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Noella Fe Says…. Why Not an HBCU?

 Why don’t African Americans send their children to HBCUs?

This article has been written a thousand times over. At the very moment of editing, floods of tweets came in from the students at Hampton University. The outrage came after the Town Hall’s yearly meeting. So many tweets of tired students not getting the attention needed to address issues within the student body and campus as a whole poured all over twitter. I felt lifted uncannily. I wasn’t sure if it was the passion in which the students held for their school, or if it was the drive they carried to improve campus life at Hampton. All colleges go thru some problems and understand that many HBCU’s just don’t have the money to cover up the mishandlings. Hampton isn’t the only school going thru rough patches but is enough that black parents and students don’t want to sign up?

Kittrell College, 1886 photo courtesy of google

An opinion held by many alumni’s is the struggle within the school will help students with the bigger struggle that they will face in the real world. Even if a student doesn’t get involved in an activity or group, they are still very active as a student at an HBCU. The culture, the excitement, let’s not forget the strength that comes out when it’s time to go against the grain. The growing pains that come with going to college are already damming, but the struggle that a black child may go through without the backing of his own can make college a living hell. Notice I said his own, not ever will I state that black students won’t mock other black students, dare I say rape doesn’t happen and drugs aren’t being used, but the first fight for the right will happen at college. Where do you want your child to be when it comes time to learn how to fight for their rights? Yeah sure, you can send them to the other side where they won’t be affected by the norm, bad food, or outrage because federal aid is slow. But then you would be giving them a false sense of how the world works, or even worse giving them a feeling of no worries.

At the same time, what makes the pie sweeter sending Jada off to L.A. instead of enrolling her in Spellman down in Atlanta? What are the thoughts that go into a parent’s head when they pass up on HBCU’s?

Weeks were spent on twitter and facebook just roaming thru the groups as there are a lot of people discussing HBCU’s. Ths mind-boggling question sent me on a journey that ended with a simple response; MONEY. Parents say HBCU’s don’t have enough, students currently enrolled say there isn’t enough money, and the school’s administration says there is not enough money.

I could go real left with this article, but I’ll keep it simple. The bigger question could be, Why isn’t there enough money? Simple, the parents don’t enroll the students so the school can’t get the grants based on enrollment, etc. The students are not their ancestors! With the forcing (oops) the aggressive competition between other schools and the hiring of crooked officials, how are HBCU’s going to make a comeback? How can we celebrate, uplift and maintain the institutions built directly for us?

It’s crazy, black panther came out, and everybody wants to bathe in the falls of Wakanda (rolls eyes) No fronting I do too! lolol. Seriously, how can we get remotely close if we won’t use the tools we have now. I feel like my generation, and further are playing hide and seek like there are pieces of a puzzle we have to find and put together to unlock some key to the hidden answer.

Why is it that we condemn that HBCU’s that have financial troubles instead of the person(s) responsible. Colleges like Kittrell, Bishop and Mary Holmes all closed because of mishandling of funds http://www.lostcolleges.com

or

Can I pose this question?

Ist Black president of a college, photo courtesy of Wikipedia

Are Black Colleges not given the same insurance coverage that the mainstream colleges are? I find it hard to believe earlier colleges were treated equally; especially if they were doing well. Sorry but all those stories about the government and said presidents were deliberately burning down establishments have me wondering.

Funny, the media makes sure we know about the financial troubles of Historically Black Colleges, but it takes some digging and a disgruntled victim to spill the tea on the counterpart. Every year black families send their children off to schools with notorious records of hate crimes that never come to light because they have big bucks to cover up the mess.

Understand that it’s a humbling thing to see these students rise and voice themselves. To witness these young black and gifted children conduct themselves with confidence that the elders’ lack fills many eyes with tears. The courage the current students hold is the same energy that the world will need to fight the brewing battle coming our way.

HBCU’s were built to give black Americans a chance at education and as a way to build black families economically and financially.  A black middle class was shaped right from the root of HBCU’s.

Currently, there are 101 Historically Black Colleges & Universities. Some of the tops of the crop hold ivy league titles, such as Howard Univerity, Spellman University, and Fisk University.

Another myth I saw floating around is that Black Colleges charge too much. Some colleges are higher than others, but by far HBCU’s are at least a third less than the average cost of tuition from their counterparts. So it makes one wonder are black people just coming up with excuses? I saw that some parents thought that there must be something wrong with the school is only $10,000. Why on earth would you complain about the cost if the cost is the main reason you complain? Very confusing.

My phone caught a virus; I couldn’t load charts for you. Out and about in New York, I found that many parents don’t send their child to an HBCU because most of them are far. It raises a serious question, are some black parents hindering their child due to their own fears? Most kids I know are not only fearless at the age of graduation but they are also ready to fly the coop. One parent, I talked to said,” Shit we from the hood, he tired of seeing black people.” I surely was not expecting that answer, on the contrary, I could see where she was coming from. Could it be possible that maybe Ray Ray needs to be around different types of black people? No offense, but her statement made me feel like the black people she and her son were around weren’t the greatest. I understand that too; I just also understand that for that reason alone, we should send our children to an HBCU so they can get a positive outlook on their self, their race, and culture.

It takes the community to support their own. HBCU’s will not survive if we don’t work together. The importance of HBCU’s lay in the HBCU’s….literally. If you have a soon to be graduate, do yourself and your child a favor, do a little research on HBCU’s and see where your graduate fit’s in, you will be thankful later.

Ok, off I go to write some more, im way behind and have ton’s to catch up too!

Until….

Noella Fe says, leave a comment below or engage on our page FB/Twitter @bazaardaily

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