HBCUs, #BlackLivesMatter, and the Global Pandemic

Rationale

Since January 2020, significant social and political change has taken place in the United States and abroad—the most significant sociopolitical events being the declaration of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2), hereafter COVID-19, as a global pandemic by the World Health Organization (WHO); a historic racial reckoning catalyzed, in part, by the shameful killing of George Floyd and the election of Kamala Harris who became the country’s first Black and southeast Asian woman to serve as vice president (VP). VP Harris’s election was enthusiastically embraced by many who tied the breaking of this long-standing “political glass ceiling” to gender equality advancements gained through the #MeToo movement. Others pointed to the failed policies and incendiary comments (and tweets) of (immediate-past president) Donald J. Trump as strong drivers mobilizing some conservatives, independents, and liberals to rally behind the Biden-Harris ticket. VP Harris not only appealed to political liberals, women, and people of color but polled strongly among Black voters as a graduate of one of the nation’s 101 leading historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs): Howard University.

HBCU popularity has increased in recent years for other reasons. First, many businesses and corporations pledged significant financial support to HBCUs in the wake of #BlackLivesMatter and the tragic killings of unarmed African Americans such as Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. One report estimated pledges from corporate America’s “Top 50” largest companies totaling upwards of $50 billion. Though varying in size and scope, corporate racial justice pledges ranged from $1 billion (JPMorgan Chase) to $855 million (Bank of America), from Google’s $225 million (including $50 million to HBCUs to boost diversity in tech sector) to $1 million from Texas Instruments and McDonalds, respectively.

Corporate America’s level of generosity and support has been mirrored in the philanthropic community. For instance, MacKenzie Scott’s transformative donation of over $560 million to 23 public and private HBCUs since 2020 marked one of the largest acts of financial support to HBCUs in history. For many of the HBCUs, Scott’s gift was the largest single gift ever received from an individual donor. And, in some cases, her single gift outsized the institution’s entire endowment. Scott’s gifts included $45 million to North Carolina A&T University, $40 million to Morgan State University, $6 million to Tougaloo College, and $4 million to Voorhees, to name a few.

The spotlight on HBCUs has grown brighter with prominent HBCU alumni such as Stacey Abrams taking center-stage, so to speak, during the political season and the rising tide of “celebrity kids” choosing to attend one of America’s Black colleges. Indeed, page limits will not permit a full listing of all kids of the “rich and famous” now attending HBCUs, but fairly recent arrivals include Zahara Jolie-Pitt (Spelman), Shaqir O’Neal (Texas Southern), Krista Campbell (Spelman), and Skyler Jordan (Alcorn State). Taken together, the developments discussed in this section, among others (Strayhorn et al., 2024), highlight the evolving popularity and positioning of HBCUs both now and in the future.

Now, let’s remember, HBCUs were established primarily after the Civil War to educate and train African Americans and other students who were barred admission elsewhere (Allen & Jewell, 2002). A number of federal initiatives advanced the development and expansion of HBCUs. For example, many were funded by the Morrill Act of 1890, which granted land to states for building a state college or university, and a second (and smaller) allocation after the Morrill Act of 1862 (Brown et al., 2001). Several states, like Tennessee, used these federal funds to establish separate institutions for Blacks (Tennessee State University, an HBCU) and Whites, such as the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, a predominantly White institution (PWI). Since their inception, HBCUs and PWIs have been separate but unequal, especially in terms of funding, infrastructure, campus climate, and government support.

Social unrest associated with a historic racial reckoning and the global COVID-19 pandemic have leveled the higher education “playing field” to some degree as all institutions were impacted by the “two pandemics” and virtually all colleges and universities were forced to abruptly pivot teaching, learning, and core operations online. Through remote working, virtual teaching/advising, and online (or telehealth) support services, some institutions navigated to this point in the crisis, while others have struggled, stalled operations, or closed (like Robert Morris University and McMurray College). By all accounts, the two pandemics have upended higher education and impacted the nation’s 101 accredited HBCUs and Black students attending PWIs. Yet, the research literature is thin with respect to explicit investigations of higher education amid #BlackLivesMatter and COVID-19 crises. This is the gap addressed by this issue of The Peabody Journal of Education (PJE).

About the issue

This issue of PJE pulls together research-based manuscripts from a dozen authors at eight different institutions (mostly HBCUs) to address various aspects of the core subject: HBCUs, Black Lives Matter, and/or the global COVID-19 pandemic. Manuscripts based on empirical research studies vary in methodology, theoretical frameworks, samples, and institutional context. Taken together, this issue presents high-quality, rigorous research on critical topics such as HBCUs during the two pandemics using quantitative and qualitative methods; critical, feminist, and/or antiracist frameworks; single-institution, multi-institutional, and national data sets; and evidence-based insights from small private liberal arts colleges, public research, HBCUs, and PWIs, to name a few.

Using a symbolic interactionist theoretical frame and qualitative approach, Chad Sloss analyzes phenomenological data from 17 focus groups to understand the role that cultural mistrust plays in relationship-building experiences between Black students and faculty at PWIs and HBCUs. Issues such as transparent communication, campus environment, and cultural familiarity emerge as salient factors shaping the nature of Black students’ interactions with faculty, especially White faculty at both campus types. In a separate paper, Sloss using a similar methodology to explore peer-to-peer interactions and the concept of “leveraging tokenism,” often contrasting the experiences of Black students at PWIs and HBCUs.

Drawing on narrative inquiry as a method, Alonzo Flowers dives into the importance of durable, sustainable collaborative partnerships between external allies and HBCUs. He calls attention to this symbiotic relationship that must exist and, through personal reflection, reveals how trust, historical trauma, and gaps can compromise cooperative efforts. His introspection leads to powerful revelations that provide a platform and perspective for understanding the systemic exclusion of HBCUs but also point a way forward for the future.

Turning attention to a much-needed topic—Black men’s experiences with authority figures—A. Pierre Sherrill II analyzes survey data from 400 Black men using a critical, social constructivist lens. Several steps were taken to recruit a diverse convenience sample of Black men, ultimately comprising 69% ages 22 to 60 years and 22% first-generation college students, the majority from middle- to low-income families. The study yields important insights including that Black college men generally preferred to engage or interact with Black authority figures, including campus police, faculty, and academic counselors, to name a few.

Taking up another hotly debated issue, Adriel Hilton and colleagues argue the contemporary relevance of HBCUs from a critical race theory (CRT) perspective. To be sure, HBCUs were established to provide high-quality educational opportunities for Black and/or African Americans who were denied access to other educational pathways by law (i.e., de jure). But their importance, economic impact, and collective contributions go well beyond their founding and continue to “punch above their weight” today. These authors contend with modern-day attacks on HBCUs and pivot to reframe the narrative in a way that points to a brighter future.

Much of what’s written about Black people in higher education focuses almost exclusively on students and what is written about HBCUs almost inevitably centers on the institutions themselves and Black students who attend them, which are all very important segments of the enterprise. Comparatively less attention is given to those who work at Black institutions, such as faculty, academic leaders (e.g., provosts), and chief executives. Pouring rich, data-based information into this knowledge gap, Erin Lynch draws on Black feminist thought to analyze a robust, integrated data set comprising Integrated Postsecondary Education Data Systems (IPEDS) elements, 990 tax forms, and board demographics, to name a few. Using a blend of descriptive and multivariate statistics, Dr. Lynch provides data confirming the differential rates of presidential departure or turnover at HBCUs, compared to non-HBCUs, and that HBCU presidents are more likely to be men, with only 29% of HBCUs being led by women at the time of her analysis.

Last, but certainly not least, Dr. Krystal Williams led a team of researchers to conduct a critical content analysis of HBCU bomb threats on social media. In keeping with the special issue’s strong theoretical leaning, Williams et al. drew upon CRT and critical perspectives to analyze social media posts on X (formerly Twitter), given its popularity, availability, and positioning as a site for public dialogue. Two major themes emerged pointing to the continuing significance of historical racial oppression and terrorism for Black Americans and HBCUs and to the consequences of political (in)action.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Terrell L. Strayhorn

Terrell L. Strayhorn is Professor of Education and Psychology at Virginia Union University, where he serves as Associate Provost, Interim Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences, and Director of Research in the Center for the Study of HBCUs. Author of over 13 books and more than 200 academic publications, Strayhorn is Specialty Chief Editor of Frontiers in Education and Co-Editor of Belonging journal. He leads a consulting firm that works with hundreds of schools and agencies annually.