Chapter 3: Mission (Im)Possible: The Contemporary Role of Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the United States

Before delving into the details of this chapter and reviewing carefully what we know (and don’t know) from research about historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) in the United States, two inherent personal beliefs deserve admission for readers’ consideration and to preserve a degree of transparency between what I write here in this chapter and what I deem worthy of written (or spoken) argument. First, I have never earned a degree from an HBCU. I earned my undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, enrolling immediately after high school graduation and only lightly considered the possibility of attending one of three HBCUs at that time, including Norfolk State University (NSU), Hampton University, and Howard University. Growing up in Virginia Beach, Virginia, I was in close proximity to NSU and passed it weekly during my family’s regular Sunday commute from our home in the Kempsville neighborhood of “Va Beach” (pronounced “vah-beech”), as people like to call it, to New Hope Church of God in Christ (COGIC) situated in the Norview section of the city. I learned later in life that my mom, Linda, completed some specialized training at NSU but never earned a formal degree there.