6:07
- culture
- February 14, 2022
Exploring the importance of HBCUs now and forever
HBCUs continue to play an integral role in the advancement of Black people.
Video by Nidhi Singh
6:07
Shortly after, NFL Hall of Famer and two-time Super Bowl champion Deion Sanders, who is not an HBCU grad, announced he decided to accept the role of head coach at an HBCU, Jackson State University.
\"Just sitting on that stage and looking my people in the eye and saying and proclaiming what I plan on doing with this program -- we have a coaching staff that has 84 years of NFL experienced combined coaching and playing -- and these kids just need the playing field level,\" Sanders said in an interview with \"GMA\" last year. \"If you give us the same resources that these other schools have, we're going to prove that there is a highway that takes you from Jackson State all the way to the NFL.\"
HBCUs by the numbers
While HBCUs only make up 3% of colleges in the U.S., they enroll 10% of all African American students in the country, according to the United Negro College Fund (UNCF).
Additionally, 25% of African American graduates with STEM degrees come from HBCUs, \"one of the most effective forces helping to diversify the STEM field both in the educational and professional realms,\" UNCF said.
According to the Thurgood Marshall College Fund, HBCUs account for:
- 40% of all African American engineers
- 50% of all African American lawyers
- 50% of all African American public school teachers
- 80% of all African American judges
![\"PHOTO:](\"http://a.abcnews.com/images/GMA/MainImage_HBCU_v01_sd_1611932210090_hpMain_4x3t_384.jpg\")
A report from the Samuel Dewitt Proctor Institute at Rutgers University's Graduate School of Educations, conducted on HBCUs and upward mobility, showed the role HBCUs play in moving African Americans up the socio-economic ladder.
A few standout findings from the report revealed that HBCUs enroll far more low-income students than predominantly white institutions (PWIs), nearly 70% of students at HBCUs attain at least middle-class incomes and there is less downward mobility at HBCUs than at PWIs.
\"The mentality of HBCUs to leave no man behind and mission to serve as incubators of Black excellence is an inspiration within itself,\" Alexander said. \"Attending an institution that makes an effort to nurture and create a sense of unity is what I desire.\"
Editor's Note: This story was originally posted on February 12, 2021.
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