem of segregation with regard to HBCUs. It will be shown that HBCUs continue to have a very important, and positive, effect on the African American community, providing a unique opportunity for black students who might not otherwise be successful at predominantly white institutions. These important effects outweigh the negative aspects of continued segregation at HBCUs; in fact, the overwhelmingly African American atmosphere at these institutions is important to the continued suc

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ntil the last twenty years, they issued the majority of baccalaureate degrees given to African Americans in the United States. Even today, black students at HBCUs have a higher graduation rate than black students at other colleges and HBCU graduates constitute a disproportionate share of the total number of black professionals and others in leadership positions in society. Those who argue against increasing the representation of other racial and ethnic groups at HBCUs rely heavily on the symbolic value of HBCUs in American society (Allen, 1992, pp. 35-41; Jacques & Hall, 1984, pp. 402-404; Historically Black Colleges, 1991, pp. 7-9). Underlying Assumptions and the Issues in a Social Context As might be noticed from the brief discussion above, the core issues concerning HBCUs do not readily lend themselves to analysis under organizational scenarios. The reason for this is that these issues deal with the primary mission of HBCUs, educating black students who have been historically denied the opportunities of white students. They try to do this by providing a predominantly black atmosphere on campus, enrolling a student body which is predominantly black or minority. This policy is admittedly segregationist and has recently been
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Bolman Deal, Black Colleges, Proponents HBCUs, African American, Harvey Williams, Education System, Argument HBCUs, Social Context, African Americans, Jacques Hall, black students, black institutions, white institutions, predominantly white, historically black, black colleges, predominantly white institutions, historically black colleges, 1992 pp, american society, african american, 1991 pp, jacques hall 1984, black colleges 1991, harvey williams 1989,
Approximate Word count = 2410
Approximate Pages = 10 (250 words per page)

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